storm is at its height, he exhibits them flying in a state of
panic to Anu, the god of heaven, and crouching before his portal
like frightened dogs. As the smoke of Hasisadra's sacrifice
arises, the gods, attracted by the sweet savour, are compared to
swarms of flies. I have already remarked that the lady Istar's
reputation is torn to shreds; while she and Ea scold Bel
handsomely for his ferocity and injustice in destroying the
innocent along with the guilty. One is reminded of Here hung up
with weighted heels; of misleading dreams sent by Zeus; of Ares
howling as he flies from the Trojan battlefield; and of the very
questionable dealings of Aphrodite with Helen and Paris.

But to return to the story. Bel was, at first, excluded from the
sacrifice as the author of all the mischief; which really was
somewhat hard upon him, since the other gods agreed to his
proposal. But eventually a reconciliation takes place; the great
bow of Anu is displayed in the heavens; Bel agrees that he will
be satisfied with what war, pestilence, famine, and wild beasts
can do in the way of destroying men; and that, henceforward, he
will not have recourse to extraordinary measures. Finally, it is
Bel himself who, by way of making amends, transports Hasisadra,
his wife, and the faithful Nes-Hea to the abode of the gods.

It is as indubitable as it is incomprehensible to most of us,
that, for thousands of years, a great people, quite as
intelligent as we are, and living in as high a state of
civilisation as that which had been attained in the greater part
of Europe a few centuries ago, entertained not the slightest
doubt that Anu, Bel, Ea, Istar, and the rest, were real
personages, possessed of boundless powers for good and evil.