History of Various Areas (19)(as of 1900)

But perhaps the most interesting conclusions to be drawn from the texts
relate to the influence exerted by the ancient Sumerians upon Semitic
beliefs and practices. It has, of course, long been recognized that the
later Semitic inhabitants of Babylonia and Assyria drew most of their
culture from the Sumerians, whom they displaced and absorbed. Their
system of writing, the general structure of their temples, the ritual of
their worship, the majority of their religious compositions, and many of
their gods themselves are to be traced to a Sumerian origin, and much of
the information obtained from the cylinders of Gudea merely confirms
or illustrates the conclusions already deduced from other sources. As
instances we may mention the belief in spirits, which is illustrated by
the importance attached to the placating of the Anunnaki, or Spirits of
the Earth, to whom a special place and special offerings were assigned
in E-ninn?. The Sumerian origin of ceremonies of purification is
confirmed by Gudea's purification of the city before beginning the
building of the temple, and again before the transference of the god
from his old temple to the new one. The consultation of omens, which was
so marked a feature of Babylonian and Assyrian life, is seen in actual
operation under the Sumerians; for, even after Gudea had received direct
instructions from Ningirsu to begin building his temple, he did not
proceed to carry them out until he had consulted the omens and found
that they were favourable. Moreover, the references to mythological
beings, such as the seven heroes, the dragon of the deep, and the god
who slew the dragon, confirm the opinion that the creation legends and
other mythological compositions of the Babylonians were derived by them
from Sumerian sources. But there are two incidents in the narrative
which are on a rather different plane and are more startling in their
novelty. One is the story of Gudea's dream, and the other the sign
which he sought from his god. The former is distinctly apocalyptic in
character, and both may be parallelled in what is regarded as purely
Semitic literature. That such conceptions existed among the Sumerians is
a most interesting fact, and although the theory of independent origin
is possible, their existence may well have influenced later Semitic
beliefs.