Levi knew nothing of Babylonian mythology, although he was moderately
versed in the mythology of modern occultism, and it would seem that if
he drew his information from modern or mediæval sources that these must
have been in direct line from Babylonian lore.
Adar, the sun-god of Nippur, was in the same manner connected with the
pig, which may have been the totem of the city he ruled over; and many
other gods had attendant animals or birds, like the sun-god of Kis,
whose symbol was the eagle.
Those monsters who had composed the host of Tiawath were supposed,
after the defeat and destruction of their commandress, to have been
hurled like Satan and his angels into the abyss beneath. We read of
their confusion in four tablets of the creation epic. This legend seems
to be the original source of the belief that those who rebelled against
high heaven were thrust into outer darkness. In the Book of Enoch we
read of a 'great abyss' regarding which an angel said to the prophet,
"This is a place of the consummation of heaven and earth," and again,
in a later chapter, "These are of the stars who have transgressed the
command of God, the Highest, and are bound here till 10,000 worlds, the
number of the days of their sins, shall have consummated ... this is
the prison of the angels, and here they are held to eternity." Eleven
great monsters are spoken of by Babylonian myth as comprising the host
of Tiawath, besides many lesser forms having the heads of men and the
bodies of birds. Strangely enough we find these monsters figuring in a
legend concerning an early Babylonian king.
The Invasion of the Monsters
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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