Page:Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions.djvu/18

 who, however capricious, were the givers of vegetation and life. They could be entreated, and man's hope lay in placating them. The text exhibits the neighborly admixture of religion and magic so characteristic of Babylonian thought.

When compared with the pyramid texts it presents one striking difference. They centre around the king and are interested in his fortunes as he enters among the gods. One text represents the Egyptian king as a cannibal, who in heaven eats gods to obtain their strength! This Babylonian text, on the other hand, represents the community. If not the religious expression of a democracy, it comes at least from an aristocracy. The interests involved are those of the city of Nippur. It represents the point of view of a Babylonian city-state.