the tie between heaven and earth,—­and the desire of ruling took possession of his heart,—­’I will take the fatal tablets of the gods, I myself,—­and the oracles of all the gods, it is I who will give them forth;—­I will install myself on the throne, I will send forth decrees,—­I will manage the whole of the Igigi.’—­And his heart plotted warfare;—­lying in wait on the threshold of the hall, he watched for the dawn.—­When Bel had poured out the shining waters,—­had installed himself on the throne, and donned the crown, Zu took away the fatal tablets from his hand,—­he seized power, and the authority to give forth decrees,—­the god Zu, he flew away and concealed himself in the mountains.”  Bel immediately cried out, he was inflamed with anger, and ravaged the world with the fire of his wrath.  “Anu opened his mouth, he spake,—­he said to the gods his offspring:—­’Who will conquer the god Zu?—­He will make his name great in every land.’—­Bamman, the supreme, the son of Anu, was called, and Anu himself gave to him his orders;—­yea, Bamman, the supreme, the son of Anu, was called, and Anu himself gave to him his orders.—­’Go, my son Kamman, the valiant, since nothing resists thy attack;—­conquer Zu by thine arm, and thy name shall be great among the great gods,—­among the gods, thy brothers, thou shalt have no equal:  sanctuaries shall be built to thee, and if thou buildest for thyself thy cities in the “four houses of the world,"* —­thy cities shall extend over all the terrestrial mountain!  ’Be valiant, then, in the sight of the gods, and may thy name be strong.’  Bamman answers, he addresses this bpeech to Anu his father:—­’Father, who will go to the inaccessible mountains?  Who is the equal of Zu among the gods, thy offspring?  He has carried off in his hand the fatal tablets,—­he has seized power and authority to give forth decrees,—­Zu thereupon flew away and hid himself in his mountain.—­Now, the word of his mouth is like that of the god who unites heaven and earth;—–­my power is no more than clay,—­and all the gods must bow before him.’” Anu sent for the god Bara, the son of Ishtar, to help him, and exhorted him in the same language he had addressed to Ramman:  Bara refused to attempt the enterprise.  Shamash, called in his turn, at length consented to set out for Mount Sabu:  he triumphed over the storm-bird, tore the fatal tablets from him, and brought him before Ea as a prisoner.

* Literally, “Construct thy cities in the four regions of the world (cf. pp. 12, 13 of the present work), and thy cities will extend to the mountain of the earth.”  Anu would appear to have promised to Ramman a monopoly; if he wished to build cities which would recognize him as their patron, these cities will cover the entire earth.

[Illustration:  186.jpg SHAMASH FIGHTS WITH ZU AND THE STORM BIRDS.]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Layard.

[Illustration:  186a.jpg The Plenisphere taken from the Temple of Tentyra]