ABSTRACT
The literature of the Sumerians and Babylonians which has come down to us proves that the peoples who occupied Mesopotamia from about 3000 B.c. downwards attached very great importance to magic in all its branches, and that they availed themselves of the services of the magician on every possible occasion. This is probably true also of the pre-Sumerian inhabitants of the country, but as they had not acquired the art of writing, we have no means of knowing exactly what they thought or believed. The Sumerians invented and developed a system of writing, and the inscriptions which they wrote on tablets of clay and stone suggest that they lived anxious lives and were in perpetual fear of the attacks of hosts of hostile and evil spirits which lost no opportunity of attempting to do them harm. To protect themselves against these they employed charms and spells and incantations, and in order to destroy the operations of the Evil Eye they wore amulets of various kinds, both inscribed and un-inscribed. And to protect their houses they buried little clay figures in the foundations or embedded them in the walls. We will consider first the Amulets in the forms of animals, birds, fish, etc. Among the early amulets in the British Museum the following are of special interest, for they are Archaïc, that is to say they were made before 2500 B.c. (Plate X). Archaic Babylonian and Assyrian amulets. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315030050/d6aab48f-28d0-48ea-a316-e04245f8d0a9/content/ch3_page83-01_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
The fore-parts of two animals (bulls or lions ?) united [No. 116709]; symbolic of two-fold strength. [Compare the two Lion-gods of Yesterday and To-day, seated, back to back, supporting the horizon. Book of the Dead Papyrus of Ani, sheet 7. The double Lion-god mentioned in Chapter III = Shu and Tefnut.] All animals were thus treated, and the device persisted through the ages.
The frog, symbolic of fertility, as in Egypt, in glazed clay [No. 116913].
Two fish, side by side, symbolic of fertility [No. 120089]. These may represent the Sign of the Zodiac, Pisces, and possess an astral significance. [Compare the Egyptian mythological fishes, the Ānt and the Ȧbṭu.]
The bull, symbol of strength and virility [No. 116711]. Compare the Egyptian royal title “mighty bull.”
The sow (?), probably symbolic of fecundity [No. 118529]. Compare the Egyptian figure of a sow with young in the British Museum [No. 11976] and the figures [Nos. 1700 and 1795].
The ram, symbol of virility [No. 118530]. Compare the Ram of Amen and the Ram of Mendes.
A bird of prey (?). Signification unknown [No. 118020].
A sacred bull [No. 116355]. Sometimes the figure is marked on the forehead with a triangle. Herodotus says (iii. 28) that the Apis Bull has on the forehead a white triangle, and in the bronze figures of Apis, or sacred Bull of Memphis, this white blaze is represented by a triangular piece of silver inlaid in the forehead. This figure is of the shape of an Apis Bull mummified. Its exact signification is unknown.
A lion's head, symbolic of strength [No. 118527].
A horse: symbolism unknown [No. 118019]. The ape. The oldest known specimen of this amulet is made of gold and was found at Ur of the Chaldees. It probably symbolized virility and fecundity. Amuletic figures of the goat and calf are fairly common, and a civetcat is cut on a seal in the possession of Captain Spencer Churchill.
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