THE PARADISE IN ERIDU
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" On a pillow reposeth
drinking pure water,
he who was slain in battle;
his father and his mother hold his head,
and his wife [kneeleth] by his side (?)."
drinking pure water,
he who was slain in battle;
his father and his mother hold his head,
and his wife [kneeleth] by his side (?)."
It is, perhaps, in a similar connection that we must interpret the close of a hymn, which runs:
"Glimmering water brought he in,"
Ninzadim, the great jeweller of Anu,
has to the care of his pure hands taken thee;
Ea hath taken thee hence to the place of cleansing,
to the place of cleansing hath he taken thee
to (?) milk and honey he took thee,
water of exorcism placed he in thy mouth,
thy mouth he openeth by means of exorcism :
"Be clear as the heaven, be pure as the earth shine
like the innermost part of heaven"
Ninzadim, the great jeweller of Anu,
has to the care of his pure hands taken thee;
Ea hath taken thee hence to the place of cleansing,
to the place of cleansing hath he taken thee
to (?) milk and honey he took thee,
water of exorcism placed he in thy mouth,
thy mouth he openeth by means of exorcism :
"Be clear as the heaven, be pure as the earth shine
like the innermost part of heaven"
The Paradise of the First Created of Mankind in Eridu.
"At the mouth of the rivers," i.e., where the Tigris and the Euphrates once flowed separately into the sea, Gilgamesh sought and found the entrance to the Island of the Blessed: "at the mouth of the rivers " also, holy water was procured for use in exorcism. Near this spot lay Eridu (the modern Abu-Shahrein, the Rata of the Ptolemies), the city of the cult of Ea, chief
