I ORIGO
From the dust of the earth man rose. And man subdued the earth, upon which he set his foot. He subdued each living creature and each dead rock.
And man recognised the gods, and he recognised their strength, so that he bowed himself under their will. Thus the gods ruled over man, and their power was great. The mightiest among all gods however was Belet-ili, the Great Mother, the creatress of life. Man thanked her for the gifts, which he received and which had risen from her womb. And like Belet ruled the earth, so Ereshkigal ruled the underworld. Hither she took the souls of all mortals, whose lifetime had ended. Great was the power of these two, because all that which was born by the Great Mother, would once be devoured by the Dark Goddess.
The most beautiful and most splendid among all goddesses however was Ashtaroth. She possessed the sublime beauty of the crescent, which illuminates the night with its light. And the fire of passion made her body shine so splendid that all mortal men were consumed by desire for her. Red was the colour of her soul, red like the fire, red like the blood, red like the colour of life. She was the mistress of love and force, of life and battle.
The followers of Ashtaroth were numerous among the mortals, because all, which loved life, worshipped her. In each city on the earth huge temples were built for her. There the mortals sacrificed her their offerings and indulged in the desires of flesh. The largest and most magnificent one among those temples had been built in the city of Helal. Because the city was inhabited by a strong and splendid people. Liberty and friendship unto all strangers were considered the highest virtues. Therefore trade bloomed in the city. Many merchants journeyed from faraway to Helal to exchange their goods. Thus the city abounded in its prosperity, and the crescent of Ashtaroth shone benevolent.
Nowhere could be seen more splendour and extravagance than in Helal. Every street was decorated with precious stones. There was no citizen who had to work, because more than one dozen of slaves served each of them. Thus man lived lucky under the reign of Ashtaroth. Thankfully they praised their goddess and offered her generous sacrifices. But the abundance of Helal provoked the envy of the people, which groaned under the burden of their daily work on the fields and in the villages.
Also Belet-ili, the Great Mother, was displeased by watching the selfishness of this city and its goddess. Thus she spake unto Ashtaroth, the mistress of Helal: "Thou shalt not seduce the people of this city against the divine order! Thou hast made them forget the venerable customs of their mothers and hast made them disregard the laws of nature. Instead of the fertility of the womb they honour the fertility of the gold. Thou hast made them desecrate their holy gender, in order to serve their desires, instead of producing new life out of it. Remember thy female nature! Since it is thy destination like the destination of all women which serve thee to mate with a man and to create new life by his seed." But Ashtaroth spake with abhorrence: "Never I will soil my immaculate body with pregnancy! Contemptuously I look down on those women with their bulging bellies, which give away their female grace degrading themselves into mothers."
On this defamation Belet was overcome by great anger. She called all the supreme mothers of the country to send their sons against the city Helal and to force down Ashtaroth. But she seized shield and spear and fearless faced her opponents. Whereupon many of the attacking warriors admired the bravery and the undiminished pride of the juvenile goddess, and so they abandoned the army of their mothers to follow her from now on. When Belet realised the army of warriors, which followed Ashtaroth, she shrank from the battle. And so she decided, to let Ashtaroth and those who followed her have their way. But ever since the anger against the young goddess gnawed her heart, and often she could hardly overcome her rage. A deep hostility remained forever between the two goddesses, though their conflict was never decided in a battle.
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