spike”; while the earth is sustained by the “world tree”.  The “ded” amulet of Egypt symbolized the backbone of Osiris as a world god:  “ded” means “firm”, “established";[363] while at burial ceremonies the coffin was set up on end, inside the tomb, “on a small sandhill intended to represent the Mountain of the West—­the realm of the dead".[364] The Babylonian temple towers were apparently symbols of the “world hill”.  At Babylon, the Du-azaga, “holy mound”, was Merodach’s temple E-sagila, “the Temple of the High Head”.  E-kur, rendered “the house or temple of the Mountain”, was the temple of Bel Enlil at Nippur.  At Erech, the temple of the goddess Ishtar was E-anna, which connects her, as Nina or Ninni, with Anu, derived from “ana”, “heaven”.  Ishtar was “Queen of heaven”.

Now Polaris, situated at the summit of the celestial mountain, was identified with the sacred goat, “the highest of the flock of night".[365] Ursa Minor (the “Little Bear” constellation) may have been “the goat with six heads”, referred to by Professor Sayce.[366] The six astral goats or goat-men were supposed to be dancing round the chief goat-man or Satyr (Anshar).  Even in the dialogues of Plato the immemorial belief was perpetuated that the constellations were “moving as in a dance”.  Dancing began as a magical or religious practice, and the earliest astronomers saw their dancing customs reflected in the heavens by the constellations, whose movements were rhythmical.  No doubt, Isaiah had in mind the belief of the Babylonians regarding the dance of their goat-gods when he foretold:  “Their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls (ghosts) shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there".[367] In other words, there would be no people left to perform religious dances beside the “desolate houses”; the stars only would be seen dancing round Polaris.

Tammuz, like Anshar, as sentinel of the night heaven, was a goat, as was also Nin-Girsu of Lagash.  A Sumerian reference to “a white kid of En Mersi (Nin-Girsu)” was translated into Semitic, “a white kid of Tammuz”.  The goat was also associated with Merodach.  Babylonians, having prayed to that god to take away their diseases or their sins, released a goat, which was driven into the desert.  The present Polar Star, which was not, of course, the Polar star of the earliest astronomers, the world having rocked westward, is called in Arabic Al-Jedy, “the kid”.  In India, the goat was connected with Agni and Varuna; it was slain at funeral ceremonies to inform the gods that a soul was about to enter heaven.  Ea, the Sumerian lord of water, earth, and heaven, was symbolized as a “goat fish”.  Thor, the Teutonic fertility and thunder god, had a chariot drawn by goats.  It is of interest to note that the sacred Sumerian goat bore on its forehead the same triangular symbol as the Apis bull of Egypt.

Ashur was not a “goat of heaven”, but a “bull of heaven”, like the Sumerian Nannar (Sin), the moon god of Ur, Ninip of Saturn, and Bel Enlil.  As the bull, however, he was, like Anshar, the ruling animal of the heavens; and like Anshar he had associated with him “six divinities of council”.