Page:The Chaldean Account of Genesis (1876).djvu/333

 The fragments I have selected for this purpose are:—

I. Fragment of the first tablet, describing the chaos at the beginning of the world.

II. Fragment of the fifth tablet, describing the creation of the heavenly bodies.

III. Obverse and reverse of the tablet, describing the fall of man.

IV. Obverse and reverse of the principal fragment, describing the conflict between the gods and the spirit of chaos.

Besides this account of the Creation I have given other fragments bearing upon the same events, these differing considerably from the longer account. The principal feature in the second account is the description of the eagle-headed men with their family of leaders—this legend clearly showing the origin of the eagle-headed figures represented on the Assyrian sculptures.

It is probable that some of these Babylonian legends contained detailed descriptions of the Garden of Eden, which was most likely the district of Karduniyas, as Sir Henry Rawlinson believes.

There are coincidences in respect to the geography of the region and its name which render the identification very probable; the four rivers in each case, two, the Euphrates and Tigris, certainly identical, the known fertility of the region, its name, sometimes Gan-dunu, so similar to Gan-eden (the Garden of Eden), and other considerations, all tend