The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-06-09
ANCIENT BABYLONIAN LIFT
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS TOLD
IN OLD RECORDS.

GUS Apartments "hW SPtSA"Au
Grounds-FestivaI of Peace and Joy
Precedence Given TO Women.
AS long ago as 1877, the late M. de
sarzeo, French Consul at Bassorah,
while excavating in the mounds of Tel
Lo. on the shahel-Hie. in the marsh
district of the Afadz in the extreme
south of Babylonia, discovered two re-
markable inscribed records. These
were two large clay barrel shaped cy-
climbers, closely covered with archaic
writing. The larger Of the pair con
tains thitry columns of text and more
than 600 Of writing, and the smaller
abotu 100 less. Although these import
ant records have been nearly thirty
years among the treasures Of the
Louvre no complete translation of their
contents has been made.
This delay walls due to two circum-
stances, says the London Globe. First,
the very archaic character Of the writ
ing which was reduced form OF that
usually employed on the bricks and
stone monuments of the oldest kings
of Chaldea; and in a second case to
their being in the ancient Sumerian,
language, the speech of the pre-Semitlc
population of Chaldea, of which sehol-
ans had but little knwledge until re-
cent years. Both these difficulties have
now been overcome, the text having
been copied by DR.. Ira Price, an
American psychologist, and the difficult
task of translation has now been most
successfully completed by Prof F..
Thureau-Dangin.
The work was very difficult, for the
records are very ancient, being memo
rails Of the great Chaldean King Gudea
who ruled in Lagas or Surpuna, the an
cient city whose ruins are marked by
mounds ait Tel-Lo, and who reigned
about 3. c. 2760. They have a very
much higher literary merit than any
Of the old Chaldean inscriptions pre-
vIously discovered. They contain pray
ers and hymns of great beauty as well
as descriptions of ceremonies and Gus
toms of great interest to the students
of anthropology. Such literature would
require an extensive vocabulary and
much research would be required to as
certain the true meaning of the words.
Now that the full translation of the
two documents is before us, we gain
the most wonderful insight into the life
manners. customs and religion of the
people ofBabylon4a OF 1900 years ago
possibly. The story Of the origin Of
these cylinders Is set clearly before
us, and 1t one of curious interest. A
drought had visited the land there was
no water for irrigation-"the increase
grew not up; the rising waters spark
die not, nor rose in their splendor.'
Naturally the priest, king or viceroy
saw In this visitation the hand Of the
city god, Nin-girsu, and turned to him
with prayer and sacrifice.
Gall kinds Of rich things he offered in
sacrifice" He is troubled chiefly about
the dream, which has already been de-
scribed, but this is interpreted for him
by the goddess Nina, who tells him
that 1t IS the god Nin-girsu who has
appeared to him in the form Of a colos-
sal divinity, crowned with the ''divine
storm bird, Modification Of the lightning
and riding on hurricane" and, assist
ed by other divinities, given him the
plan Of the temple he Is to build
1t is to be noticed that it is always q
goddess whom the vlceroy consults in
his trouble. Thus he says ITO my
mother bring my dream, that the
diviner Of the gods who knows what I
desire may reveal TO me the meaning Z"
This clearly indicates a belief in the
power of wise women or witches to in
terpret dreams and visions. 1t appears
that the chief oracle of the temple was
''the sleeping chamber of the divinity
where, as we are told was the sacred
couch richly decorated, and where the
dreamer dreamed his dream and the
goddess appears and explains 1t.
The Inscriptions are interesting for
the light they throw on the manners
and customs OF this city. Guda always
calls himself the viceroy (patesD of the
god, while the divinity is always adj
dressed ais King, and 1t Is evident that
the government was a theory, and
Gudea the earthly representative Of the
God King. In this relationship we
have the key to the long account of the
construction of this temple, which is
an idealized form of the royal palace In
the city. Accordingly We see all the
component pants of this building,
Before the great gate, guarded by
huge serpents, and dragons with pro-
truding tongues was the great tank
for Illustration, "the bronze sea-" The
chief parts of the edifice were 1.-THE
council chamber" and the Judgment
hall" In the private apartments was
sthe banquet chamber" with its golden
table and couch. Here the god and his
consort fed upon white bread, honey,
milk, wine and pure butter"-foods I'M
touched by fire-"and each day the
pious ruler replenished their table"
In the inner part Of the builindg was
the harem, where the goddess Bau
dwelt, attended by "seven virgins, >
There was a garden full of beautiful
trees and flowers, which cast pleas
ant shade and in the branches of
which doves rested. Here also was
1.-THE fountain of pure water from which
the gods drink" Musicians are men
toned, who played on harps, pipes and
cymbals and on the great horn of the
god.
Adjacent to the temple palace were
stalls for cattle, including ''the great
famous bulls that none could pen, and
the sacred cows of the moon god. -
There were FOLDS for. sheen and eoets