And may thy fold be wide, thy pen secure.

* * * * *

How long wilt thou be angry? Hear my cry,
And turn again to prosper all my ways--
O may thy wrath be crumbled and withdrawn
As by a crumbling stream. Then smite my foes,
And take away their power to work me ill,
That I may crush them. Hearken to my pray'r!
And bless me so that all who me behold
May laud thee and may magnify thy name,
While I exalt thy power over all--
Ishtar is highest! Ishtar is the queen!
Ishtar the peerless daughter of the moon!




CHAPTER II.

THE LAND OF RIVERS AND THE GOD OF THE DEEP


Fertility of Ancient Babylonia--Rivers, Canals, Seasons, and
Climate--Early Trade and Foreign Influences--Local Religious
Cults--Ea, God of the Deep, identical with Oannes of Berosus--Origin
as a Sacred Fish--Compared with Brahma and Vishnu--Flood Legends in
Babylonia and India--Fish Deities in Babylonia and Egypt--Fish God
as a Corn God--The River as Creator--Ea an Artisan God, and links