Myths and legends of Babylonia & Assyria . ading and croaking, but did notenter the vessel. Then Ut-Napishtim brought hishousehold and all his possessions into the open air,and made an offering to the gods of reed, and cedar-wood, and incense. The fragrant odour of theincense came up to the gods, and they gathered, like flies, says the narrative, around the the company was Ishtar, the Lady of theGods, who lifted up the necklace which Anu hadgiven her, saying: What gods these are! Bythe jewels of lapis-lazuli which are upon my neck,I will not forget ! These days I have set in my
Myths and legends of Babylonia & Assyria . ading and croaking, but did notenter the vessel. Then Ut-Napishtim brought hishousehold and all his possessions into the open air,and made an offering to the gods of reed, and cedar-wood, and incense. The fragrant odour of theincense came up to the gods, and they gathered, like flies, says the narrative, around the the company was Ishtar, the Lady of theGods, who lifted up the necklace which Anu hadgiven her, saying: What gods these are! Bythe jewels of lapis-lazuli which are upon my neck,I will not forget ! These days I have set in mymemory, never will I forget them ! Let the godscome to the offering, but Bel shall not come to theoffering since he refused to ask counsel and sent thedeluge, and handed over my people unto destruction. The god Bel was very wroth when he discoveredthat a mortal man had survived the deluge, andvowed that Ut-Napishtim should perish. But Eadefended his action in having saved his favouritefrom destruction, pointing out that Bel had refused176. Ut-Napishtim makes Offering to the GodsAllan Stewart By permission of Messrs. Hutchiiison and Co. 176 THE BIRD MESSENGERS to take counsel when he planned a universal disaster,and advising him in future to visit the sin on thesinner and not to punish the entire human Bel was mollified. He approached the ship(into which it would appear that the remnants ofthe human race had retired during the altercation)and led Ut-Napishtim and his wife into the open,where he bestowed on them his blessing. Thenthey took me, says Ut-Napishtim, and afar off, atthe mouth of the rivers, they made me to dwell. Such is the story of the deluge which Ut-Napishtimtold to Gilgamesh. No cause is assigned for thedestruction of the human race other than the en-mity which seems to have existed between man andthe gods—particularly the warrior-god Bel. But itappears from the latter part of the narrative that inthe assembly of the gods the majority contemplatedo
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