Part 16 (1/2)
Hercules similarly sets out to search for the golden apples which grow in
those Hesperian gardens famed of old, Fortunate fields, and groves and flowery vales.
As Bhima slew Yakshas which guarded the lotuses, Hercules slew Ladon, the guardian of the apples. Other heroes kill treasure-protecting dragons of various kinds.
There is a remarkable resemblance between the Babylonian account of Gilgamesh's journey through the mountain tunnel to the garden and seash.o.r.e, and the Indian story of the demiG.o.d Hanuman pa.s.sing through the long cavern to the sh.o.r.eland palace of the female ascetic, when he was engaged searching for Sita, the wife of Rama, who had been carried away by Ravana, the demon king of Ceylon. In the version of the latter narrative which is given in the _Mahabharata_, Hanuman says: ”I bring thee good news, O Rama; for Janaka's daughter hath been seen by me.
Having searched the southern region with all its hills, forests, and mines for some time, we became very weary. At length we beheld a great cavern. And having beheld it, we entered that cavern which extended over many _yojanas_. It was dark and deep, and overgrown with trees and infested by worms. And having gone a great way through it, we came upon suns.h.i.+ne and beheld a beautiful palace. It was the abode of the Daitya (sea demon) Maya. And there we beheld a female ascetic named Parbhavati engaged in ascetic austerities. And she gave us food and drink of various kinds. And having refreshed ourselves therewith and regained our strength, we proceeded along the way shown by her. At last we came out of the cavern and beheld the briny sea, and on its sh.o.r.es, the _Sahya_, the _Malaya_, and the great _Dardura_ mountains.
And ascending the mountains of _Malaya_, we beheld before us the vast ocean (or, ”the abode of Varuna”). And beholding it, we felt sorely grieved in mind.... We despaired of returning with our lives.... We then sat together, resolved to die there of starvation.”
Hanuman and his friends, having had, so far, experiences similar to those of Gilgamesh, next discovered the eagle giant which had burned its wings when endeavouring to soar to the sun. This great bird, which resembles the Etana eagle, expressed the opinion that Sita was in Lanka (Ceylon), whither she must have been carried by Ravana. But no one dared to cross the dangerous ocean. Hanuman at length, however, obtained the a.s.sistance of Vayu, the wind G.o.d, his divine father, and leapt over the sea, slaying monsters as he went. He discovered where the fair lady was concealed by the king of demons.[223]
The dark tunnel is met with in many British stories of daring heroes who set out to explore it, but never return. In the Scottish versions the adventurers are invariably pipers who are accompanied by dogs. The sound of the pipes is heard for a time; then the music ceases suddenly, and shortly afterwards the dog returns without a hair upon its body. It has evidently been in conflict with demons.
The tunnel may run from a castle to the seash.o.r.e, from a cave on one side of a hill to a cave on the other, or from a seash.o.r.e cave to a distant island.
It is possible that these widespread tunnel stories had origin among the cave dwellers of the Palaeolithic Age, who believed that deep caverns were the doors of the underground retreats of dragons and giants and other supernatural enemies of mankind.
In Babylonia, as elsewhere, the priests utilized the floating material from which all mythologies were framed, and impressed upon it the stamp of their doctrines. The symbolized stories were afterwards distributed far and wide, as were those attached to the memory of Alexander the Great at a later period. Thus in many countries may be found at the present day different versions of immemorial folk tales, which represent various stages of culture, and direct and indirect contact at different periods with civilizations that have stirred the ocean of human thought, and sent their ideas rippling in widening circles to far-distant sh.o.r.es.
CHAPTER IX.
DELUGE LEGEND, THE ISLAND OF THE BLESSED, AND HADES
Babylonian Story of the Flood--The Two Immortals on the Island of the Blessed--Deluge Legends in the Old and New Worlds--How Babylonian Culture reached India--Theory of Cosmic Periods--Gilgamesh resembles the Indian Yama and Persian Yimeh--Links with Varuna and Mitra--The Great Winter in Persian and Teutonic Mythologies--Babylonian Hades compared with the Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Teutonic, and Celtic Otherworlds--Legend of Nergal and the Queen of Death--Underworld originally the Grave--Why Weapons, &c., were Buried with the Dead--j.a.panese and Roman Beliefs--Palaeolithic Burial Customs--”Our Graves are our Houses”--Importance of Babylonian Funerary Ceremonies--Doctrine of Eternal Bliss in Egypt and India--Why Suppressed in Babylonia--Heavy Burial Fees--Various Burial Customs.
The story of the Deluge which was related to Gilgamesh by Pir-napishtim runs as follows:--
”Hear me, O Gilgamesh, and I will make revelation regarding the hidden doings of the high G.o.ds. As thou knowest, the city of Shurippak is situated upon the bank of the Euphrates. The G.o.ds were within it: there they a.s.sembled together in council. Anu, the father, was there, and Bel the counsellor and warrior, Ninip the messenger, and Ennugi the governor. Ea, the wise lord, sat also with them. In their hearts the G.o.ds agreed together to send a great deluge.
”Thereafter Ea made known the purpose of the divine rulers in the hut of reeds, saying:[224] 'O hut of reeds, hear; O wall, understand ... O man of Shurippak, son of Umbara Tutu, tear down thy house and build a s.h.i.+p; leave all thou dost possess and save thy life, and preserve in the s.h.i.+p the living seed of every kind. The s.h.i.+p that thou wilt build must be of goodly proportions in length and height. It must be floated on the great deep.'
”I heard the command of Ea and understood, and I made answer, saying, 'O wise lord, as thou hast said so will I do, for thy counsel is most excellent. But how shall I give reason for my doings to the young men and the elders?'
”Ea opened his mouth and said unto me, his servant: 'What thou shalt say unto them is this.... _It hath been revealed unto me that Bel doth hate me, therefore I cannot remain any longer in his domain, this city of Shurippak, so I must depart unto the domain of Ea and dwell with him.... Unto you will Bel send abundance of rain, so that you may obtain birds and fishes in plenty and have a rich harvest. But Shamash hath appointed a time for Ramman to pour down destruction from the heavens._'”[225]
Ea then gave instructions to Pir-napishtim how to build the s.h.i.+p in which he should find refuge. So far as can be gathered from the fragmentary text, it appears that this vessel was to have a deck house six stories high, with nine apartments in each story. According to another account, Ea drew a plan of the great s.h.i.+p upon the sand.
Pir-napishtim set to work and made a flat-bottomed vessel, which was 120 cubits wide and 120 cubits in height. He smeared it with bitumen inside and pitch outside; and on the seventh day it was ready. Then he carried out Ea's further instructions. Continuing his narrative to Gilgamesh, he said:
”I gathered together all that I possessed, my silver and gold and seeds of every kind, and my goods also. These I placed in the s.h.i.+p.
Then I caused to go aboard all my family and house servants, the animals of the field and the beasts of the field and the workers--every one of them I sent up.
”The G.o.d Shamash appointed the time, saying: 'I will cause the Night Lord to send much rain and bring destruction. Then enter thou the s.h.i.+p and shut thy door.'
”At the appointed time the Night Lord sent at even-time much rain. I saw the beginning of the deluge and I was afraid to look up. I entered the s.h.i.+p and shut the door. I appointed Buzur-Kurgala, the sailor, to be captain, and put under his command the great vessel and all that it contained.
”At the dawn of day I saw rising athwart the heavens a dark cloud, and in the midst of it Ramman thundered. Nebo and Merodach went in front, speeding like emissaries over hills and plains. The cables of the s.h.i.+p were let loose.