others. The most important of these is derived from the History of
Babylonia, which was written in Greek by BEROSUS, a priest of
Bel-Marduk, i.e., the "Lord Marduk," at Babylon, about 250 B.C. In this
work Berosus reproduced all the known historical facts and traditions
derived from native sources which were current in his day. It is
therefore not surprising to find that his account of the Babylonian
beliefs about the origin of things corresponds very closely with that
given in the cuneiform texts, and that it is of the greatest use in
explaining and partly in expanding these texts. His account of the
primeval abyss, out of which everything came, and of its
inhabitants reads:--

[Illustration: Babylonian Monster. [No. 108,979.]]

"There was a time in which there existed nothing but darkness and an
abyss of waters, wherein resided most hideous beings, which were
produced on a two-fold principle. There appeared men, some of whom
were furnished with two wings, others with four, and with two
faces. They had one body but two heads; the one that of a man, the
other of a woman; and likewise in their several organs both male and
female. Other human figures were to be seen with the legs and horns of
goats; some had horses' feet; while others united the hind-quarters of
a horse with the body of a man, resembling in shape the hippo-centaurs.
Bulls likewise were bred there with the heads of men, and dogs with
four told bodies, terminated in their extremities with the tails of
fishes; horses also with the heads of dogs; men too and other animals,
with the heads and bodies of horses and the tails of fishes. In short,
there were creatures in which were combined the limbs of every species
of animals. In addition to these, fishes, reptiles, serpents, with
other monstrous animals, which assumed each other's shape and