"I hate him now, O Sar, as I did love! Against the strength of Anu let him prove His right divine to rule without our aid, Before the strength of Anu let him bleed. Upon this giant Sar so filled with pride, Let Anu's winged bull[1] in fury ride, And I will aid the beast to strike him prone, Till he in death shall breathe his dying groan." And Anu said: "If thou to it shall join Thy strength, which all thy noble names define Thy glories[2] and thy power thus magnified, Will humble him, who has thy power defied," And Ishtar thus: "By all my might as queen Of war and battles, where I proudly reign, This Sar my hands shall strike upon the plain, And end his strength and all his boastings vain. By all the noble names with gods I hold As queen of war, this giant monarch bold, Who o'er mine ancient city thinks to reign, Shall lie for birds of prey upon the plain. For answering my love for thee with scorn, Proud monarch! from thy throne thou shalt be torn!" For Ishtar, Anu from the clouds creates A shining monster with thick brazen plates And horns of adamant;[3] and now it flies Toward the palace, roaring from the skies. [Footnote 1: "Anu's winged bull," Taurus, constellation of the heavens.] [Footnote 2: "Glories" ("maskhi"). This word is not translated by Mr. Sayce.] [Footnote 3: "Horns of adamant." Sayce translates in I. 22, col. v., horns of crystal--"thirty manehs of crystal," etc. The meaning probably of "zamat stone," as given by Smith, was a hard substance, such as the diamond or adamant. By some translators it has been rendered onyx, and others lazuli.] COLUMN IV THE FIGHT WITH THE WINGED BULL OF ANU The gods appear above to watch the fight, And Erech's _masari_ rush in affright To Izdubar, who sits upon his throne, Before him fall in speechless terror prone. A louder roar now echoes from the skies, And Erech's Sar without the palace flies. He sees the monster light upon the plain, And calls Heabani with the choicest men Of Erech's spearsmen armed, who fall in line Without the gates, led by their Sar divine.