{"collection":"Ancient Near East","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/ane/seven.htm","path":"ane/seven.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/ane/seven.htm","text":"THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS\nR.C. Thompson, translator [The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia, London 1903].[1]\nRaging storms, evil gods are they\nRuthless demons, who in heaven's vault were created, are they,\nWorkers of evil are they,\nThey lift up the head to evil, every day to evil\nDestruction to work.\nOf these seven the first is the South wind...\nThe second is a dragon, whose mouth is opened...\nThat none can measure.\nThe third is a grim leopard, which carries off the young ...\nThe fourth is a terrible Shibbu ...\nThe fifth is a furious Wolf, who knoweth not to flee,\nThe sixth is a rampant ... which marches against god and king.\nThe seventh is a storm, an evil wind, which takes vengeance,\nSeven are they, messengers to King Anu are they,\nFrom city to city darkness work they,\nA hurricane, which mightily hunts in the heavens, are they\nThick clouds, that bring darkness in heaven, are they,\nGusts of wind rising, which cast gloom over the bright day, are they,\nWith the Imkhullu [2] the evil wind, forcing their way, are they,\nThe overflowing of Adad [3] mighty destroyers, are they,\nAt the right of Adad stalking, are they,\nIn the height of heaven, like lightning flashing, are they,\nTo wreak destruction forward go they ,\nIn the broad heaven, the home of Anu, the King, evilly do they arise, and none to oppose.\nWhen Enlil heard these tidings, a plan in his heart he pondered,\nWith Ea, exalted Massu of the gods, be took counsel. Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar, whom he had set to order the vault of heaven,\nWith Anu he divided the lordship of the whole heaven,\nTo these three gods, his offspring\nDay and night, without ceasing, he ordained to stand,\nWhen the seven evil gods stormed the vault of heaven,\nBefore the gleaming Sin, they set themselves angrily, [4]\nThe mighty Shamash, Adad the warrior, they brought on their side,\nIshtar, with Anu the King, moved into a shining dwelling, exercising dominion over the heavens,\n[Nearly ten lines here are unreadable.]\nDay and night he was dark (i.e., Sin), in the dwelling of his dominion he sat not down,\nThe evil gods, the messengers of Anu, the King, are they,\nRaising their evil heads, in the night shaking themselves, are they,\nEvil searching out, are they,\nFrom the heaven, like a wind, over the land rush they.\nEnlil saw the darkening of the hero Sin in heaven,\nThe lord spoke to his minister Nusku,\nO My minister Nusku, my message unto the ocean bring,\nThe tidings of my son Sin, who in heaven has been sadly darkened,\nUnto Ea, in the ocean, announce it.\"\nNusku exalted the word of his lord,\nTo Ea, in the ocean, he went quickly,\nTo the prince, the exalted Massu the lord Nudimmud.[5]\nNusku, the word of his lord there announced Ea in the ocean heard that word,\nHe bit his lip and filled his mouth with wailing;\nEa called his son Marduk, and gave him the message:\n\"Go, my son Marduk,\nSon of a prince, the gleaming Sin has been sadly darkened in heaven,\nHis darkening is seen in the heavens,\nThe seven evil gods, death-dealing, fearless are they,\nThe seven evil gods, like a flood, rush on, the land they fall upon, do they,\nAgainst the land, like a storm, they rise, do they,\nBefore the gleaming Sin, they set themselves angrily;\nThe mighty Shamash, Adad the warrior, they brought on their side.\"\nNOTES:\n[1] This story is the sixteenth tablet of a series called the \"Evil Demon Series,\" of which we have an Assyrian with a parallel Sumerian text. Presumably, therefore, it was a very ancient legend.\n[2] The Imkhullu appears also in the Creation Epic.\n[3] Adad is god of storm, Anu of heaven, Enlil of storm, Sin of the Moon, Shamash of the Sun, and Ishtar of love and fruitfulness. The meaning of Massu is unknown; but Ea was long the chief ruler.\n[4] The evil gods darken the moon by an eclipse, Shamash helping them by withdrawing his light from the moon, and Adad by sending cloudy weather.\n[5] A name for Ea.\nDESCRIPTIONS OF \"THE SEVEN\"\nI\nDestructive storms and evil winds are they,\nA storm of evil, presaging the baneful storm,\nA storm of evil, forerunner of the baneful storm.\nMighty children, mightv sons are they,\nMessengers of Namtar are they,\nThrone-bearers of Ereshkigal. [1]\nThe flood driving through the land are they.\nSeven gods of the wide heavens,\nSeven gods of the broad earth,\nSeven robber-gods are they.\nSeven gods of universal sway,\nSeven evil gods,\nSeven evil demons,\nSeven evil and violent demons,\nSeven in heaven, seven on earth.\nII\nNeither male nor female are they.\nDestructive whirlwinds they,\nHaving neither wife nor offspring.\nCompassion and mercy they do not know.\nPrayer and supplication they do not hear.\nHorses reared in the mountains, Hostile to Ea.\nThrone-bearers of the gods are they.\nStanding on the highway, befouling the street. Evil are they, evil are they,\nSeven they are, seven they are, Twice seven they are.\nIII\nThe high enclosures, the broad enclosures like a flood they pass through.\nFrom house to house they dash along.\nNo door can shut them out,\nNo bolt can turn them back.\nThrough the door, like a snake, they glide,\nThrough the hinge, like the wind, they storm.\nTearing the wife from the embrace of the man,\nSnatching the child from the knees of a man,\nDriving the freedman from his family home.\n[1 ]The mistress of the netherworld, while Namtar is the god of pestilence.\nCHARM AGAINST THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS\nSeven are they, seven are they!\nIn the channel of the deep seven are they!\nIn the radiance of heaven seven are they!\nIn the channel of the deep in a palace grew they up.\nMale they are not, female they are not.\nIn the midst of the deep are their paths.\nWife they have not, son they have not.\nOrder and kindness know they not.\nPrayer and supplication hear they not.\nThe cavern in the mountain they enter.\nUnto Hea are they hostile.\nThe throne-bearers of the gods are they.\nDisturbing the lily in the torrents are they set.\nBaleful are they, baleful are they.\nSeven are they, seven are they, seven twice again are they.\nMay the spirits of heaven remember, may the spirits of earth remember.","title":"THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS","type":"page"}