#specifically Enlil head of the Sumerian pantheon

[eldritchamy]

INTERNAL DOCUMENT - FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY

Proposed Anomaly Classification for Recovered Object #01039-A, pending approval

SCP-[PENDING] - "Inside Out Hurricane"

Containment Class: Euclid Keter Disruption Class: VLAM EHKI Risk Class: Danger

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-[PENDING] is contained almost entirely within the boundaries of SCP-[PENDING]-A. [PENDING]-A should be kept closed and locked at all times unless otherwise directed by Research Supervisor [Unassigned]. A perimeter is to be maintained around the lot where [PENDING]-A sits at all times by Foundation staff posing as private security. A gated fence no less than 25ft in height should be placed around all entrances to SCP-[PENDING]-A to obstruct view from publicly accessible areas near the site. Description: SCP-[PENDING]-A is a large industrial facility with hangar-style doors at either end as well as 5 smaller staff entrances. The building is approximately 150' by 490' by 35' in volume. Brand markings on the hangar are heavily degraded, but the logo appears to have superficially resembled an unusual crown-like shape composed of four sets of horns, below which is the text "Ekur Industries, est. [indecipherable]" The exterior of the building is otherwise unremarkable. SCP-[PENDING] is an intense storm contained entirely within the interior dimensions of [PENDING]-A. The storm features extraordinary wind speeds and heavy rain that fully obscures vision beyond 2.1 meters, though lightning flashes are occasionally visible through the storm. No recording equipment has been recovered after entering the storm barrier. A specially constructed anemometer anchored from outside the building measured a sustained wind speed of at least 287.4 mph (462.5 km/h, 421.5 ft/s, 128.5 m/s), exceeding the highest reliably recorded non-tornado wind speed on Earth. Gust speeds were recorded up to 422 mph before the device suffered a catastrophic failure, prior to the completion of a 5-minute mean speed test. The maximum structural integrity of the device was designed to withstand wind speeds up to 465 mph. Water samples collected after expulsion from the storm barrier are consistent with that of non-anomalous Earth seawater. A best-fit analysis suggests the water originated somewhere in the north Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf. The internal dimensions of the storm are unknown but believed to exceed the external dimensions of the building by a considerable margin. A successful method of measuring the scale of the storm has yet to be devised.

Addendum 01039-A.02: An exploratory mission was conducted at Entrance B, one of the staff entrances to SCP-[PENDING]-A located on the southwest exterior wall. Entrance B leads to a raised section of the facility interior presumably used by a site administrator. Much of the accessible area is unremarkable, containing various maintenance equipment and standard water and electrical infrastructure. A door of unusual construction sits at the highest accessible point within Area B. The door is a seamless, dusty tan stone that leaves no gaps around the edges, has no visible handle or opening mechanism, and is featureless apart from an adjacent sign that reads, "IT IS FORBIDDEN." Addendum 01039-A.03: EXPLORATORY LOG FOR AREA B, ██/██/20██ The first sign of something unusual was Research Advisor 2381. As soon as he saw the warning sign outside the stone door, he stopped dead and pointed at it. What follows is an audio transcript for the exploratory mission, consisting of Research Team 2381 (Dr. █████ ████████), 2607 (████ ███████), Research Lead 1670 (Dr. "█████ ███" ████████), and Mission Supervisor 0983 (Dr. ██████ █████), as well as several D-Class security personnel. 2381: "No one said that sign was in Spanish." 2607: "It's not. 2381: "Exactly." 2607: "Come again?" 2381: "I'm seeing it in Spanish." 1670: "Cognitohazard?" 0983: "Not necessarily." 1670: "[2381], what was your first language?" 2381: "Spanish." 0983: "Psychic. Everyone here have anti-memetic training?" [various noises of assent} 0983: "Good. What we're dealing with just got more interesting. If there's anything conscious behind that door, it could be anything from a low level psychic to a reality bender. Keep that Kant counter on. [2607], if you hear so much as a BLIP on that thing you call it out IMMEDIATELY."

Approximately 1 hour 16 minutes later, the team successfully opened the door and proceeded inside.

2607: "Clear so far." 2381: "Let's hope it stays that way." 0983: "Well, well. What have we here?" 1670: "Mission control be advised the room looks like an office, but everything in it is...out of place. It looks more like a museum than anything. Various maps and texts pinned to the walls. Some old artifacts. Very old statuettes and things. Normal looking desk with a lot of papers on it. There's a large viewing window overlooking the storm. Can't see a fucking thing through it, of course. Can't hear it either, though, so the glass is VERY solid. Soundproofed somehow." 2381: "Map on the wall shows ... Middle East, but it's not modern. It LOOKS like it was taken from a satellite, but there's ... it's like civilization hasn't happened yet. There's almost no cities on here at all, and I don't recognize any of the names. Might need to bring in [REDACTED] from Site-██, she has a background in Assyriology." 1670: "What is that thing MADE of? Looks like leather." 2381: "Very old leather. Sheep skin, maybe? God I hope it's sheep." 1670: "Desk is covered in old writing. Paper is all falling apart old. There's a tablet, too." 0983: "Is it on?" 1670: "Uh, not that kind of tablet, sir. Some kind of clay or stone. There's writing on it, but ... it's weird." 2607: "CLICK." 0983: "What was that?" 1670: "It's ... I can read it." 2607: "Clicks, sir. Something on the Kant counter." 1670: "I don't even know what LANGUAGE this is." 2381: "I'd guess Sumerian, based on this map. If not older." 0983: "What are you reading, [2607]? 1670: "'You who would come so far, for what do you come?'" 2607: "It's coming from the statue, I think." [several audible pops from the Kant counter] 2301: "Statue ... plaque under it says ... 'The Founder, N. Lil'?" 1670: "'For what do you invoke my name? This place is not your place, our purpose is not your purpose...'" 0983: "[1670], stop reading that right now!" [popping sounds increase in frequency and volume] 1670: "'Petulant children of Amar-Utuk, things of clay and breath, by what right do you seek the unseekable, upon whose honor do you hope to know the unknowable?'" 2607: "Sir... this thing is reading something big." 0983: "I am ORDERING you to stop. Everyone out of the room, NOW. If he keeps reading it, shoot him. He's lost." 2301: "N. Lil. Where have I heard that before?" 1670: "'As I separated the sky and the firmament-'" [multiple gunshots] 1670: "-as I separated the earth from the waters, so shall my winds separate the waters from clay. This domain is not your domain, for all domains by rights are mine alone to rule. You have come too far, and you shall trespass no further." [Kant counter emits a near constant pitch until the sound of glass shattering can be heard, and the storm overtakes the room instantly. The remainder of the audio recording is 10.3 seconds of wind, rain, and thunder before the transmission abruptly ends.]

Addendum 01039-A.04: All members of Exploratory Mission 01039-B are presumed deceased. The exterior of SCP-[PENDING]-A seems to have contained the storm and prevented further breach. Entrance B has been welded shut and all pending exploratory missions are terminated until further notice. Precisely 24 hours after the mission was terminated, a Kant counter was found outside the welded door to Area B. After drying and data recovery, it is believed to be the Kant counter used by EM 01039-B. The final recording logged by the counter showed Akiva radiation and Hume distortion consistent with an Apex tier pluripotent entity. The mechanism by which the entity is contained by [PENDING]-A is unknown. Additional research funding has been requested.

Addendum 01039-A.05: Attn. Research Team 10139-A.05, Your request is denied. We were given a clear warning. Maintain perimeter and take no further actions without authorization. MTF Eta-77 and MTF Psi-7 have been notified of your status and will be in touch. Regards, O5-11

.

[irunevenus]

Ancient Mesopotamian Religion: The Cradle of Beliefs and Cultures

Mesopotamia, often referred to as the “cradle of civilization,” was home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. These cultures developed not only significant technological and cultural advances, but also a rich and complex religious tradition that would influence later religions in many parts of the world.

Historical and Geographical Context

Situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey, Mesopotamia was the scene of great human innovations, including writing, mathematics, and astronomy. In this fertile and dynamic environment, religious beliefs played a central role in daily life, shaping both social and political life.

The Gods and Cosmology

Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, with a vast pantheon of gods and goddesses who represented natural forces, aspects of everyday life, and abstract concepts. At the head of the pantheon was Anu, the sky god, considered the father of gods and men. Other major gods included Enlil, the god of wind and storms, and Enki, the god of water and wisdom.

Each city-state in Mesopotamia had its own patron god or goddess, who was considered the true ruler of the city, while the king acted as that god's earthly representative. For example, Uruk was dedicated to the goddess of love and war, Inanna (known as Ishtar in Akkadian), while Nippur was the sacred city of Enlil.

Mythology and Sacred Texts

Mesopotamian mythology is rich in narratives explaining the creation of the world, the origin of the gods, and the destiny of men. One of the best-known texts is the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation, which describes how the god Marduk defeated the primordial chaos represented by the goddess Tiamat to create the world and establish order.

Another crucial text is the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of humanity’s oldest literary works. This epic chronicles the adventures of King Gilgamesh, including his quest for immortality, and reflects profound questions about life, death, and human legacy. The Epic of Gilgamesh also contains a version of the flood, similar to the narrative found later in the Bible’s Genesis.

Religious Rituals and Practices

The Mesopotamians performed a variety of rituals and ceremonies to honor their gods, ranging from animal sacrifices to complex religious festivals. One of the most important was the Akitu, the New Year festival, which was celebrated with great pomp and ceremony in several cities, especially Babylon. During the Akitu, the statue of the chief god was carried in procession, and rituals were performed to ensure the renewal of cosmic order and the prosperity of the city.

Temples, known as ziggurats, were the center of religious and social life. These enormous stepped structures served as places of worship and as the earthly home of the gods. Priests played a crucial role in mediating between the gods and humans, interpreting divine signs, conducting rituals, and maintaining the temples.

The Legacy of Mesopotamian Religion

Although Mesopotamian religion disappeared with the decline of the Mesopotamian civilizations, its legacy endures. Many of its ideas, myths, and symbols were absorbed by later religions, especially the Abrahamic religions. The notion of a universal flood, the idea of ​​a paradisiacal garden (like Eden), and themes of the struggle between good and evil can all trace their roots to Mesopotamian myths.

Mesopotamian influence can also be seen in Western astrology and religious practice. The zodiac, for example, has its origins in astrological systems developed by the Babylonians, who believed that the movements of the stars reflected the will of the gods.

Conclusion

Ancient Mesopotamian religion is a testament to the power of spirituality to shape cultures and civilizations. Although it was a religion specific to a time and place, its ideas and mythologies transcended its origins, leaving an indelible mark on human history. By exploring its narratives and practices, we can gain deeper insight into the beliefs and values ​​that underpinned one of the most influential civilizations of the ancient world.

[bestiarium]

Humbaba [Akkadian/Mesopotamian mythology]

In ancient Akkadian mythology, the pantheon of gods lived in a magical and sacred cedar forest. This mystical place was protected by a mighty creature called Humbaba (Huwawa in the Babylonian version), who was appointed as the forest’s guardian by the deity Enlil. In modern interpretations, the creature is sometimes called an ogre or a demon.

Humbaba was thought to be undefeatable, for not only was he a physically powerful giant, he was also clad in 7 magical radiances (called ‘auras’ in some translations) that protected the fearsome creature. He was a giant, humanlike creature with a strange face that resembled the entrails of a slain animal (which, if I understand it correctly, was a reference to the Mesopotamian practice of ‘reading’ the guts of animals to find omens. In addition, if the entrails happened to resemble the pattern on Humbaba’s face, this was considered a specific omen). His hands ended in dangerous lion-like claws. When Humbaba spoke, his voice was like thunder and his breath was deadly. It was said that his speech was (like) fire, but I’m uncertain whether this was meant to be taken literally.

Georg Burckhardt’s translation of the Gilgamesh epic provides a more detailed physical description: the monster’s head was adorned with bull-like horns, his body was clad in scales, his feet ended in bird-like talons and his penis was a snake. Humbaba also had a tail, which also ended in a snake. To my great annoyance, I have not been able to acquire a copy of this translation so I had to contact someone who did own a copy and ask for the description.

But I’m digressing. As it turned out, even the mighty Humbaba proved no match for the eponymous hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh. After Gilgamesh and Enkidu travelled to the sacred forest to find the creature, Humbaba appeared before them to deny the heroes entry to the sacred forest. He fought fiercely, but the god Shamash commanded the winds themselves to blind Humbaba (as Gilgamesh was favoured by the sun god Shamash). After a long and fierce clash, the monster was defeated. He pleaded and begged for his life, but was slain nonetheless. Gilgamesh and Enkidu then cut down some of the holy cedar trees to make a giant door, with which they adorned the temple of Enlil.

It is also worth noting that effigies/images of Humbaba were used to protect against evil. Also, Humbaba might originally have been derived from the Elamite deity Humban. To my knowledge, this theory remains unproven.

Sources: George, A., 1999, The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian, Penguin Books, Great Britain, 228 pp. Burkhardt, G., 1922, Gilgamesh, Brandus, Berlin (secondhand description) Black, J. and Green, A., 1992, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: an illustrated dictionary, University of Texas Press, 192 pp.

(image source 1: Citrushark on Twitter and Reddit. I had to cut the bottom part of the picture because someone said I shouldn’t post a penis snake. Here is the full image, in all its uncensored Mesopotamian glory) (image 2: an idol representing the head of Humbaba. Image source: Osama Amin on worldhistory.org)

[yamayuandadu]

Pride Month special: Manzat, the deified rainbow and her LGBT connection

Considering June is the Pride Month, I've decided to dedicate this month's first article to a rainbow-related topic too. Below the cut you can learn everything there is to know about the Mesopotamian goddess of the rainbow, Manzat (also spelled Mazziat, Manziat, Mazzet etc.) - her origin, role ascribed to her by ancient authors, associated deities and more. As promised by the title, the final section of the article deals with a text mentioning Manzat, which is, as far as I can tell, the oldest documented association between the rainbow and LGBT themes.

Manzat isn't exactly an A list goddess. Even calling her a B list one would be a stretch. Indeed, she's so obscure that we know more about many attendant deities than about her. She nonetheless is attested in many different sources, found in areas between the ancient states of Mari (in present day Syria) and Elam (in present day Iran). Manzat most likely has her origin among Akkadians in ancient Mesopotamia. Her name is pretty self explanatory – if written without the symbol known as “divine determinative” in front of it, it's simply the Akkadian term for the regular rainbow. While a Sumerian form of the name is known as well – Tir-anna (“Bow of heaven”) – the fact it appears to be a pun based on Akkadian homonyms (the sign used to write “Tir”means “forest” in Sumerian but was pronounced close to the Akkadian word for bow leading to such an usage in some Sumerian texts) makes it unlikely it arose naturally.

Between Elam and Mesopotamia

Curiously, it seems that despite Akkadian origin she was actually most popular in Elam, to the east of the Tigris. The first mention of her known today comes from the treaty of Naram-sin, king of Sumer and Akkad, with an unspecified ruler of a part of Elam, where she appears among the deities serving as its witnesses, alongside the crème de la crème of the Elamite pantheon – Pinikir, Humban (likely a “king of the gods” figure like Mesopotamian Enlil, venerated well into Persian times when parallels can be drawn about the cults of him and “Auramazda” - an early, not necessarily fully Zoroastrian form of Ahura Mazda), Inshushinak (the tutelary god of Susa who judged the dead) and so on. It needs to be pointed out that Manzat's “career” in Elam isn't a unique situation. While the Elamite language wasn't related to Sumerian or Akkadian – or to any other known language, living or extinct, for that matter – a number of Elamite gods have names borrowed from these two languages. In addition to Manzat, these include Lagamal (Akkadian - “no mercy,” an underworld deity), Ishmekarab (Akkadian - “hears the prayer,” a law deity) and Inshushinak (Sumerian - “Lord of Susa,” associated with both Lagamal and Ishmekarab). All of them appear in Mesopotamian texts too, but didn't have quite the same relevance there as in Elam. In turn the Elamite god Simut was adopted by the Mesopotamians as a personification of Mars and the goddess Pinikir became somewhat of an international sensation, showing up as far as west as in Anatolia, for example in the Hittite Yazilikaya sanctuary, possibly as a personification of Venus. While early researchers viewed Pinikir as a mother goddess, and this claim still shows up here and there today, renowned experts such as hittitologist Gary Beckman and archaeologist Kamyar Abdi, who studied this goddess in depth, demonstrated she was instead an “Ishtar type” deity. It's also possible the god Tishpak has his roots in Elam, though some scholars instead see him as a reflection of the Hurrian weather god Teshub instead.

The worship of Manzat

Sadly, there are no known myths about Manzat. What little we know about her comes mostly from sources concerned more with cultic than mythical affairs. For example records show that Manzat was reasonably popular as a deity invoked in theophoric names, both Akkadian and Elamite. Examples include Manzat-ili (“Manzat is my god”), Manzat-ummi (“Manzat is my mother”) and “Danum-Manzat” (“Manzat is mighty”). A number of shrines and temples of Manzat are recorded: in Mesopotamia in Nippur and Babylon (four shrines in that city alone), and in Elam in Susa, Hubshen ( present day Deh-e Now) and as a part of the famous Choga Zanbil site (the first photo in this article is a modern reconstruction). It seems in Elam she was often worshiped alongside the already mentioned Simut, and some researchers propose they were a couple; evidence from the Mesopotamian city of Der appears to indicate she was viewed as the wife of the local head god Ishtaran (no relation to Ishtar) there. However, the god list An-Anum doesn't list any husband in its brief Manzat section – only an otherwise completely unknown son, Lugalgidda, and a sukkal (vizier, second in comman), Sililitum. Sililitum's name is Akkadian, but appears to be the name of a month in the Elamite calendar as well. Ishtaran has no wife in this god lists, and some sources simply call his spouse “Šarrat-Der(i)” - “queen of Der.” One curious Elamite inscription refers to Manzat as “Manzat-Ishtar” - this doesn't necessarily indicate a conflation between her and the superstar of Mesopotamian mythology, though. It's possible that in this case “Ishtar” means an ishtar without the capital I: in some text, “ishtar” is a generic term for goddesses, not even necessarily of the “Ishtar type.” Examples of such usage of this term can even be found in Epic of Gilgamesh (tablet XI). No other sources associate Manzat directly with Ishtar – the latter's Elamite equivalent was Pinikir; as I’ll demonstrate later she was associated with another “Ishtar type” goddess though. It's possible that a goddess hiding behind the Akkadian title “Belet Ali” - “lady of the city” - was one and the same as Manzat. The fact that the enigmatic “Belet Ali” was associated with Simut in Elam strengthens this impression. A number of epithets are attested in god lists, among them “Lady of the regulations of heaven,” “Companion of heaven”   and “She who makes the city flourish.” Almost all of them highlight her nature as a celestial deity.

Astronomical role

Manzat's Sumerian name Tiranna – but seemingly not her Akkadian name – was also used to refer to an unidentified star. According to Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary by J. Black and A. Green (p. 153, the Rainbow entry) horse head under a “gate” symbol present on some kudurru (Mesopotamian border markers) represents this star, but I can't find this claim anywhere else.

The horse head symbol on a kudurru (British Museum)

Manzat, Nanaya and the promised LGBT themes

While this is technically almost all there is to know about Manzat, the story doesn't end here. As I promised, I will now introduce a text which associated the rainbow – well, Manzat, to be specific, rather than the general idea of rainbows, but the point stands  – with broadly understood LGBT themes. The discussed text is a hymn to the goddess Nanaya. Nanaya was either a hyposthasis of Inanna/Ishtar, part of her entourage, or an independent but similar deity, and was first and foremost a goddess of love, including its corporeal and sensual aspect. In some hymns Inanna/Ishtar “tutored” Nanaya.

King Meli-Shipak and his daughter praying to Nanaya on a kudurru (wikimedia commons)

A reclining goddess, identified as a possible late depiction of Nanaya here (Louvre) The composition in mention a type of exaltation, praising the author's deity of choice by comparing their attributes to these of other gods. In the case of exaltation texts dedicated to Marduk this is often erroneously viewed as “monotheism” in sources of dubious quality, but that's not quite what's happening there. The purpose of such texts was to present the object of personal devotion as particularly grand and significant in the divine hierarchy by comparing their traits to these of other gods (eg. at mot henotheism, not monotheism); they are also not exclusive to Marduk, and they don't deny the existence of a multitude of gods (the famous Marduk exaltation still mentions his wife Sarpanit independently for example) According to the discussed tex Nanaya, to put it colloquially, swings both ways:

This passage was identified as referring to sexual matters already in the 1970s (A Sumero-Akkadian Hymn of Nanâ by E. Reiner, p. 233-234; the article is somewhat dated but a link can nonetheless be found in the bibliography). In an earlier strophe Nanaya states that she can take a male form (as a side note Reiner regards the form with “heavy breasts” as unusual for her):

While exaltation of a specific deity could include both gods and goddesses as their “aspects” (exaltation of Marduk included the goddess of victory Irnina among deities compared to him), in this case the mention of a bearded god is connected to a certain degree of fluidity of gender associated with many “Ishtar type” goddesses, especially with the Hurrian Shaushka. For Nanaya it's pretty uncommon, as far as I know appearing only in this single extraordinary text, and even here a result of association with her more famous “mentor” Ishtar  – but the point stands. In the rest of the hymn, goddesses Nanaya identifies herself with are enumerated. These include all the usual suspects (like various forms of Ishtar, important city goddesses, etc.), but also Manzat, here identified as the goddess of Der. Since the text describes Nanaya as – if you squint - interested in both men and women and perhaps genderfluid, it's pretty safe to say this is the oldest recorded association between the rainbow and lgbt themes, even though it has nothing to do with modern use of this symbol. If nothing else, it would be funny to bring this up next time someone claims the use of rainbow as a symbol of the LGBT community is “inappropriate” due to its biblical connotations – Manzat and Nanaya, while irrelevant today even by the standards of Mesopotamian deities, are after all figures of even greater antiquity. Happy Pride Month, everyone.

Bibliography

Manziʾat entry in Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie by W. G. Lambert is the source of most of the information in this article

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by J. M. Asher-Greve and J. G. Westenholz

Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary by J. Black and A. Green

The Other Gods who are: Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation Based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts by W. F. M. Henkelman

Elamite Temple Building by D. T. Potts

A Sumero-Akkadian Hymn of Nanâ by E. Reiner

Elamite Religion in Encyclopaeda Iranica

For more sources regarding Nanaya, other “Ishtar type” goddesses and their possible genderfluid character see my previous articles here, here and here.

[psyentifically-minded]

The early Semites and Canaanites had a number of Gods before eventually bringing the number down to two (Asherah and El) until finally settling into the monothestic Judaic religion. The old Canaanite and Semitic deities are as follows:

Adonai: Meaning “Lord”, Adonai is a name for God still used today.

Aglibol: Aglibol is a luna deity depicted with a moon halo decorating his head and sometimes his shoulders, one of his attributes is the crescent moon. Aglibol means “Calf of the Lord”.

Amurru: Amurru was an early storm and mountain God known to be based on the Mesopotamian Adad. Amurru’s consort was Asherah and he likely came to inspire both Ba’al and El who were also inspired by Enlil and Enki of the Mesopotamian mythologies.

Anat: Anat was a war Goddess, a virgin - likely meaning Hierodule as proven by the fact that she is also the consort and lover of her brother Ba’al Hadad. Anat appears as a fierce, wild and ferocious warrior in battle said to wade knee-deep in blood, striking off heads, cutting hands, binding the heads to her breast and the hands in her sash, driving out the old men and townsfolk with her arrows with her heart filled with joy. Anat is the mother of Aglibol. Anat in one myth slays the God of death, Mot to release Ba’al Hadad from the underworld, she also seems to parallel Ishtar slightly in a myth where she seeks to take vengeance against the hero Aqhat for refusing to part with his marvellous bow.

Asherah: Asherah is a Semitic version of the Sumerian Goddess Ishtar. Asherah is the consort of El with whom through Hieros Gamos she is said to have birthed the cosmos. Asherah was worshiped by early Hebrews up until their Exodus from Egypt when Yahweh alone became the monotheistic God of the Israelites.

Ashima: Ashima is a Goddess of fate and the working of destiny, she was still worshiped by the Samaritans long after the Hebrew people stopped worshiping her.

Astarte: Astarte (Depicted top left) was a Goddess of fertility, sex and war she was associated with Venus and thus likely modeled on the Sumerian Goddess Ishtar and came to later influence the Semitic demoness Lilith. In one myth Astarte is sent by the primordial God of heaven with her two sisters Asherah and Ba’alat Gebal to trick the God El however all three end up becoming consorts of El. In much later demonology Astarte is made into a masculine demon king called Asteroth.

Athirat: An ocean Goddess and varient of Asherah.

Attar: A Semitic male version of Ishtar and a war God representing the morning star, Venus. Attar often attempts to overthrow the God El and so may have been an early Semitic version of Lucifer/Satan - who also bares the epitaph “morning star”. Attar was a fertility God with power to cause rain. This male “morning star” may have lead to the development of Samael as the male veriant of Lilith.

Ba’al: Ba’al (depicted top row and central) means “Lord” however the title also refered to as specific deity. Ba’al was a God of the heavens, of storms and fertility. In the Bible when it says “the Lord said” this is likely a translation from the original “Ba’al said”, in later demonology Ba’al would be demonised as both the demon king Ba’al and Beelzebub or more accurately “Ba’al Ze Bub” meaning “Lord of flies”.

Ba’alat Gebal: Was one of three sister Goddesses including Asherah and Astarte sent to trick El but ended up being his consort instead.

Ba’al Hadad: Ba’al Hadad is the Semitic version of the Sumerian God Adad. Ba’al Hadad was a storm and fertility God that brough rain he also fought and killed the God of the sea, Yam who Yahweh had set up to take the throne of heaven, after which Ba’al Hadad was himself vanquished by the death God Mot and resurrected by Mot’s own death when he was slain by the warrior Goddess Anat who killed Mot in order to release Ba’al Hadad. Ba’al Hadad seems to be the chief of Gods in Canaanite mythology and has three consorts: Ba’alat Gebal, Asherah and Astarte.

Ba’al Hammon: Ba’al Hammon was a weather and vegetation God of fertility, he was often depicted with horns and was the husband of the Goddess Tanit. Ba’al Hammon was likely demonised as the demon “Mammon” which rules over materialism and is closely associated with another Canaanite God-turned-demon; Moloch.

Ba’al Shamin: Ba’al Shamin is thought to be a solar deity or a heaven deity and is often depicted in a trinity with the moon God Aglibol and the sun God Malakbel. Ba’al Shamin was originally used as a title and of Ba’al Hadad although later he seems to become a God in his own right.

Ba’al Zephon: The God Ba’al in his role as lord of Mount Zephon - the Canannite home of the Gods.

Chemosh: Chemosh was the head God of the Moabites in their tradition he was often appeased by human sacrifice by fire, Chemosh in the Moabite cosmology is paired with Astarte in the form of Ashtar and the two in sacred marriage symbolism are paired as one androdgynous being known as Ashtar-Chemosh.

Dagan: The Mesopotamian deity Dagon (depicted top right) was worshiped by early Semites under the name “Dagan” his mythology remains the same however his interactions with Sumerian deities are replaced by their Semitic counterparts.

El: El meaning “God” became identical with Yahweh and eventually became the monotheistic God of the Hebrew Bible however he is clearly modeled on the Sumerian Gods Enlil and Enki. El was the chief deity of the early Semitic pantheon. El was a storm and mountain God as well as the creator God of Heaven, he is nearly identical with all forms of Ba’al. El was the father of the other Gods in a sacred marriage with Asherah, these other deities became the “Elohim” - “Children of El” which was later translated in the Bible as “Sons of God” and came to mean angels. El was originally the husband of three Goddesses; Ba’alat Gebal, Asherah and Astarte. In Canaanite combat myths it is El that vanquishes the great primordial beasts; Behemoth, Ziz and Leviathan in order to create the universe from their corpses showing a reference back to the Sumerian myth of Marduk and Tiamat.

El Elyon: A title of El meaning “God of the most high”.

Eshmun: Eshmun was a mortal man who was harassed by the Goddess Astarte and so cut off his own genitals in ritual castration and died he was then resurrected and made a God of healing. Since the cause of his castration is a Goddess and castration often implies sacred union this myth is clearly a Hieros Gamos mythology since it also follows the pattern of death followed by resurrection and ascent into Godhood.

Gapn: Gapn was a messanger of Ba’al and was a God of vines and wine.

Horon: Horon was a God of destruction and chaos.

Ishat: Ishat was a Goddess of fire slain by Anat.

Itum: Itum was a Goddess and consort of the God Resep.

Jehovah Sabaoth: Meaning “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord of Armies/Powers”. “Jehova” is regarded as a pronounciation of “Yahweh” and so the two deities are practically identical with Jehova being seen as Yahweh in battle or as an aspect of Yahweh with a focus on war.

Kades: A mother Goddess of fertility often described as the fertility aspect of Astarte.

Kothar: The God of metallurgy and blacksmithing he was known to have created a marvellous bow for the hero Aqhat and two magic maces or clubs for Ba’al/El. Kothar was also an architect, carpenter and magician and was known to build the palaces of the other Gods, create spells and enchantments and bless deities with gifts of silver or gold furniture. Early Semitic builder cults probably venerated Kothar.

Kotharat: The Kotharat, meaning “skillful ones” were a group of seven moon Goddesses associated with swallows, they were divind midwives who helped women in childbirth and they themselves are seen as Hierodules/sacred prostitutes almost certainly having a connection to Hieros Gamos rites. The Kotharat were sometimes refered to as “Sasurartum”.

Malakbel: Malakbel was a solar deity often shown in trinity with Ba’al Shamin and the luna God Agibol. Malakbel was seen as a messanger of Ba’al - a term which is believed to have been rendered “angel of the Lord” in later Biblical interpretations.

Marqod: Also known as Ba’al Marqod meaning “Lord of the dance” was a God of healing and dancing as the two are thought to be linked and probably relating to ritual dancing. Interestingly the term Lord of the dance later became synonymous with Jesus Christ because of a Christian hymn which gives him the title.

Moloch: Moloch (modern recreation depicted lower left) was a Canaanite God. Moloch comes from the Canaanite “Mlk” meaning “King” and is often ascribed to various male deities in the Canaanite pantheon however Moloch is also a demonic deity depicted with a bulls head and horns and outstretched arms. There is a strong belief that the Canaanites would sacrifice their own children to be burned alive in the arms of a statue of Moloch to the beat of ritual drums this was considered a powerful sacrifice that would win the favour of the Gods since they had given something precious to themselves rather than property such as livestock or captured enemies, the sacrifice was known as a “burnt offering to God/Moloch” and is rendered in the Bible as the Biblical term “Holocaust” which has the same meaning. In modern demonology Moloch is often described as a demon.

Mot: Mot is the deification of death said to have dwelled on a throne in a low pit, in on myth he is invited to a feast by Ba’al Hadad who wishes Mot to submit to him, in this same myth Mot is refered to as “divine death” and so he may be a special kind of death God which only kills other Gods. In response to Ba’al Hadad’s request Mot claims his hunger is relentless and threatens to eat Ba’al Hadad himself, which according to the myth he achieved before being slain himself by the war Goddess Anat who cuts Mot into pieces in order to free and thus resurrect Ba’al Hadad. The reference to the hunger of Mot may influence later Semitic and Biblical depictions of death as a force that eats or swallows.

Nikkal: Nikkal was a Goddess of orchards and fruit and was known as “great lady and fruitful”, she is therefore also a fertility and vegetation Goddess thought to be based on the Mesopotamian Goddess Ningal.

Onca: Onca was a Canaanite Goddess of wisdom closely associated with the later Greek Goddess Athena.

Pidray: Pidray is one of the daughters of Ba’al and a Goddess of light and mists.

Qetesh: Qetesh (bottom right) was an aspect of Asherah described as a fertility Goddess and a Goddess of sacred prostitution linked with sacred marriage rites. Qetesh was also worshiped in Egypt where she was depicted as a forward-facing naked woman on top of a lion with a Uraeus and sun-disc on her head, often depicted holding a snake and lotus flowers she may therefore be related to Kundalini/serpent energy mysteries. Qetesh is the first known tripple Goddess in one form known as Qudshu-Astarte-Anat (wherein “Qudshu” is taken to mean Qetesh) from this it may be taken that Qetesh is synonymous with Asherah and Anat may also relate to Ba’alat Gebal since Asherah-Astarte-Ba’alat Gebal are also a set of Canaanite Goddesses who are mentioned in triplicate as the consorts of El.

Rabbim: Rabbim was a God of floods killed by the war Goddess, Anat in some myths but is more commonly said to have been slain by El/Yahweh or Ba’al. Rabbim may therefore be identical to the sea monster Rahab.

Resep: Resep is a God of illness and a deification of plagues, in some texts he is an attendant of Yahweh.

Resheph: A horned archer God whose name means “lord of the arrow”, Resheph was known as a war deity associated with protection from plague, the God Resep may therefote be a later corruption of Resheph. Resheph likely relates to the Sumerian God Pabilsag since Pabilsag is described as a horned bull synonymous with the archer of the Zodiac; Sagittarius.

Sapas: Sapas was a solar Goddess, a messanger of El and a healer, she was also known to lead souls through the underworld acting as a psychopomp just as the sun is seen to descend into the underworld at sunset. Sapas is also described as all seeing and called by the title “torch of the Gods”, this may have influenced later Semitic and Biblical omnipotent sun Gods and the Masonic symbol of light or “all seeing eye”/“eye of providence”.

Shahar: Shahar was the God of dawn and was brother of Shalim, he was born of the union of El and Asherah. The concept of the sun having different personifications depending on its position in the sky is likely influenced by Sumerian and Egyptian cultures.

Shalim: Shalim was the God of dusk and brother of Shahar, like Shahar he was born of the union of El and Asherah.

Sydyk: Sydyk was a Goddess of justice and judgement and was connected to the planet Jupiter, she was probably based on Roman mythology as she appears much later than other Phoenician deities.

Tanit: A mother Goddess likely based on Astarte, she was a consort of Ba’al Hammon and a Goddess of war, fertility, virgins (Hierodules) and nurses. There is some archeological evidence and written historical evidence to suggest that the worship of Ba’al Hammon and Tanit may have resulted in the sacrificing of children, this in turn may relate the two deities to Moloch and may be the cause of the demonisation of Ba’al Hammon into Mammon.

Yahweh: Yahweh was a divine warrior God of storms, war, mountains and the heavens. The name Yahweh likely started out as a title of Ba’al and/or El before becoming a God in his own right and ultimately becoming one with both these figures as the monothestic God of Judaism and the Hebrew Bible which likely relates back to the volcanic mount Sanai in later Hebrew mythology. Yahweh developed as the God of Israel and Judah and was the husband of Asherah before she too was mostly removed from the newly formed Jewish religion being refered to as titles such as “Shekhina” meaning “Holy Spirit” or “Bride of God”.

Yam: In the original combat myths of the Canaanites Yam is an ocean God thought to be modeled on the Sumerian God Anzu or Goddess Tiamat or perhaps even Kingu. Yam is sent by his father El to attempt to usurp the throne of heaven and succeeded making himself the master of the Gods and working them as slaves, the Gods in turn pray to their mother Asherah who goes before Yam and offers her body (sacred prostitution) in exchange for releasing the other Gods which Yam then accepts. Asherah goes back and relates this deal to the other Gods and Ba’al Hadad in rage protests and insights a war against Yam finally slaying him with the twin maces forged for him by the smith God Kothar. Slaying Yam in turn made Ba’al Hadad king of the other Gods. This mythology is clearly based on the uprising of the Gods behind Marduk in battle against Anzu, Tiamat and Kingu.

Yarikh: A moon God and husband of Nikkal, his dew was seen to make Nikkals flowers flourish and he was known as the “illuminator of the heavens” and “lord of the sickle”. It is unknown if this God relates to alchemical “Heavenly Dew”.

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"A Twisted History" The Double Helix of DNA and Genesis: by Charles N. Pope The initial mapping of the human genome has taken less than 50 years since the discovery of the double helix of DNA by Crick and Watson. Yet, as we spiral head-long into the Genetic Age, it is not without a wrenching sense of deja vu. The Bible and other ancient histories may be very sketchy regarding the origins of man, but we know that this threshold has been reached before. As it turns out, the basic structure of life is not only a modern revelation, but certainly among the oldest. In the Bible, the creator of man is of course Yahweh. In Mesopotamian history, it is the god Ea who fashioned man from the clay. His name in the Sumerian language was Enki, "Lord of Earth," and his symbol was two serpents twisted together in the act of mating. In Genesis Revisited, Zecharia Sitchin writes (p 202): "What did the emblem of entwined serpents - the symbol for medicine and healing to this very day - represent? The discovery by modern science of the double-helix structure of DNA ... offers the answer: the Entwined Serpents emulated the structure of the genetic code, the secret knowledge of which enabled Enki to create The Adam and then grant Adam and Eve the ability to procreate." Sitchin explains that the Creation Story of Genesis is a highly condensed and stylized version of far older Sumerian and Babylonian accounts. For example, Genesis only briefly mentions the Elohim ("the gods") in passing. We must learn about the individual members of the ancient pantheon from Mesopotamian sources, and by comparing them with the mythologies of Egypt, Canaan, Greece, India and even China and the Americas. The Sumerian god first symbolized by the serpent was Enki. Although not the highest ranking member of the Sumerian Anunnaki (Biblical Elohim), it was Enki who lifted the burden from the gods by fashioning the servant Adam. However, Sitchin concludes from his study of the ancient texts that Adam was not made from scratch, but as a cross between the genes of an existing hominoid species and the gods themselves. Sitchin further notes that this creator god was not only known by two major names in Mesopotamia (one Sumerian, Enki, and one Semitic, Ea), but also had two distinct names in Egypt. In Lower Egypt, he was called Ptah. However, in Upper Egypt he was Khnum, regulator of the annual inundation of the Nile. Both names, Ptah and Khnum, signify "molder" or "fashioner." Ptah is depicted "creating life on a potter's wheel." (Heike Owusu, Symbols of Egypt, p 85) The god Khnum of Upper Egypt was specifically "The Potter God," and was sometimes depicted as shaping a man or a king on his potter's wheel - a well known Biblical metaphor. As in the Mesopotamian account of Enki, the creatures made by Khnum could not reproduce on their own at first, but were later endowed with this ability. (Barbara Watterson, Gods of Ancient Egypt, p 190) Although this is not a blanket endorsement of Sitchin's complete body of work, many of his conclusions about the ancient pantheon can now be confirmed in the most spectacular way. The double helix or twisted pair was actually used as the fundamental literary structure of the Torah. Torah is customarily translated as "Teachings" or "Law." However, the ruling class of ancient royal society was conversant in many languages. According to the early 1st Century AD Jewish master Philo of Alexandria, Moses studied the languages of all 70 nations of the known world. (Jonathan Kirsch, Moses: A Life, p 65) The related roots "tor," "tort," "tur," "ter," etc. are found in many other tongues, including Greek and Latin. They are the basis of common English words such as tornado, torture, torment, torsion, turbine, storm, turban, tour, tower, turret and turn, all of which denote or imply "twisting." (Note 1) Perle Epstein writes (p xvi-xvii) in Kabbalah: The Way of the Jewish Mystic, "In eleventh-century Spain a philosopher named Ibn Gabirol labeled these secret oral teachings 'Kabbalah,' or tradition." Although coined in the 11th Century AD, the designation was obviously the vestige of a much older tradition associated with the Torah and its underlying structure. Epstein continues, "Trying to practice kabbalistic 'meditation' without understanding its foundation in the Torah (the Pentateuch) would be like trying to fly without wings." The word Kabbalah is highly symbolic, and connotes much more than mere "tradition" or "received doctrine." The Hebrew chaba (khaw-baw') means "to hide." The Hebrew chabal (khaw-bal') means "to wind tightly (as a rope), i.e., to bind." Another Hebrew word, kebel, means "to twine or braid together." The Hebrew cabab means to "revolve, to turn (self about)." Hebrew word definitions from Abingdon's Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, 1984. The Torah does give one the impression that it is a history cobbled together somewhat clumsily from disparate traditions. However, there is an underlying method to the madness. The Torah is a hidden history. The title of Torah itself indicates hiding or encryption. It also embodies the nature of the encoding technique that was used, and is therefore a clue for its decoding. The "twisted history" of the Torah is extremely delicate and tightly interwoven, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. However, under the microscope of archaeology the separate components become quite distinct once again. Twisting occurs on three main levels in the Torah. The first and highest level involves the nature of God himself. As mentioned above, it was Ea who is credited with the creation of Adam. Mesopotamian histories also venerate Ea as the god who acted to save mortal Noah (named there as Utna-pishtim) from the Flood. The Akkadian (Semitic) name Ea becomes Je/Jeho/Jo (Heb. Ye/Yehow/Yow) in prefix form, as in Jehu ("Jehovah is he"), Jehoshaphat ("Jehovah judged") and Joab ("Jehovah fathered"). In suffix form it becomes -iah (Heb. Yah/Yahuw), as in Biblical names Jeremiah and Hezekiah. But is it really that simple? It is simple, but not that simple. Although the name Yahweh patently derives from the earlier Ea (Yah), the Biblical deity became much more mighty (weh). In Mesopotamian histories it is not Ea, but his more favored brother Enlil, who determined that both gods and men had sinned, and it was all going to come to an end. Ea was not the first or foremost among the ancient pantheon. Yet another god, Anu, is named as the superior and "father" of both Ea and Enlil. Although a great creator, Enki/Ea was not the "Great Creator." Biblical Jehovah is a supreme, universal and eternal being, to whom is attributed all previous creative works on Earth. In this respect, Jehovah is a greatly aggrandized deity with respect to Ea, Enlil or even Anu. Therefore, in Divine Encounters Sitchin rejected the notion that Yahweh could be any of those particular deities. (Note 2) Nevertheless, it will be demonstrated here that in Yahweh the three primeval gods of the ancient world become the One. In fact, all eight of the major male gods of the ancient pantheon were merged in the cult of Amun at the beginning of the Egyptian Middle Kindom. A Leiden papyrus reads: The Eight gods were thy first form, until thou didst complete them, being One ..." (Note 3) By the end of native rule in Egypt, as few as only three or four of the original eight gods remained as an integral part of the cult. We will explore further the archaeological foundation for this theological construct later in a separate essay. But, first let us make a short study of the big three deities as they existed in separate form, and see if we can say: "It is good!" Enki chose the primitive but symbolically rich emblem of the intertwined serpents. Over the millennia, the serpent came to be associated exclusively with evil. However, in ancient times, the serpent was a metaphor for duality, especially the duality of good and evil. (John Anthony West, Serpent in the Sky) The purity of the serpent's straight and narrow form is an inherent contrast to its crooked path and the duplicity of its forked tongue. The double helix formed from two serpents is an ideal symbol for the duality of life itself. As we now know, the DNA of two parents is first separated in the reproductive process. One strand from the father and one from the mother are then recombined to create a new life. Genesis 2:24 states, "a man ... shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. This is not crudely referring only to sexual intercourse, but also to the creation of one life from the genetic contributions of two. In Egypt, the serpent icon stood for "a guardian spirit or a hostile force." (Rosemary Clark, The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt, p 76) The lowly serpent strikes suddenly from the ground, or can ascend the loftiest tree and even "fly" among its branches in pursuit of a victim. In this regard, the serpent was a fearful deterrent to intruders. In addition to its other unique properties, male and female serpents have two sets of reproductive organs, which came to be associated with fertility. In Egypt, the serpent represented not only earthly but cosmic fertility. The sloughing and renewal of a serpent's skin symbolizes immortality and therefore, divinity. The progress of the serpent is comparable to the path of a seeker, and for that reason the serpent symbolizes wisdom. The serpent was characterized as wise and clever, but in a negative sense, also devious and beguiling. Genesis 3:1 states that "the snake was more shrewd than all ..." Intriguingly, we find in the Garden of Eden that the serpent-god Enki is not performing his expected role of guarding the Tree of Knowledge, but is actually inducing Adam and Eve to learn first hand about all of the things in their world. The gods Enki and Enlil were dueling brothers. Enlil was a working god, attending to his throne. Enki was a playing god with creatures of his own. While Enlil was prohibiting, Enki was proliferating. While Enlil was concealing knowledge, Enki was searching out new things and revealing them, even to mortal men. Enlil represents authority. He considered it to be irresponsible and dangerous to create an intelligent new race of beings that could reproduce rapidly. Enlil especially did not approve of their initiation into the business and intimate company of the gods. The author of Genesis actually takes the side of Enlil in this matter. The man and woman would not have hidden themselves from their benefactor, the "shrewd" Enki. However, they did have cause to fear the "prude" Enlil. It would have been Yahweh-Enki who prompted the man and woman to taste fruit that Yahweh-Enlil had forbidden. Fig-uratively speaking, it would also have been Yahweh-Enlil who asked, "Who told you that you are nude?" Shrewd and nude rhyme in English, but the Hebrew words used in Genesis are homonyms. (Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses, The Schocken Bible, Vol. I, p 16) This was itself a clever way of telling the discerning listener that it was the serpent, i.e., slinky Enki, who had made the husband and wife as the Wise. In the mythology of ancient Egypt, the god who arrived first on the Earth was called Atum, signifying "totality." In the Bible, the first man is called Adam, meaning "a man, ruddy." However, Genesis 2:23 (KJV) states "she (Eve) was taken out of Man." The Hebrew word translated as Man is iysh (376), which is also commonly translated in the Bible as "every, everyone," i.e., all men, and also conveying a sense of both unity and totality. The Biblical place name Etham (spelled variously as attem in Hebrew) is of Egyptian origin, and may be related to the Hebrew words uwth (225), meaning "to come," and athah (857), "arrived." The Hebrew word atten (865) means "heretofore, yesterday, times past." According to Strong's Concordance, the Hebrew atham (6272) means "prob. to glow, i.e., (fig.) be desolated: - be darkened." Compare atham ("glow") with adam ("ruddy"). There is an obvious phonic similarity between Adam and Atum. A true linguistic link is also not so unreasonable given that the names of all of the other major Egyptian deities have definite Semitic etymologies. Beginning with the story of Adam we have the introduction of a second type of "twisting" in Genesis. It involves the first two male "arrivals," but primarily revolves around a single mother, Eve. Ea/Enki devised a plan to create an intelligent helper or servant to the gods. However, the plan required the services of a birth goddess. It was the goddess Ninhursag who was asked to be the surrogate mother to mortal Adam. The ovum (egg) of an existing hominoid species (probably homo sapiens, but Sitchin concludes it was an ape woman) was fertilized artificially with the sperm of a young god and implanted in the womb of Ninhursag. This, with some trial and error we are told, is how the Adam was actually "created." Later, Adam was provided with a mate (mortal Eve) through the same process. A tablet dating to the 1st Dynasty of Babylon reads: "The goddess they called, ... the help (?) of the gods, the wise Mami: 'Thou art the mother-womb, the creatress of mankind; Create Man that he may bear the yoke' ... Nintu opened her mouth and said to the great gods: 'With me alone it is impossible to do; with his help there will be Man. He shall be the one who fears all the gods' ... Enki opened his mouth and said to the great gods: ... Let them slay a god, and let the gods ... with his flesh and his blood Let Ninhursag mix clay. God and man ... united (?) in the clay ... " Abridged quote from Alexander Heidel, The Babylonian Genesis, pp 67. In addition to being the birth mother of Adam, the goddess Eve (Ninhursag) was also called Mammi, the "mother of the gods." Other than Atum, most if not all of the gods and goddesses descended from her. As mother to both gods and men, she had another epithet, Nintu or Ninti, meaning "Lady Life." Sitchin defines Ninhursag as "Lady of the Mountainhead." This associates her with the cloud-kissed summits. In Egypt, this primeval goddess also had multiple names. She was called Hathor, meaning "House of the Falcon." The falcon flies higher up into the heavens than any other bird. Hathor was also called Tefnut, signifying "Moisture" and therefore, the atmosphere. Her primary consort was Shu, signifying "Dryness" or the air space itself. Shu was the Mesopotamian god Enlil, "Lord of the Air." As the consort of her other brother Ptah, Tefnut was instead called Neit, the "Warrior Goddess" and "Weaver of Forms." The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt, p 65. (Also see Note 4) Sitchin states that although the epithet Nin-ti means "Lady Life," it could variously be interpreted as "Lady Rib." This would then be the source of the Biblical account that from man (iysh), God made the woman (ishshah, the feminine form of iysh/Atum). The goddess Tefnut/Ninhursag was created alone from the Atum. However, as the first goddess, she may quite possibly have been mother or even grandmother to either or both Shu and Ptah before also bearing children to them. The gods possessed the secrets of longevity. They were called "immortals," but it was not believed in ancient times that they actually lived forever. Tefnut also aged, and was in her later years depicted as an ugly old cow. However, she would have maintained her beauty and fertility many times longer than normal women. Her dual roles of wife and mother or grandmother to Shu/Enlil and Ptah/Enki is not made explicit in the Egyptian or Mesopotamian sources. However, it is certain that mother-son conjugations did take place among the "First Ones," and were not in any way considered shameful. On the contrary, the children produced from such unions were looked upon as especially sacred by the royal family for centuries to come. This was an age of innocence for both gods and men. What was possibly a necessity during that period of procreation was much later prohibited by law. It is of course a repulsive subject in this modern era, but necessary to discuss for the sake of historical completeness. Mother-son marriages were practiced not only by the gods, but emulated by royalty after the Deluge. Therefore, we will need to deal with this issue again. In the early Egyptian New Kingdom, Queen Ahmose-Nefertiry (Nefertari I) probably became the consort of her son Amenhotep I. (Note 5) Ahmose-Nefertari was, according to the renowned turn of the century archeologist Flinders Petrie, "the most venerated figure of Egyptian history." This was due in part to the great number of royal children that she bore. Her pet name was Tiy, in apparent identification with Ninhursag/Tefnut ("Lady Ti"). However, the mother-son relationship that can be most fully documented is that of the pharaoh Akhenaten and his mother, also known as Queen Tiy. Akhenaten and Tiy became the parents of Tutankhamun (See Essay #9). Genesis 4:1 (KJV) states: "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord." The Schocken Bible translates the last part of this verse as, "... I-have-gotten a man, as has YHWH!" The phrase "I have gotten" is the Hebrew kaniti, and a play on words with the name Cain/Kayin. The fatherhood of Cain is made deliberately ambiguous. We are once more tipped off to the double history by the choice of the word for "man," which is again the Hebrew iysh. Just as there were two Adam's and two Eve's, there are also two Cain's and two Abel's. The divine Cain was from the Atum. He was iysh (totality) from iysh (totality). The mortal Cain (dust from dust) struck down his brother Abel and his blood cried out from the ground. However, among the gods, Anu (Canaanite El) plays the role of Cain. According to the Hittite epic "Kingship in Heaven," Anu cast his more favored brother Alalu down "from heaven to earth." (Sitchin, The 12th Planet, pp 67-69) The mortal Cain was banished for his deed. On the other hand, the divine Cain (Anu/El) was celebrated for the triumph over his brother Abel (Alal), and was called "first among the gods." Assyrian records state that Cain (Ka'in) was banished and built a city in the land of Nod (Dunnu/Nudun), presumably to the north-east of Eden. (Sitchin, The Wars of Gods and Men, p 112) However, the text of Genesis is ambiguous regarding whether Cain or his son Enoch built a city. (See David Rohl, Legend, pp 198-9) The ambiguity is again deliberate, because a son of the divine Cain (Anu) founded the ancient world's first city on the south-eastern edge of the Fertile Crescent. This son of Anu is named in Genesis as Enoch, but in Mesopotamian lore as Enki. Enki called his city Eri-du(k), "City (of the) Son." The name Eridu can also be broken down as E-Ri-Du ("House-Ri-Son"). Translated more freely this becomes, "City of the Bright Son," or more literally, "City of Re, the Son." The son of Enki/Ptah was indeed named Re. In Babylon, Re was called Marduk, which can also be translated as "City of the Son." (Note 6) There is a close resemblance between the names Marduk and Eridu(k). More telling, the son of Enoch in the Bible is called Irad. The correspondence between these two names, Eridu and Irad, is even closer. Among the gods, it was not so much Anu (Cain), the father of Enki (Enoch), but his son Marduk/Re (Irad) who was the Brandishing Outlaw. The name Irad means "Fugitive." After vanquishing his superior Alalu, Anu was then challenged by another rival named Kingu. Kingu was also defeated, but not before injuring Anu in the private parts. Anu retained his throne, but relinquished his reproductive function at least for a while. As noted above, Enlil and Enki assumed Anu's role of progenitor. In the Babylonian creation story quoted above, it was Enki who proposed using the blood of a slain god in order to make a slave of the gods. The sacrificed god is identified as the condemned rebel Kingu himself by the 3rd Century BC Mesopotamian historian Berossus. (The Babylonian Genesis, p 118) The name Kingu was also applied to the Moon, which orbits in perpetual servitude to the Earth. Sitchin concludes that it was only the blood of the slain Kingu that was used as a solution for fertilizing the mortal ovum with the divine sperm. The choice of Cain (related to King-u) as the name for the murderous first son of Adam was deliberate. Adam and Eve were said to have been "conceived in [Kingu's] sin," and the "bad seed" kept "cropping up" with every new generation. The use of Kingu's blood was symbolic. The manufactured beings were to be "cursed" with Kingu's sentence of servitude. This is the first example of children being punished for the "sins of the father," a custom later prohibited by law as unjust. For lack of rain, the ground would not provide abundant yields for mortal Cain during the reign of the divine Cain (Anu). Although Kingu was killed, the Biblical Cain was given a protective mark. Mortal Cain would have been branded as the property of the gods. The god Cain would have displayed other insignia. In Genesis of the Grail Kings, Laurence Gardner identifies the latter as the emblem of divine kingship. The genealogy of divine Cain given in Genesis is that of the kingly succession among the gods known to us from archaeology. The name Cain does not mean farmer, but a "smith." In a manner of speaking, farmer Cain beat his ploughshare into a sword in order to strike down his brother. This imagery reflects the author's bias that shepherding is a more noble occupation than farming. However, it is also a subtle denouncement of the great river cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt. It was there that kings claiming descent from divine Cain put the yoke on their less fortunate brothers, especially for cultivating the irrigated fields of temple and state, and as conscripts in the military. In turn, those same kings came to see themselves as enslaved by a system that emulated the tragic cycle of the gods, and which was made all the more vicious given the shorter life spans of mortal men. The structure of Genesis is a triumph in abstract thought, but very strange to the linear modern mind. It is a vestige of the "wide understanding" once kindly imparted by the gods to only a few, but gradually lost after they were dearly departed. The author of Genesis did not wish to reveal everything that was held true about the gods. Many of their ways were by then considered backward, embarrassing and even downright devilish. Nevertheless, it was still possible and desirable to find and express the deeper significance of their tenure. The genius of twisting traditions together is that the author could selectively hide his secrets and his ignorance. Only simple "truths" and morals can be grasped by the naive reader. For example, if the land is to be happy and blessed, then children must obey parents, parents their king, and kings their God. However, for the initiate, a far more complex history and world of meaning is opened up. In Genesis, Enki is both creature and creator, and represents the cosmic cycle of life. Enki is first described as the most clever of all the creatures that God had made. Through his ingenuity, Enki himself then became a fashioner of men. Still later in the Genesis text, he is re-introduced as the builder of a city. Enki's city was a beachhead and home away from home for the gods. In time, it became a place for earthlings too. The gods came first. Man made in their image came next. However, the author of the Genesis narrative likely did not know the exact chronology or the precise genealogy of either. For example, was the Egyptian god Atum one and the same as the Babylonian god Anu, were the two instead father and son, or were they possibly separated by thousands of years? If one and the same, why then would the divine Adam (Atum) be implicitly represented in Genesis as the father of the divine Cain (Anu)? That is, how could Anu be his own father? The mortal Cain would have been sired by his human father Adam in the usual way. However, according to ancient Egyptian theology, Atum was considered to be "self-created." One could argue that he was his own father, or had no father at all in the customary sense. At the time that the book of Genesis first took form, these are the kind of technical and philosophical discussions that would have livened up the halls of ancient temples. Today, there is also growing interest and speculation about alien activity, past and present. For example, could Atum have developed from a frozen zygote after his transport arrived at its mission point, planet Earth? Even with our limited understanding of science, it seems possible for life to propagate artificially throughout the expanses of the Universe. Although we have ourselves only been in Space for less than a century, we are already sending out probes beyond the Solar System. By what "higher intelligence" and for what purposes new life forms have been intermittently "created" on our planet are not questions that can be answered here. It shall suffice for now to say: The palm tree can reach a far away beach, There's got to then be, in the cosmic sea, Space traveling pods sent by hopeful gods, With prize-winning spores, for our distant shores. Note 1: tur (variants twer and ster) to turn, whirl (e.g., turbine, storm) turban, a scarf wound around the head turn (root ter-2 to rub, turn; with some derivatives referring to twisting) tower, a round structure tour, literally "to make a circuit" from Old French tour, turn, circuit, from Latin tornus (Cf Greek tornos) The diminuative or femine ending -et (which would be transliterated into Hebrew as "ah") implies a fine or tight twisting. turret, "a small ornamented tower. military. A low, heavily armored structure, usually rotating horizontally." (e.g., a tank turret) Etymologies from New American Heritage Dictionary Note 2: In Divine Encounters, Zecharia Sitchin favorably compares the Mesopotamian god Ea (Sumerian Enki) with the Biblical Yahweh. Nevertheless, Sitchin ultimately rejects this association, because he finds in Yahweh attributes of other leading Mesopotamian gods, especially Anu (father of the gods and corresponding to the Canaanite El), Enlil (a strict disciplinarian) and Ishkur (a god of storms and mountains). Sitchin notes that the supreme god Asshur who became prominent in the Assyrian Period was not a new god, but a compositing of Enlil with his father Anu. However, Sitchin does not entertain the thought that Biblical Yahweh could have been the product of the same late 2nd Millennium BC theorizing by the same royal family. Note 3: From a Leiden papyrus translated by Alexandre Piankoff, Mythological Papyri, Bollingen Series XL, 3, Pantheon Books, New York, 1957, Vol I, Texts, p. 12. Quoted by Robert Temple in The Crytal Sun, p 365. Note 4: Neit and Tefnut have Hebrew derivations. Tef is the Hebrew tsaph/tseph meaning an extension or covering. Nut is related to Hebrew words netophaph (5199) "distillation" and natsah (5327) "expelled," as in water vapor/condensation. Natah (5186) denotes "stretched out" or "stretched forth," as the atmosphere is spread over the earth. The Hebrew word natash has a similar connotation to natah. The name of bellicose Neit can be derived from the same Hebrew words. Natash cited above denotes "smite, join (battle)." Natsah cited above connotes "desolate, be laid waste." Natah cited above connotes "overthrown, cause to yield." The matching connotations and denotations of these words link the two forms of Nut and Neit. In the case of Neit, also compare the Hebrew words nathaq (5420) "to tear up," and nathats (5422) "to tear down, destroy," and topheth (8611) "a smiting." Cf Hebrew word taphar (8609) "sew" and Tefnut/Neit, goddess of weaving. Cf The Canaanite goddess Anat, corresponding either to Neit, or to the Egyptian goddesses Nut or Nephthys. Note 5: On a statue of Amenhotep I found at Qasr Ibrim, the name of Merit-Amun, wife of Amenhotep I, was erased and replaced with that of Ahmose-Nefertari. (James E. Harris and Edward F. Wente, An X-Ray Atlas of the Royal Mummies, 1980, University of Chicago Press). Note 6: Ri/Re means "bright" or "shining." Cf English words ray, radiate, etc. "Marduk" is translated by Sitchin as "son of the pure mound." This elicits the memory of the mound of creation, which arose from the watery chaos. A mound is also a tell, i.e., an elevated ancient city. Therefore Marduk again connotes "City of the Son." In Latin, the root mar signifies the sea, as in the English word marine. The Via Maris ("Way of the Sea") was the major road along the Mediterranean coast leading into Egypt. Eridu was also a city on the very edge of the sea, namely the Persian Gulf. Charles N. Pope Creator of Living in Truth: Archaeology of the Patriarchs http://www.domainofman.com For information Future Link eMail: helix@dwij.org