Myths and legends of Babylonia & Assyria . hosts, and the powers of the air generally,and place devils under a ban. In other magicaltablets the diseases to which poor humanity is proneare guarded against, and instructions are given onthe manner in which they may be transferred to thedead bodies of animals, usually swine or goats. A Toothache Myth The Assyrian physician had perforce to be somethingof a demonologist, as possession by devils was heldto be the cause of divers diseases, and we find incanta-tions sprinkled among prescriptions. Occasionally,too, we come upon the fag-end of a folk-tal
Myths and legends of Babylonia & Assyria . hosts, and the powers of the air generally,and place devils under a ban. In other magicaltablets the diseases to which poor humanity is proneare guarded against, and instructions are given onthe manner in which they may be transferred to thedead bodies of animals, usually swine or goats. A Toothache Myth The Assyrian physician had perforce to be somethingof a demonologist, as possession by devils was heldto be the cause of divers diseases, and we find incanta-tions sprinkled among prescriptions. Occasionally,too, we come upon the fag-end of a folk-tale or dipmomentarily into myth, as in a prescription for thetoothache, compounded of fermented drink, theplant sakilbir^ and oil—probably as efficacious inthe case of that malady as most modern ones story attached to the cure is as follows : When Anu had created the heavens, the earthcreated the rivers, the rivers the canals, and thecanals the marshes, which in turn created the the worm came weeping before Ea, saying,262. Exorcising Demons of Disease From Rfligious Belie/ and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria, by Professor Morris JastrowBy permission of Messrs. G. P. Putnams Sons 262 THE WORD OF POWER What wilt thou give me for my food, what wiltthou give me for my devouring ? I will give theeripe figs, replied the god, ripe figs and scentedwood. Bah, replied the worm, what are ripefigs to me, or what is scented wood ? Let me drinkamong the teeth and batten on the gums that Imay devour the blood of the teeth and the strengththereof. This tale alludes to a Babylonian super-stition that worms consume the teeth. The Word of Power As in Egypt, the word of power was held in greatreverence by the magicians of Chaldea, who believedthat the name, preferably the secret name, of a godpossessed sufficient force in its mere syllables to defeatand scatter the hordes of evil things that surroundedand harassed mankind. The names of Ea and Mero-dach were, perhaps, most freque
Size: 1800px × 1389px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectcults, booksubjectleg
