The Great War
At the end of times there is to be a great battle fought in the misty mountains. Gods and man (mankind) shall fight side by side. Do you know who the enemy gods shall be? When Enki stands to battle, who is it that he shall battle?
~Kiru~
PS. Sorry I write such things here. You have noplace to put anything about gods, only goddesses. And noplace to put anything about the acts of gods and goddesses, such as a great battle.
You are right... there is no thread for Our Giods. Indeed, I tried to do one a couple of months ago for balance... We can´t have a fundamentalist thread or be goddess fundamentalist here... *shocked looks at the screen.
Will try to create a Gods´ Thread soon!!!
Now, I am not familiar with any Ragnarok/Armaggedon myth in Mesopotamia. However, who knows,
a) lots of clay tablets need to be translated and recovered
b) I know a bit about Mesopotamian mythology, but by all means, do not hold the knowledge of heaven and earth.
What do you mean by The Great War of our gods? And what are your references?
curious,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: The Great War
I'm not quite sure about where I heard of the battle. I'll have to look through all my sources.
The Al Azif (written on human flesh and in human blood) talks a lot about the great old ones. I was thinking they'd be the others who fought with Tiamat, and someday shall again rise. I know they say the Necronomicon is fake, but the actual, human flesh included, Necronomicon (greek) rests in a museum somewhere in Europe. The cover has a human face stretched accross it. There was a dig site for where Abdul Alhazred wrote it and lived, in a cave, and they found a lot of skeletons, which they believe were the remains of those who were used for the making of the Al Azif. Those who live in the area freak out whenever anything relating to that book is mentioned. The grow pale with fear.
Perhaps Cthulhu and the rest are the Arabic "evil gods" which are the same as those who were conquered in the battle before mankind.
The story is the same. The Ancient Ones were locked benieth the Earth, just as those with Tiamat were imprisoned. What do you think of this theory?
Oh, by the way. I noticed you ahve a better understanding of the gods than the others I have read from. I'll admit I am something of a rookie, as far as serious study, but somehow I just knew certain things. Such as how Ereshkigal was portrayed wrongly, as a demonic evil creature. It just seemed wrong. I think they were relating the underworld with those who would be confined to such a place, in modern idealism, such as is shown in Christianity. One might say that if one was in hell, they belong there. But I always felt bad for Satan, because he had to be down there just because he was probably having a bad day and reacted to God's command by trying to destroy him and take over heaven. fI never really felt right in that religion. It makes more sense with the Sumerian gods, the way a king is granted his kingship when proving worthy of it. Their god keeps throwing too much of a hissy fit every time people make a golden calf.
Re: The Great War
Kiru, firstly, I never heard of Al Azif, so ... I believe you are referring to a post-Mesopotamian source. Not Sumerian, Babylonian or Assyrian that I know of. Surely I don´t know much, but never came across such name.
hmm... We don´t do Necronomicon, Cthulhu and Lovecraft and related stuff here either ... sorry again!
Gateways2Babylon is strongly based on the sources direct from the cuneiform, ancient and modern scholarship. Lovecraft and Necronomicon and The Old Ones are not straight from the cuneiform.
We have a very good thread on the Enuma Elish in Mesopotamian Goddesses. Sorry to refer you to that thread, but... I had a hard day at work. Too tired to think straight and need to set up my altar for the goddesses and peace for the land. Will include my special cup for Enki as well...
I like you. You are curious and want to know ...
Now, do you like hard scholarship? I luv it.
Do you like alchemy and Jungian psychology? I adore it.
And do it the Mesopotamian way as much as I can!
I hope you like both and stay with us. Despite the fact that I, for once, don´t like Sitchin and Cthulhus and demons etc.
The Sumerians considered the gods more important than demons. This is Bottéro, in Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia, recently published. I guess we could perhaps to study this book as a group next year? Before we do the Cultic Calendar?
Just suggesting...
Crossing all the crossable you are interested, Kiru, in doing Mesopotamia the serious scholarly way,
Lishtar
PS: I was called once boring temple priestess ;) Considering the source, still find one of the best praises I received in my life!
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: The Great War
Liztar
“Now, I am not familiar with any Ragnarok/Armaggedon myth in Mesopotamia. However, who knows,”
I got the impression from my readings that the Mesopotamians had several conflicting versions of the end of the world depending on what deity was responsible. Erra might have a war destroying the world, Ereshkigal might have the dead walk and destroy the living, disease, flood, and simple divine wrath might befall the world. The nice thing about Mesopotamian prophecies is that there are seven gods who decree fate, therefore the fate of the world is still up to debate.
Kiru20
“The Al Azif (written on human flesh and in human blood) talks a lot about the great old ones.”
Have care with the necronomicon (any of the four versions out there) lest ye summon Lovecraft. It has been said of the Chthonic writer that he had little use for Babylon preferring Egypt far more.
Kiru20
“Perhaps Cthulhu and the rest are the Arabic "evil gods" which are the same as those who were conquered in the battle before mankind.”
When looking for Arabic gods you might be interested in the Greek pantheon. The ancient Arabs borrowed from the Sumerians and in turn the Greeks borrowed heavily from the Arabs. Apollo is one of the most glairing examples. His sacred animal is the horse, divination is his purview, and his sexuality is under debate.
Kiru20
“Ereshkigal was portrayed wrongly, as a demonic evil creature. It just seemed wrong. I think they were relating the underworld with those who would be confined to such a place, in modern idealism, such as is shown in Christianity. One might say that if one was in hell, they belong there. But I always felt bad for Satan, because he had to be down there just because he was probably having a bad day and reacted to God's command by trying to destroy him and take over heaven.”
How can Ereshkigal be all bad if stories involving her tend to end in the words “how good it is to sing your praises.” As far as her slaying of Inanna, I would have as well in the same situation, how presumptuous.
On the subject of Christianity you might make note of the fact that the fall of Satan isn’t exactly biblical, the book of Enoch is apocryphal and draws much of its nature from Zoroastrian beliefs. For more Christian connections look to the actions of the essenes.
On the subject of the unpredictable nature of the Hebrew god you must understand that they actually were polytheistic at the time of Moses when they began to shift towards Monolatry. (Monolatry is the worship of one god but the belief in several.) They didn’t become monotheistic until much later.
When Christianity came around the strict monotheism of the Jews began to break down as other deities were added such as the avatars: Jesus and the comforter, the lesser and demigods: angels and saints, and a pantheon in its own right in the form of the demons. Islam further confused matters by introducing daughters to their moon god who they associated with the god of the Jews.
scholarly way,
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