Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 2.djvu/39

 ASTAROTH

17

ASTERISK

Asshurbanipal is the Nabuchodonosor (Nebuchad- nezzar) of the Book of Judith; otliers identify him wnth the Sardanapalus of Greek historians. In view, however, of the conflicting characters of the legendary Sardanapalus and the Asshurbanipal of the cunei- form inscriptions, this last identification seems impossible. Besides, Asshurbanipal was not the last king of Assyria, as Sardanapalus is supposed to have been.

Asshurbanipal was succeeded by his two sons, Asshur-etil-elani and Sin-shar-islikun. Of their respective reigns and their exploits we know nothing, except that in their days AssjT-ia began rapidly to lose its prestige and power. All the foreign prov- inces — Egj'pt, Phoenicia, Chanaan, SjTia, Arabia, .Armenia, Media, Babylonia, and Elam — broke away from Assyria, when the degenerate and feeble suc- cessors of the valiant Assliurbanipal proved unable to cope with the situation. They had probably abandoned themselves to effeminate luxury and debaucheries, caring little or nothing for military glory. In the meanwhile Nabopolassar, King of Babylon, and Cyaxares, King of Media, formed a family and pohtieal alliance, the latter giving his daughter in marriage to the former's son, Nabuchodo- nosor (Nebuchadnezzar). At the head of a powerful army, these two kings together marched against Nineveh and laid siege to it for fully two years, after which the city surrendered and was com- pletely destroyed and demolished (606 b. c), and Assyria became a province of Babylonia and Media.

Religion and Civilization. — The religion and civilization of Assyria were almost identical with those of Babylonia, the former having been derived from the latter and developed along the same lines. For, although the AssjTians made notable contri- butions to architecture, art, science, and literature, these were with them essentially a Babylonian im- portation. AssjTian temples and palaces were modelled upon those of Babylonia, although in the building-material stone was far more liberally employed. In sculptural decorations and in statuary more richness and originality were displayed by the AssjTians than by the Babylonians. It seems to have been a hobijy of AssjTian monarchs to build colossal palaces, adorned with gigantic statues and an infinite variety of bas-reliefs and inscriptions showing their warlike exploits. Asshurbanipal's library shows that AssjTian religious literature was not only an imitation of that of Babj-lonia, but abso- lutely identical therewith. An examination of the religions of the two countries proves that the As- sjTians adopted Babj-lonian doctrines, cults, and rites, with such slight modifications as were called for by the conditions prevailing in the northern countrj'. The chief difference in the AssjTian pantheon, compared with that of Babj'lonia, is that, whUe in Semitic times the principal god of the latter was Marduk, that of the former was Asshur. The principal deities of both countries are: the three chief deities, Anu, the god of the heavenlj' expanse; Bel, the earth god and creator of mankind; and Ea, the god of humanitj- par excellence, and of the water. Next comes Ishtar, the mother of mankind and the consort of Bel; Sin, first-born son of Bel, the father of wisdom, personified in the moon; Shamash, the sun-god; Ninil], tlie hero of the heav- enly and earthly spirits; Nergal, chief of the nether- world and of the suljterranean demons, and god of pestilence and fevers; Marduk, originally a solar deitj', conqueror of storms, and afterwards creator of mankind and the supreme god of Semitic Baby- lonia; Adad, or Ramman, the god of storms, thunders, and lightning; Nebo, the god of wisdom, to whom the art of writing and the sciences are ascribed; Oirni-Nusku, or, simply, Nusku, the god of fire, as II.— 2

driving away demons and evil spirits; Asshur, the consort of Belit, and the supreme god of Assyria. Besides these there were other minor deities.

I. Excavations and Decipherment : Kaulen, Geschichte Assyriens und Babylonians nach den neuesten Entdeckungen (Freiburg. 1899); Hommel, Geschichte Babyloniens und Assy- riens (Berlin, 1885), 30-134; Evetts, New Light on the Holy Land (London, 1891), 79-129; Vigourocx, La Bible et Us decouvertes modemes en Palestine, en Egypte et en Assyrie (Paris. 1896), I, 133-204; Rogers, A History of Babylonia and Assyria (New York, 1901). I, 1-253; Hilprecht, Ex- plorations in Bible Lands During the 19th Century (Philadelphia, 1903). 1-577; Booth, The Discorery and Decipherment of the Trilingual Cuneiform Inscriptions (London, 1902); Fossey, Manuel d'Assyriologie (Paris. 1904). I.

II. History of Assyria: Hommel, op. cit. supra; Tiele. Babylonisch-Assyrische Geschichte (Gotha, 18S6); Muerdter- Delitzsch, Kurzgefasste Geschichte Babyloniens und Assyriens (Stuttgart. 1891); M.^spero, The Struggle of the Nations, and The Passing of the Empires, vols. II and III of the tr. of the same author's classical work, Histoire ancienne des peuples de I'Orient classique ; WiNcKLER, Geschichte Babyloniens und Assyriens (Leipzig, 1902); Rogers, op. cit. supra in 2 vols.; GooDSPEED, History of the Babylonians and Assyrians (New York, 1902); as well as P.^nnier in Vig., Diet, de la Bible and Hommel in Hastings, Diet, of the Bible.

III. Collections of Assyrian Texts and Translations: Raw- LINSON. The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia (London. 1861-84); Idem, Cuneiform Texts in the British Museum (London; 26 parts having already appeared): Schrader, KeUinschriftliche Bibliothek (Leipzig, 1889-1901); Records of the Past — being English Translations of the Assyrian and Egyptian Monuments, two series (London, 1888-92); Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian Literature in The World's Great Books (New York. 1901).

IV. Assyrian Arts and Civilization : Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de I'art dans Vantiquite (Paris, 1884). II, Chaldee et Assyrie, Eng. tr., Armstrong (New York); the older works of BoTTA AND Flandin. Monumcnts de Ninivc (Paris, 1849-50): works of Layard, Oppert, Place, etc.

V. Religion of Assyria : Jastrow, The Religion of Baby- lonia and .Assyria (Boston, 1898). German ed., much im- proved, and entirely rewritten; bibliography in art. Baby- lonia.

VI. Comparative Study of Assyrian Monuments and In- scriptions and the Bible: Schrader, The Cuneiform In- scriptions and the Old Testament (London, 1884-88). also 3d (jcrman ed., entirely rewritten by Wincklfr and Zimmer- man, under the original title Die Keilinschrif ten und das Alte Testament (Berlin, 1902); Vigouroux, op. cit.; Ball, Light from the East, or the Witness of the Monuments (London, 1899): Sayce. The Higher Criticism and the Verdict of the Monuments (London. 1894); Hommel, The .indent Hebrexo Tradition as Illustriited by the Monuments (London, 1897): Price. The Monuments and the Old Testament (Chicago. 1900): Pinches, The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia (London, 1903\ .Ieremias, Das Alte Testament im hichte des alien Orients (Leipzig. 1904).

Gabriel Oussani.

Astaroth (Ast.vrte). See Phcenicia.

Asterisk (Gr., aaT-qp, a star). — This is a utensil for the Mass according to the Greek Rite, which is not used in the Roman Rite at all. It consists of two curved bands, or slips, made of silver or gold which cross each other at right angles and thus form a double arch. It is used to place over the amnos, or particles of blessed bread, when spread out upon the paten during the proskomide and earlier part of the Greek Mass, so as to prevent the veil from coming in contact with or disturbing these blessed but uncon- secrated particles of bread in carrj-ing the paten from the prothesis to the altar, or while it is standing at either place. It is laid aside after the Creed and is not ordinarilj' used again during the Mass. Tlie o.5(er- isk is usually surmounted by a cross, and often has a tiny star suspended from the central junction, and in the Greek Orthodox is somewhat larger in size than in the Greek Catholic Church. When the priest in the proskomide service is through incensing the blessed bread lying upon the paten, he takes up the asterisk and incensing it saj-s, "And the star came forth and stood over where the child was". Then he puts it over the particles of bread upon the paten, and proceeds to cover it with the various veils and at conclusion of the proskomide, begins the celebration of the Mass.

KsAVS, Real-Encyk. s. v.; Petrides in Diet, d'arch. chret,, s. v.; Clugnet, Diet, des noms liturgiques, 22.

Andhew J. Shipman.