and whether Der was succeeded by Eridu, of which city Ea was the
patron--concerning the importance of Babylon, Merodach's city, later
on, there is no doubt whatever. The rise of Anu and Ea to divine
overlordship, however, may not have been due to the political
supremacy of the cities where they were worshipped--it may have come
about simply on account of renown gained through religious enthusiasm
due to wonders said to have been performed where they were worshipped,
or to the reported discovery of new records concerning their temples,
or to the influence of some renowned high-priest, like En-we-dur-an-ki
of Sippar, whose devotion undoubtedly brought great renown to the city
of his dominion.


Was Animism its original form?

But the question naturally arises, can we go back beyond the
indications of the inscriptions? The Babylonians attributed life, in
certain not very numerous cases, to such things as trees and plants,
and naturally to the winds, and the heavenly bodies. Whether they
regarded stones, rocks, mountains, storms, and rain in the same way,
however, is doubtful, but it may be taken for granted, that the sea,
with all its rivers and streams, was regarded as animated with the
spirit of Ea and his children, whilst the great cities and
temple-towers were pervaded with the spirit of the god whose abode
they were. Innumerable good and evil spirits were believed in, such as
the spirit of the mountain, the sea, the plain, and the grave. These
spirits were of various kinds, and bore names which do not always
reveal their real character--such as the /edimmu/, /utukku/, /sedu/,
/asakku/ (spirit of fevers), /namtaru/ (spirit of fate), /alu/
(regarded as the spirit of the south wind), /gallu/, /rabisu/,