Page:A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria Vol 1.djvu/368

 346 A HISTORY OF ART ix CIIAT.D.KA AND ASSYRIA. [Whose inhabitants,] deprived of light, [Have dust for food] and mud to nourish them. A tunic and wings for vesture, [Who see no day,] who sit in the shadows, [In the house] into which I must enter, [They live there,] (once) the wearers of crowns, [The wearers] of crowns who governed the world in ancient days, Of whom Bel and Anou have perpetuated the names and memory. There too stand the foundations of the earth, the meeting of the mighty waters, In the palace of dust into which I must come, Live the prince and the noble, Live the king and the strong man, Live the guardians of the depths of the great gods, Live Xer and Etana. A lono- dialogue follows between I star and the Qaiardian of O O O the gate, by which we find that there was a rigorous law com pelling all who came to strip themselves of their clothes before they could enter. In spite of her resistance, I star herself was obliged to submit to this law. From other texts we learn that the entrance to these infernal regions was situated at the foot of the " northern mountain," a sort of Assyrian Olympus. According to the fragment above quoted the condition of the dead was truly piteous ; they had no food but dust and mud ; their dwelling is sometimes called bit-cdi, the " house of solitude," because in the life of misery and privation they lead no one takes any thought for others, his only care is to relieve his own troubles. Consequently there are no families nor any social or common life. The conscience protested against the injustice of confounding with the crowd those mortals who had dis- tinguished themselves when alive by their exploits or virtues. Thus we find in a recently copied passage from the great epic of Izdubar, the Assyrian Hercules, that valiant soldiers those no doubt who had fallen in the "Wars of Assur"- were rewarded for their prowess. As soon as they entered the shadow kingdom they were stretched upon a soft couch and surrounded by their relations. Their father and mother supported the head the enemy's sword had wounded, their wives stood beside them and waited on them with zeal and tenderness. They were refreshed and had their strength restored by the pure water of life. The idea of a final reward is expressed in still more un- mistakable accents in a religious song of which two fragments