and among them the principality of Kish occupies a leading place. The
temple of Mul-lil at Nippur is the central sanctuary, to which they
bring their offerings, and from which a civilising influence emanates.
It is an influence, however, which reflects the darker side of life.
Mul-lil was the lord of the dead; his priests were sorcerers and
magicians, and their sacred lore consisted of spells and incantations.
Supplementing the influence of Nippur, and in strong contrast with it,
was the influence of Eridu. Ea or Oannes, the god of Eridu, was a god
who benefited mankind. He was the lord of wisdom, and his wisdom
displayed itself in delivering men from the evils that surrounded them,
and in teaching them the arts of life. But he was lord also of the
water, and it was told of him how he had arisen, morning after morning,
from the depths of the Persian Gulf, and had instructed the people of
Chaldæa in all the elements of civilisation. Eridu was the home of the
hymns that were sung to the gods of light and life, and which came to be
looked upon as divinely inspired.

It is clear that the myth of Cannes points to foreign intercourse as the
ultimate cause of Babylonian culture. It is natural that such should
have been the case. Commerce is still the great civiliser, and the
traders and sailors of Eridu created tastes and needs which they sought
to satisfy.

The small states of Babylonia were constantly at war with each other,
even though they shared in a common civilisation, worshipped the same
gods, and presented their offerings to the same sanctuary of Nippur.
Southern Babylonia--or Kengi, "the land of canals and reeds," as it was
often named--was already divided against the north. At times it
exercised supremacy as far as Nippur. En-sakkus-ana of Kengi conquered
Kis, like one of his predecessors who had dedicated the statue, the