FR4 SUBMINISTRAMENT D'ARBRES I DE PLANTES 0 ELEMENTS QUE CONTEMPLA EL PLEC

In this chapter I focus my attention on ancient Mesopotamian literature and culture according to the five major cultural empires, listed in reverse chronological order: Persian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Akkadian, and Sumerian. The modern scholar observes some striking themes com- mon to the literature and iconography of all these cultures in regard to the current topic, espe- cially a strong religious focus on the sun, moon, stars, and their associated deities: Shamash, the sun-god; Sin, the moon-god; and Ishtar, the goddess of war, associated with the Morning Star (i.e., the planet Venus).1 _{One finds a similar focus––although weakened––on the celes-}

tial luminaries in Persian religion as well, especially the sun, moon, and the star Tishtrya (most likely identified as Sirius, the brightest star of the night sky); but these entities are not strictly identified with the deity Ahuramazda himself.2

In the previous chapter I affirmed that the modern reader can discern definite philo- sophical and/or theological differences in regard to the conceptualization of the ontological relationship between the physical domain and the metaphysical domain in ancient Israelite re- ligion (as championed by the OT) versus the religions of other Syro-Canaanite cultures. In a similar way, there are also significant ontological differences between the Persian religion of Ahuramazda and the religious literature of other Mesopotamian cultures. Of all these cultural groups, the Persian literature most explicitly stipulates its metaphysical presuppositions and appears to share more of these presuppositions with ancient Israelite religion than any of the other Syro-Canaanite or Mesopotamian religions. Yet, there are some significant theological differences as well, particularly in regard to the conceptualization of the celestial luminaries and perhaps of light itself.

1. See Kramer 1969a:38-57, 1969b:161, 1969c:382, 1969d:455-463; Meek 1969a:164-165, 178-179, 1969b:184, 1969d:217-222; Oppenheim 1969:267-317; Pfeiffer 1969b:426-427, 1969c:440; Sachs 1969:331-345; Speiser 1969:68-69,73-100,106-118; Stephens 1969: 383-392.

2. See Malandra 1983:55-58,140-149; Rose 2011:31-63,237-239; Kanga 2013:21,31,37-39, 66,72,123,149-173,223,311.

5.1. Light and Divinity in the Physical Domain

At this point, it will be helpful to take a brief inventory of how the various cultures appear to conceptualize an ontological relationship between the celestial luminaries as objects in the physical domain and the gods as divine persons in the metaphysical domain.3 _{In the OT, the}

celestial luminaries are unquestioningly conceptualized only as temporal physical objects cre- ated by YHWH, with a clear and definite ontological boundary between them and YHWH as an

eternal divine person. In Persian religion, as championed by Zarathustra's Gathas as well as the later Avesta and other religious works, clearly the celestial luminaries as well as both light and darkness are also conceptualized as created by Ahuramazda.4 _{However, Ahuramazda}

himself is most explicitly identified with the phenomenon of fire and only secondarily with the sun, the "highest of the high" (Humbach & Ichaporia 1994:55; also West 2010:173).5 _In-

terestingly, the depiction of Ahuramazda incorporates a royal male figure atop what appears to be a winged and tailed sun-disc (Pritchard 1969:78,227; see also Rose 2011:44-46).6 _Thus,

in both Persian texts and iconography, there appears to be at least some kind of unspecified ontological link between the sun as a physical object and Ahuramazda as the metaphysical

3. It is worthy of note that, as a general principle within the Mesopotamian material, the depictions of the celestial deities as anthropomorphic figures appear to stretch back into the third millennium, whereas depictions using symbols of the celestial luminaries (sun-disc, crescent, star-disc, multi-pointed star, etc.) do not appear to be older than the second millennium (see Pritchard 1969:75,120,152-156,170-181,206,215-223,275,291,300-301, 308-315,325-334,353,379). [There are a few possible exceptions to this general trend (see Pritchard 1969:100,177,222,285,312,333).] Similarly, one very old Sumerian text describes Utu (the sun-god) coming forth and shining "on heaven (and) earth" (Kramer 1969a:44; see also Schmökel 1978:107), which in this instance appears to refer directly to the sun itself. However, the same is said concerning the god Shamash in an Akkadian hymn from late in the second millennium (Schmökel 1978:102-104). The general trend suggests that perhaps the earlier Mesopotamian conceptualizations conflated the celestial luminaries with their respective deities more than later conceptualizations. This is nothing more than conjecture, although Jacobsen draws the same conclusion concerning Sumerian religion and culture (Jacobsen 1961:267-278)

4. See Malandra 1983:42,106-107,111; Humbach & Ichaporia 1994:55,67; West 2010:105,173; Rose 2011:xvii-xxiv,12-24; Kanga 2013:7,18,34,83,124.

5. Humbach & Ichaporia 1994:49,55,61,77,99; West 2010:65,87,95,123,147,157,173. 6. This symbol is extremely similar to the winged sun-disc, alternately associated with both the god Shamash (Pritchard 1969:120,152-156,179-180,206,291,300-301,313-314,325) and the god Ashur (Pritchard 1969:180,215,223,314,328,334) in Mesopotamian cultures.

Divine Being, but Rose argues that the sun in ancient Persian religion is conceptualized as the "greatest natural fire" (Rose 2011:49; see also Dale 1996:1,28) and not necessarily as the pro- totypical source of light.

In the other Mesopotamian cultures, the celestial luminaries appear to be conceptual- ized as ontologically linked to specific metaphysical deities: the sun-god (or goddess) Shamash (in Sumerian, "Utu"); the moon-god Sin (Sumerian "Nanna"); the goddess of the Morning Star Ishtar (Sumerian "Inanna"); the storm-god Adad (Sumerian "Ishkur"); and oth- ers.7 _{It is clear from both the literature and iconography that these deities are conceptualized}

as distinct entities with differing personal attributes and behavioral tendencies. The textual and material evidence suggests that these Mesopotamian religions were thoroughly polytheis- tic, whereas the evidence concerning the Persian Ahuramazda cult suggests a more henotheis- tic or perhaps fully monotheistic religion. The engraved relief on a stone tablet found at Abu Habbah appears particularly instructive concerning the conceptualized relationship between the sun and the sun-god Shamash.

A relief on the upper part of a stone tablet engraved with the record of Nabuaplaiddin's endowment of the sun temple at Sippar....The scene, which is labeled by three inscriptions, represents the presentation of Nabuaplaiddin to the enthroned Shamash. To the left is a goddess (Aya is mentioned in the text), who stands with upraised hands sponsoring a king. The next figure is that of the king, who wears a conical headdress and raises his right hand in supplication to the god. Leading him is a third figure (Nabunadinshumi is mentioned in the text of the tablet), who stands before an altar supported by ropes and on which is a large sun-disc....Within the shrine sits the enthroned Shamash holding the ring and rod in his right hand....Within the shrine are the emblems of the crescent (Sin), sun-disc (Shamash), and the eight-pointed star (Ishtar), their identifications appearing in the inscription over the top of the shrine. Below the entire scene are wavy lines in which four stars are set, a repre- sentation of the heavenly ocean (Pritchard 1969:313).

This image appears to support Taylor's view that, in ancient Babylonian culture at least, the sun-god Shamash was conceptualized as existentially distinct from the actual sun itself, yet somehow ontologically linked. The sun appears to be an emblem of Shamash, but also more than an emblem. Spatially, the center of the sun-disc sits exactly on the line between the face of the king (the presented) and the face of the personified god (the presentee), as if in a medi-

7. For more on the "Assyrian and Aramaean influence ... in their astral manifestations (the moon, Venus, the Pleiades . . .), as deities of the night" (Keel & Uehlinger 1998:294) on various seal impressions and other iconographic artifacts from ancient Israel during the monarchic period, see Keel & Uehlinger 1998:283-372.

ating position between the king on Earth and Shamash in Heaven. The implication appears to be that what is offered to the sun on Earth is offered to Shamash in Heaven. Perhaps a rev- erse relationship is also implied, that the extended rod and ring––symbols of authority and/or justice––are granted by Shamash to the king in exchange for his worship and veneration.8

This image does not absolutely clarify the matter regarding an ontological link be- tween divinity and the celestial luminaries, but I suggest that it evinces some axiomatic prin- ciples. First, the fact that distinct gods are distinctly paired with distinct celestial bodies is strong anecdotal evidence against any kind of direct ontological relationship between divinity and light itself. None of the Mesopotamian deities should be considered a "light-god," except perhaps Ahuramazda, and this will be discussed in section 5.3. below. Secondly, if the sun is in fact conceptualized as functioning in a mediating role between the king and the god, and vice versa, then this image suggests that power is what is mediated by the sun from the god to the king (Jacobsen 1961:268-273). The image perfectly accords with the resemblance metaphor POWERIS RADIANCE. At the very least, the conceptual metaphor POWERIS RADIANCE

offers a plausible means for cognitively interpreting the image.

All these conceptual dynamics appear very similar to the conceptualization(s) in Syro- Canaanite literature and cultures. The same also pertains to the phenomenon of lightning and the Mesopotamian storm-god Adad, except that Adad is depicted as holding lightning bolts in both hands, whereas the Hittite weather-god holds a lightning bolt in his left hand and a mat- tock in his right.9 _{In all these instances, it is certainly possible that the pertinent deities are}

conceptualized as causing the light that is connected to their associated physical phenome- non, but it seems very clear that neither the gods in particular nor divinity as a general phe-

nomenon is conceptualized as light itself.10 _{With the possible exception of the Ahuramazda}

8. See Kramer 1969a:53-57.

9. See Pritchard 1969:179; Schmökel 1978:79; Keel & Uehlinger 1998:291.

10. From the Babylonian myth Enuma Elish: "[The gods] erected for [Marduk] a princely throne. Facing his fathers, he sat down, presiding....O Marduk, thou art indeed our avenger. We have granted thee kingship over the universe entire. When in Assembly thou sittest, thy word shall be supreme. Thy weapons shall not fail; they shall smash thy foes!...[Marduk] constructed a bow, marked it as his weapon, Attached thereto the arrow, fixed its bow-cord. He raised the mace, raised his right hand to grasp it; Bow and quiver he hung at his side. In front of him he set the lightning, With a blazing flame he filled his body....He constructed

religion in Persian culture, it appears that divinity and light remain both existentially and on- tologically distinct in the ancient Syro-Canaanite and Mesopotamian cultures.

I find no conceptual tensions or conflicts in ancient Mesopotamian literature regard- ing the physical phenomenon of light; the sun, moon, and stars are described as primary sources of light. The Akkadian myth Enuma Elish contains an accurate, detailed description of the cycle of the moon, even the relationship of its spatial movement to that of the sun (Speiser 1969:68). In this text, the moon is described as having "luminous horns" for its first quarter-cycle. Clearly, this term describes the widening crescent moon, but it remains unclear what concept(s) is intended to be communicated by the reference to lunar "horns." Another Akkadian myth, The Epic of Gilgamesh, describes a scene that utilizes some extremely simi- lar language to that found in the OT.

Must I lay my head in the heart of the earth That I may sleep through all the years? Let mine eyes behold the sun

That I may have my fill of the light!

Darkness withdraws when there is enough light.

May one who indeed is dead behold yet the radiance of the sun (Speiser 1969:89).

In the Old Babylonian version of the epic, these words are addressed to Shamash the sun-god and spoken by the hero Gilgamesh while on his quest for immortality.11 _{In this case, the con-}

cept of "beholding the sun" appears to be used in a similar way as the concept "to see light" in the OT, that is, as a metonym for the concept "being alive" (cf. Isa 53:11).12 _{Regardless of}

the specific cognitive operation of the conceptualization here, the concept of light is applied

year by designating the zones: He set up three constellations for each of the twelve months. After defining the days of the year [by means] of (heavenly) figures, He founded the station of Nebiru to determine their (heavenly) bands....The Moon he caused to shine, the night (to him) entrusting. He appointed him a creature of the night to signify the days" (Speiser 1969:67-68). See also Kramer 1969a:58-59; Sachs 1969:331-334; Speiser 1969:62-66, 111-112.

11. The Assyrian version of the epic does not include this scene but moves immediately to the following conversation between Gilgamesh and the ale-wife. The Hittite and Hurrian

versions of the contents of this tablet are too fragmentary for reliable translation, so they cannot be compared (Speiser 1969:89-91).

12. There is at least one instance in Akkadian literature where the concept "to see light" is used literally, referring to someone shut up in prison, and not as a metonym for being alive (Schmökel 1978:132).

specifically in the context of life and death. Cognitively, this accords with the references to the eternality of the sun and moon found both in Syro-Canaanite literature (see section 4.1 above) and Mesopotamian literature;13 _{it simply makes sense that a mortal human would seek}

immortality from an eternal person/object. Interestingly, this assertion of the eternal exis- tence of the celestial luminaries is retained in Persian religion as well (Kanga 2013:38), in- cluding a repeated reference to the sun as an "immortal, radiant, swift-footed horse" (Kanga 2013:18,19,20,21,22,24,26,27,28,231; see also Malandra 1983:60).

Several other conceptual comparisons are found in the Mesopotamian material re- garding light in the physical domain. The Akkadian Myth of Zu also utilizes similar concep- tualizations of light and darkness, including a couplet in which the terms "sun" and "bright day" appear in parallel (Speiser 1969:112). Both the descriptions and depictions of storm- gods and lightning in Mesopotamian cultures appear very similar to those in Syro-Canaanite cultures (see section 4.1. above).14 _{The Mesopotamian literature describes a handful of ob-}

jects as "shining," usually as the result of decoration with gold or silver or some other reflec- tive substance.15 _{An Akkadian myth describing the descent of the goddess Ishtar into the}

realm of the dead includes a description of the netherworld as a place "whose dwellers thirst for light, where dust is their food, clay their bread. They see no light, they dwell in darkness" (Lapinkivi 2010:29; see also Speiser 1969:87,107). An Akkadian ritual text also appears to use light metonymically to refer to the action of burning (Sachs 1969:339-341; cf. Isa 27:11, Mal 1:10). As with the Syro-Canaanite literature surveyed earlier, the evidence suggests no substantial dissonances in the conceptualization of light in the physical domain, but substan- tial differences regarding the conceptualization(s) of the celestial luminaries and their con- ceptualized relationships to the metaphysical domain.

13. See Speiser 1969:68.

14. See Speiser 1955:514-516, 1969:110; Pritchard 1969:153,170,176,179,181,213,223,300, 308,311-315,327,333-334.

15. See Oppenheim 1969:271,275,309-313; Malandra 1983:65-67,92,99,105,110,125, 139-140,150-158; Kanga 2013:274.

5.2. Light and Divinity in the Personal Domain

The conceptual use of light within ancient Mesopotamian literature is heavily weight- ed toward Akkadian and Sumerian texts and remains relatively stable across a wide temporal range from early in the second millennium to the middle of the first millennium BCE. The

Code of Hammurabi provides an enlightening case study in the metaphorical use of light, as does a small group of Sumero-Akkadian religious texts consisting of hymns and prayers to various gods, especially Shamash the sun-god, Sin the moon-god, and Ishtar the goddess of the Morning Star. I will first examine these texts, along with any relevant images, and then elucidate some of the broader conceptual themes occurring across the spectrum of material evidence from ancient Mesopotamia.

It is a great fortune for the modern scholar that the Hammurabi stela found at Susa contains a portion of Hammurabi's well-attested legal code accompanied by an image of the Old Babylonian king before the sun-god Shamash (Pritchard 1969:76-77,175,277,310). The physical postures and gestures of the king and god exactly match those on the Abu Habbah relief (see description above), even though Hammurabi reigned nearly a thousand years earli- er than Nebuaplaiddin. The sun-disc does not appear on the older Hammurabi stela; howev- er, rays of light (or flames?) protrude from the shoulders of the enthroned god, one of the in- dicators that the sun-god Shamash is the portrayed deity (Pritchard 1969:310). Both the prologue and the epilogue of the law code make substantive use of the concept of light to le- gitimize both the king and the law.16

The king Hammurabi begins and ends the prologue by appealing to the concept of light in connection to his kingship, asserting that the gods appointed him "to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak, to rise like the sun over the black-headed (people), and to light up the land" (Meek 1969a:164). Hammurabi goes on to catalog a lengthy list of his impressive deeds and con- cludes by proclaiming himself "the ancient seed of royalty, the powerful king, the sun of Babylon, who causes light to go forth over the lands of Sumer and Akkad" (Meek

1969a:165). This latter use of the concept of light appears to be a standard use of the com-

16. A similar phenomenon occurs in the Sumerian law code of Lipit-Ishtar, although the concept of light is expressed in the familiar relational terms using the "light of the face" concept. See Kramer 1969b:159-161; Meek 1969a:165; Arnold & Beyer 2002:106-109.

mon resemblance metaphor POWERIS RADIANCE (as seen previously in Chapter 4), but the for-

mer reference does not seem nearly so clear. Thankfully, the epilogue provides more detailed information by which to interpret Hammurabi's employment of the concept of light.

The laws of justice, which Hammurabi, the efficient king, set up, and by which he caused the land to take the right way and have good government. I, Hammurabi, the per- fect king, was not careless (or) neglectful of the black-headed (people), whom Enlil had presented to me, (and) whose shepherding Marduk had committed to me; I sought out peaceful regions for them; I overcame grievous difficulties; I caused light to rise on them. With the mighty weapon which Zababa and Inanna entrusted to me, with the insight that Enki allotted to me, with the ability that Marduk gave me, I rooted out the enemy above and below; I made an end of war; I promoted the welfare of the land; I made the peoples rest in friendly habitations; I did not let them have anyone to terrorize them. The great gods called me, so I became the beneficent shepherd whose scepter is righteous; my benign sha- dow is spread over my city. In my bosom I carried the peoples of the land of Sumer and Akkad; they prospered under my protection; I always governed them in peace; I sheltered them in my wisdom....By the order of Shamash, the great judge of heaven and earth, may my justice prevail in the land; by the word of Marduk, my lord, may my statutes have no one to rescind them....I, Hammurabi, am the king of justice, to whom Shamash committed law. My words are choice; my deeds have no equal; it is only to the fool that they are emp- ty; to the wise they stand forth as an object of wonder. If that man heeded my words which I wrote on my stela, and did not rescind my law, has not distorted my words, did not alter my statutes, may Shamash make that man reign as long as I, the king of justice; may he shepherd his people in justice (Meek 1969a:177-178).

This imagery of the text appears to access simultaneously all three major metaphors POWERIS

RADIANCE, WISDOMIS LIGHT, and LIFEIS LIGHT in a complex conceptual layering. Hummurabi

compares himself as king to the sun which "lights up the land" and "causes light to rise" upon