II STRAGES
Untold were the years, which passed. Thus the Supreme Goddess Belet-ili became tired and ponderous. And also her strength began to shrink. The mortals lost the confidence in her power and the fear of the secret knowledge of her priestesses. Also the male Gods saw, how weak the Great Mother had become. And when they realised their own strength, they began to doubt about the legitimacy of Belet's reign.
Then Anu, which was their leader, spake unto his sons: "From the beginning of time the Great Mother hath ruled over the earth. But I ask you this question: Whereupon are the foundations of her power built? Is it a sword which makes her invincible in the battle? Is it an army, which no enemy can resist? Or is not it only false magic without true power? Are not there only old wives' stories to frighten small children? Behold, in our hands are sword and shield! This is the true power, which is able to force any enemy onto his knees. Thus let us put and end to the reign of old women! Plague and leprosy gnaw at their power. Their weak limbs were not able to lift ever a sword, and their magic lost its strength. Never again woman shall rule over man! Raise your swords and smash the reign of women by vigorous strokes!"
Enthusiastically the gods followed their leader. Thus they went unto the temple of the Great Mother to overthrow her throne.
When Belet saw the army of the Gods approaching, she went outside accompanied by the mightiest of her priestesses to regard those, who raised their arms against her. The gods however stopped, as they noticed the angry face of their mistress. And the high-priestess of Belet raised her voice against those, who had followed Anu, and she said: "Why do ye come marching with clinking arms unto the temple of your mother? Have ye forgotten the respect for the supreme goddess, whose sons ye are, in your boundlessly high spirits? Stand back, or the spell of the Great Mother will come upon you!"
So the gods stopped. Only one among them, which was called Chusor, stepped forth. Because he was the blacksmith of the gods, who had forged their weapons. And he was neither afraid of magic nor of witchcraft, but nothing than the power of steel. Thus Belet spake her curse upon him. And no sooner her words had ended, when Chusor gasped for breath, because the air in his lungs had become poison. Dreadful cramps shook his limbs, so that he struck around in savage rage, whereby he shattered his heel with his own hammer. The strength of the poison was not able to kill him, but the gash at his foot never healed up, which is why he is called the Limping God since then.
When Anu saw, how Belet stroke his son by her curse, he raged in anger. He brandished his sword against the priestesses of the Great Mother and smote all of them, since they placed themselves protecting before their goddess. Also the other gods rushed into the battle. And together they destroyed the huge temple, until none of the stones it was made of remained on its place. Thus Belet, the greatest one of all goddesses, was overthrown. And she was forced to submit to Anu who ruled the earth in place of her. And also Ereshkigal was driven out from her reign in the underworld. Then she seeked refuge in the darkness of the night, where she restless roams about together with her disciples.
Only Ashtaroth prevailed still upon her throne. And though she had always been despised by Belet and her daughters, she nevertheless defended the power of the old goddesses against Anu and his sons. Since Anu was afraid of the warfare of Ashtaroth, he sent Assur, the strongest warrior among all his sons, against her. But Ashtaroth was well aware that Assur was superior to her in strength. Therefore she mounted Baldium, her black steed, which she had once stolen from the underworld, and faced the divine warrior in the battle riding upon its back.
With all his mighty strength Assur brandished his sword against Ashtaroth. But her dark steed broke like a desert storm upon him, so that he did not hit his opponent with none of his blows. As hard as he tried, she always escaped him upon her black steed of hell, before he was able to reach her with his arm. And in such a way the rage of the martial god increased each time, whenever Ashtaroth slipped away again and her sharp tongue mocked at him.
Driven by his superhuman rage he pursued the riding goddess, until finally he strengthless sank unto the ground. Thus easily Ashtaroth could overcome the god deprived of his strength. Defeated and bound she took him unto Helal.
In great dismay Anu heard about the disgraceful defeat of his son Assur. Thereupon he gathered the whole army of the gods, for his son the invincible warlord Marduk to go to war against Ashtaroth at its head. But Ashtaroth, who saw the army approaching from far away, seized her bow and sent her deadly arrows against her enemies. Many of those, who followed Marduk, were pierced by them, until finally the leader of the gods commanded his army to stop. And so he besieged the city Helal for two hundred and sixteen days and two hundred and sixteen nights. And each time the crescent of the moon diminished in the heaven, the fortune of war turned towards Marduk. But when the crescent grew in power and size, so also grew the power of its goddess Ashtaroth, and her warriors drove the aggressors far away from the walls of the city.
Meanwhile Ashtaroth sent for the imprisoned Assur in his dungeon and he was brought unto her throne. Thus she bewitched him by all her power of seduction, so that he was blinded by her beauty and forgat his anger against her. And when he promised Ashtaroth never to raise his sword against her again, she sent him back unto Marduk, his lord.
So Assur went back before his brother and begged him for their friendship's sake to put an end to the senseless battle. Meanwhile Marduk was so pleased by the return of his beloved brother that eagerly he granted his wish.
And so Marduk met with Ashtaroth, and he was bewitched by her grace as well, so that he immediately forgat his enmity against her. Whereupon the gods made peace with Ashtaroth and all other goddesses, whereas those honoured Anu as the new lord of the gods.
Now since the sight of Belet did no more weigh suspiciously upon her, Ashtaroth became ever greater and mightier, until her power was in no way inferior than the power of Anu and Marduk. There was no city, which did not build a temple for her. At any place on the earth she was worshipped. The most beautiful maidens and the noblest youngsters were sacrificed to her and she raised them from the transient netherworld. And in their enormous temple houses the mortals honoured Ashtaroth by the sensual ecstasy of their bodies. And they honoured the graceful hierodules and temple servants sharing the delights of their pleasure with them. Because all that prepared pleasures and benefit for them was sacred to them.
Great was the prosperity among the humans during those days. And the mighty priestesses and priests of Ashtaroth watched over the welfare of those, which honoured the goddess.
It came to pass four centuries after Anu had achieved the rule among the gods, when there rose a mighty empire among humans. From Memphis and Thebes the power of the emperor reached out for the world. Menes was the name of the emperor, and he was blessed by the gods whose son he was. So a new age dawned among humans, the age of the great kings and their empires uniting many nations under their reign.
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