Poison Damsels by Penzer

Author:Penzer [Penzer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Anthropology, General, Sociology
ISBN: 9781317847526
Google: 9VsfDAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-05-06T03:22:22+00:00

Babylonia

In discussing the “sacred servants,” or hierodouloi, in ancient Babylonia we can conveniently consider the subject under the two following headings :

(1) The Code of Hammurabi.

(2) The Epic of Gilgamesh.

(1) About 2090 B.C .,1 during the first dynasty of Babylon (which corresponds to the twelfth Egyptian dynasty), Hammurabi set up in the temple of Marduk, the city god, at Babylon, a code of laws embodying the decisions of a long series of judges who were already acquainted with a system of laws probably of Sumerian origin. Babylonian law ran in the name of God, and the temple was naturally a very large factor in the life of the people. It formed an intimate connection between their god and themselves, and their ritual tended to emphasise this fact.

Accordingly their god would dine with them at sacrificial feasts, he would intermarry with them, and would be appealed to as an adviser and helper in times of danger or difficulty. The temple was, moreover, the house of the god and thus was the outward sign of human relations with divine powers. It was also the centre of the country’s wealth, the equivalent of the modern bank. Its wealth was derived partly from the land it owned, which was either leased out or used for cattle-breeding, and partly from dues of various kinds.

The Code of Hammurabi2 affected the whole realm, and the laws therein applied to every temple, no matter what god or goddess happened to be locally enshrined. Although Marduk was worshipped at Babylon, at Larsa or Sippar it was Shamash, at Erech it was Innini or Ishtar the mother-goddess, in Ur it was Nannar the moon-god, and so on. Each temple had a staff, varying with its size, which in most cases included both male and female hierodouloi in its service.

The priestesses and temple women formed several distinct classes which need some detailed description.

The priestesses were of two kinds, the entu (Nin-An) and the naá¹­itu (Sal-Me). Both classes were held in respect, and the entu (brides of the god) were looked upon as the highest class in the land. It is not clear if they married mortal husbands or not, anyway no mention of a father is made. The naá¹­itu were much more numerous and were allowed to marry, but were not expected to bear children, a maid being supplied for this purpose. Both the entu and the naá¹­itu were wealthy and owned property.

They could either live in the gagum (cloister) adjoining the temple or in their own houses. If they chose the latter they were forbidden, on pain of being burned alive, to own or enter a wine-shop, so great was the prestige the class had to maintain.

A study of the contract-literature of the period seems to make it clear that just as an ordinary well-to-do citizen could have a chief wife and many inferior ones as well as concubines, so also the god would have his chief wife (entu), his many inferior ones (naá¹­itu) and his concubines (zikru).

This latter class

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.