Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy

by Margaret Horton Potter

  V

  THE JEW

  On that July afternoon Amraphel, the high-priest, left the presence ofthe king, bearing with him not only the discomfiture of a defeat at thehands of Belshazzar. He had lost much that it had been his hope toobtain, but he had also gained something that might prove more valuablethan what he had lost. Even if this something were a mere suspicion,unfounded, not to be proved, yet it was what might, by adroitmanagement, be built up into a successful rumor which, spread throughthe city, would form the first step in the long flight from the top ofwhich Istar, now the greatest menace to Amraphel's power, might some daybe hurled, in broken radiance, to her doom.

  Up to this time, for hundreds, perhaps thousands--nay, as the naiveBerossus has it, hundreds of thousands--of years, the Babylonians hadworshipped, nominally, their gods and spirits: virtually, they had bowedbefore the priesthood and its orders. The priests themselves, knowing nogods, had, from all time, held in their hands unlimited power. For manycenturies the king himself had been a patesi of Anu--high-priest of thesky-god. Then, when the temporal ruler became a man apart, when theoffice was secular, and when Babylon had writhed under the lash ofNineveh, the people had always their religion. The high-priest and hisseers became more than ever absolute; ruling king and slave by means ofunreasoning superstition; while in the houses of the priesthood the godswere regarded as an amusing myth. But now--_now_--for two years past,all Babylonia, from Agade to the gulf, had been in a state of feverishreligiosity, for the reason that there was a goddess in Babylon: agoddess--a living, baffling, radiant presence, whose origin none knew.Amraphel was baffled by her at every point; but, trained from his birthup to a creed of absolute materialism, he still refused to believe inher divinity, because he had lost the power to rise to a conception ofdivinity.

  To-day, as his carriage rolled slowly across the great bridge to theeast side of the city, the high-priest pondered again over this problemof problems, though now less than ever seemed there any way of solvingit. Down the Mutaqutu, the second boulevard of Babylon, and from thereto the great temple of Marduk, the largest building in the city, butsecond in size to that of Bel in Borsip, he went. By now the sacrificeand heave-offerings for the afternoon would be ended, but it wasAmraphel's self-appointed task daily to inspect the temple, the shrine,and the priests' rooms, before he retired to the college of Zicaru forthe evening meal and a talk with his under-priests.

  The monster temple and the great square of Marduk were aglow with thesunset as Amraphel's chariot drew rein at the platform steps. The oldman alighted with his customary assurance. He had not reached theplatform itself when his eye was caught by a figure in front of himmoving slowly towards the temple door. It was a lean and sorry figure,ill-clothed, and hardly clean: that of a man hook-nosed and hawk-eyed,who leaned wearily on his staff and muttered to himself as he went. HimAmraphel overtook and familiarly accosted.

  "Surely, Daniel, thou goest not into the house of a 'false god'?"

  The Jew turned on him with a sour smile. "Yea, I go for my haunch of theday's heave-offering. God pardons a poor man the acceptance ofunsanctified food."

  "A _poor_ man--ay, verily. But since when art thou poor, Jew?"

  Daniel turned an ugly look upon the high-priest, who, having motives forpolicy, suddenly changed his tone and said, in a low voice:

  "Come thou and talk with me. The heave-offering, or something better,shall be sent to thine abode. There is a near matter that waitsdiscussion."

  The Jew consented silently to the proposal and followed the high-priestinto the temple, across its vast hall, and back into one of the smallrooms used only by priests. The little place was empty, and Amraphelseated himself in it with an affectation of feebleness. His back was tothe light, and he motioned his companion to a seat whereon the lastgleams of dying sunlight would fall direct from the small window behindthe priest. Daniel sat down, drew his garments together, laid his staffacross his knees, and caused his face to fall into an expression ofvacancy that betokened the utmost alertness of mind. Amraphel had,however, not the least intention of trying deceit with his companion.Rather, he was about to risk a very daring piece of frankness upon thisruler of captive Judea.

  "Daniel," said the old man, speaking in Hebrew, "you have told me thatyour people worship one only God. In your holy scriptures is there anyword of another--a goddess--that is divine?"

  "No!" was the quick answer.

  "Hast thou--" Amraphel bent towards him--"hast thou beheld, closely, herwhom they call Istar?"

  "Yea."

  "Hast thou spoken with her?"

  "Perhaps."

  "Nay, be not cautious with me, Jew. I speak from my heart. I ask as onethat knows nothing, what is the idea of thy mind concerning the womanthat dwells in the holy temple of the goddess? Is she divine?"

  "Divine! Say rather that she is the incarnation of Satan! Her heart isfull of evil."

  "Yet you see in her a supernatural power?"

  Amraphel asked the question with unmistakable anxiety; and Daniel,raising his eyes, glanced for an instant into those of the priest. Itwas the only answer that he gave, yet it was the one that Amraphel hadmost feared. So, then, Daniel himself did not know the secret of Istar'sexistence. It was well enough to call her an incarnation of evil. That,according to Amraphel's way of thinking, did not at all lessen herpower. It was a rather discouraging silence that fell between the two; asilence that Daniel finally broke.

  "Why, O Amraphel, dost thou question me about the woman of Babylon? Whatwould you with her?"

  The high-priest hesitated for a bare second. Then he answered, openly:"I would have her driven from Babylon! Driven hence, because--becauseshe menaces the state. Because she takes our power from us. Because withher the Elamite may find himself powerless against the city."

  Daniel drew a sharp breath. "Cyrus, too!"

  "Sh! Be silent! That name spells death. But consider what I have said.The people of the city worship their 'goddess' as they no longer worshipthe great gods of the silver sky. Should there come a time when Bel andMarduk commanded the surrender of the city to the Elamite, if Istar heldnot to us, if she raised her voice in behalf of the old dynasty, inbehalf of the tyrant, then indeed our lives might well be forfeited. Forwhen she commands, the people obey. And hark you, Daniel, I fear thatIstar of Babylon will not have the blood of Belshazzar redden thestreets of the Great City."

  "Nay; for she _loves_ the tyrant Belshazzar!"

  "Ah! You say it!" Amraphel, in high excitement, half rose from hisplace. Here were his suspicions most unexpectedly confirmed.

  Daniel, the imprudent words having escaped him, sank apathetically backin his place, giving the high-priest to understand by his attitude thatnothing further was to be expected from him on that subject. AndAmraphel had the tact to waive the point. He felt it to be too broad fordiscussion; for, in spite of himself, Istar roused in him unmistakablefeelings of awe. But now there was at least a strong bond of sympathybetween himself and Daniel. Amraphel realized that, and began at lastupon the real object of his conversation--a description of the proposedfestival at Erech, the three days that Istar was to spend in that holyhouse.

  "And why," queried Daniel, quietly, "should she not remain in Erech, theseat of her ancient worship? Surely that were well for all Chaldea?"

  "Ang!--all Chaldea--not for Belshazzar, the king's son," was the reply.

  Daniel looked at his companion with a twinkle in his eye. "If they werebut married!" he muttered to himself, not quite daring to speak thewords. But aloud he said, softly, with stress on every syllable: "Yet,Amraphel, if Istar of Babylon leaves the Great City, who is there to saythat she shall enter it again?"

  "None! As I am priest of Babylon, there is none that may say it!Yet--yet--I do not perhaps understand thy words."

  The Jew relapsed. "I said nothing!" he replied.

  "Yea, thou saidst. Say again, Jew, _how_ shall Istar not return againinto the Great City?"

  Daniel would not speak; but Amraphel, perceiving th
at much lay behindthe obstinacy, tried every means in his power to open the mind of hiscompanion. Finally the high-priest, driven to bay, took the risk, and,bending over the Jew, said, softly: "There is no deed that could becalled by the name of just execution that I would not see performed--forthe sake of Babylon and that captive race of thine that longs forliberty again."

  Thereupon Daniel, straightening, answered and said: "God is not flesh,but spirit. I, with mine eyes, have perceived that Istar of Babylon isof the flesh. Therefore, priest, she must be mortal, and subject, as allof us, to death. There be points of bronze and of iron which, piercingthe body, free the soul. So Istar--"

  "Thou hast said it! It shall be! When? Where?"

  "It should be--thus." Daniel paused for a moment, his keen face workingwith his thoughts as he arranged the plan. "Belit Istar, the king, andthe priests, descending Euphrates in boats, will come to Erech on theevening of the second day. Let the woman, on that night, go to rest inthe sacred precincts of the temple, but not then penetrate to the sacredshrine. On the morning of the third day from Babylon all the peopleshall be assembled in the great hall of the temple that they may beholdtheir goddess ascend into the shrine. Let her enter there alone forpurification and for communion with the great gods her brothers. Andlook you, Amraphel, if she come not forth alive from that place it shallbe for a sign that she was not divine, but an evil thing, that hadindulged in unholy mockery, and had angered the great goddess Istar thatdwells on high in the silver sky."

  Not till after he had spoken did the narrow eyes of the Jew meet thoseof his companion; and he found Amraphel regarding him with gravestolidity. Such things as this that they were planning were in no wayunheard-of among the holy orders; for the goat-skin, had it taken itstrue color, would, long years ago, have been dyed crimson with the bloodof those slain under cover of its power. To be sure, Daniel did not wearthis badge of office, and he proffered worship only to the God of Judea.But his was a captive race; and just at present his position wasgallingly unimportant. Therefore he believed that there were no meansactually unjustifiable for him to use to free himself and his peoplefrom their nominal captivity. Amraphel's next question, however, broughtup a new train of thought.

  "And who is to perform this deed? Thou, Daniel?"

  "Nay! Nay, verily!" Daniel spoke in haste. "Is it not written in thelaws of Moses, 'Thou shalt not kill'? It must be a man of Babylon, notof Judea, that does this thing."

  "Then shall some younger member of the priesthood be instructed to thedeed: Vul-Raman, of the temple of Nebo; Siatu-Sin, of the temple of Sin;Gula-Zir, of Bel at Borsip--"

  "Rather, Amraphel, than that one alone should be trusted to fulfil thedifficult command, let there be three concealed within the shrine. Soshall they gain courage, each from his fellow. Then there could belittle danger of cowardice or of impiety."

  "Truly, truly, that is well spoken. There shall be the three of them.Now, Istar hath not yet been told of the approaching journey. I, on themorrow, bear the word of it to her. It cannot be possible, Beltishazzar,that from any source she could hear anything of this plan? Surely thereis no danger that the dagger will fail to pierce her flesh?"

  Daniel grinned evilly. "Ho, Amraphel! Thou that believest in nothing! Isit divinity now that you attribute to the woman? And where is divinity?Where is a god? Where a goddess? Those words are foolish."

  "Time runs away. I must depart," observed the high-priest, risinghastily. "I go for the evening meal to the house of Zicaru. There alsowill be Vul-Raman, and probably the others. Will you come with me?"

  Daniel assented eagerly. It was not his idea ever to refuse a meal whichwould cost him nothing. Moreover, he was well known to the members ofmost religious houses, in which he was more or less respected asrepresenting the great colony of Jews in Babylon, whose co-operation inthe coming revolution was a very necessary thing. However little, then,the ex-prophet might be personally liked, his presence commanded arespect that was born of fear; and this, for him, in whose secret heartwas implanted an implacable hatred for the race that held him and hispeople in so-called bondage, was enough.

  The house of Zicaru was a kind of monastic institution in whichunordained members of the priesthood received an education, and whereall the various under-priests and attendants of the various templesmight lodge and eat. One of these houses was supported by nearly everytemple of Babylon, and the luxurious rooms of the house of the temple ofMarduk were the resort of high-priests and elders from every temple inthe city. As institutions of learning, the monasteries were celebrated;and there were schools attached to them for the instruction of the laityin such courses of study as were not taught in the market-place.Astronomy, algebra, geometry, astrology, augury, and many languages--oldAccadian, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Sanscrit could be learned there from themost efficient instructors in Chaldea. Without doubt the priesthood ofBabylon was a highly intellectual order, and the people whom they ruledwere ruled intelligently.

  As Amraphel and the Jew reached their destination, daylight sank, at abreath, out of the sky. They found the world within at supper. Thehigh-priest was greeted by a general rising, and the chief place at thehead of the table was vacated for him by Vul-Raman, of the house ofYakin, priest of Nebo and Nergal, next in rank to Amraphel. Vul-Ramanwas a far younger man than his immediate superior, and his face waspleasantly expressive and unusually animated for a Babylonian, who, ofall peoples, were the most impassive.

  Amraphel took the place at the head of the table with accustomeddignity, while Daniel found a seat farther down, among the elders, andhis yellow face lighted with pleasure as he smelled the savory odor ofroasted meats taken from the day's sacrifices. No table in the city,barring the king's own, was furnished so lavishly or so richly as this;for the rarest offerings made each day to Father Marduk were sent tothis larder at sunset. That which was not eaten was afterwards givenaway to the poor, who nightly clustered about the gates of the house,giving thanks to the gods for their generosity.

  Amraphel was a small eater, and never eager for food. To-night his beefremained before him untasted. His bread was unbroken, and the barleypaste grew stiff and cold as he sat drinking cup after cup of the wineof Lebanon, talking with those around him, using eyes and brain keenlyas he watched the right moment at which to speak. Vul-Raman andSiatu-Sin were side by side upon his left; while, as fortune arrangedit, Gula-Zir was next but one upon his right, having come in fromBorsippa for the night.

  Amraphel knew that every man at that table was at his command,unquestioningly, day or night. None would dare dispute his word; nonedare even to ask his motive for a deed. Nevertheless he carefully bidedhis time, waiting till the moment when that that he had to propose mightseem not only possible to do, but, in the interest of their creed, themost desirable of all deeds. The time arrived. Vul-Raman had happilymade reference to a somewhat similar affair of many months before, theresults of which had been beyond question beneficial--from the priestlypoint of view. Amraphel took the last words out of the other's mouth,turned them to unique account, and in less than five minutes had laidbare to his companions the skeleton of his design. It was done sodeftly, so lucidly, and withal so delicately, that Vul-Raman could notbut regard his superior with envious admiration. The whole arrangementof the murder was planned by suggestion. Not once was an imperativeused. Yet the man of simplest mind could not have failed to see what wasto be done, how, and by whom. Amraphel concluded more boldly with aphantasy of the deed:

  "I can see the great and holy temple, and the many hundreds that standwithin, waiting the coming of Belit Istar. I see the steps ascending tothe holy shrine all carpeted with stiff gold. At last I behold hercoming radiantly into the dusky temple-room. Her tresses float lightlybehind her; her tresses, like spun silk, hang as a veil about hershoulders. Falsely now she moves between the rows of kneeling men andwomen. Falsely she glides up the holy steps, and, profaning allholiness, draws aside the curtain of the sanctuary and enters alone intothe little room. The curtain falls again, concealing her from
thewatching eyes. Silently and swiftly do the faithful of the great godssteal behind, seizing her about the throat, with firm hands stifling hercries of terror. Before her stands her judge. The instrument of hisjustice is in his hand. Well he wields it. Three times it strikesswiftly to the heart of the woman. The silent body is left in theshrine. Only the false soul wails its way into the dismal land ofNinkigal. The judges, high in favor with the gods, depart even as theycame, by the statue-door in the back of the shrine. In high heaven thetrue Istar sings for joy. Crowns and much wealth she gives to those thathave served her. And now, down the golden carpet that covers the stepsleading up to the high place, flows a long thread of crawling crimson,which, with its brightness, shall speak to the people of the mortalityof her whom falsely they worshipped. Belit Istar shall be discovered tothem as a woman."

  These artistic and well-chosen words of the high-priest were greeted byall those around him with mental applause. The three men detailed forthe work eagerly accepted their task, and were enviously regarded bytheir companions; for would not the true Istar, doubtless in the personof Amraphel himself, reward them with "crowns and much gold"? Ah! In thedays of the great gods how might a prince have envied his priest!

  At the end of the meal, details of the forthcoming murder were discussedby Amraphel and the three priests in a room apart. After everything wasproperly understood Amraphel quietly left the house, and, once moremounting his chariot, made his way homeward through the long, darkstreets. His mind was at peace. The defeat at Belshazzar's hands of theearly afternoon, had merely necessitated another battle, in which, thistime, victory to the other side was an assured thing. There would belittle fighting about it. The disposition of forces was the simplest inthe world. There remained only two things to do. A vast celebration mustbe decreed, through Nabu-Nahid, for all Babylonia; and, more delicatetask, Istar herself must be persuaded into taking an interested part inthe festival. This last thing could best be done by himself. And inorder to prepare himself as adequately as possible for the cominginterview with the goddess in her own temple, Amraphel betook himself atthis early hour to his couch, and shortly after lying down, mind andbody alike being at rest, the aged and reverent man sank serenely tosleep.

  * * * * *

  Unique as was Istar's outer life, splendid as were her surroundings,awful and holy the places in which her time was passed, yet to anordinary person her existence would have been intolerable. Her absoluteisolation was something that those who regarded her from the outsidenever considered. To them she was above all ordinary things. She waspart of many a pageant, a dazzling vision to be looked upon, stared at,frequently prayed to in various affected ways, but in the end treated assomething inhuman, some one far from real life, the real world, realfeelings of joy and of sorrow. Gradually she had grown accustomed to hervast solitude. Her loneliness was uncomplaining; but her days wereinterminably, cruelly long. This was one reason why, when Lord Amraphelasked audience of her on the morning after the breaking of Charmides'lyre, she joyfully granted the request.

  Istar lay upon a pile of rugs in the prettiest interior court of herdwelling behind the temple, listening to the distant droning of aflageolet that came from a narrow street behind the temple platform. Therays of her aureole had been very faint; but, as Amraphel was announcedto her, her veil of light quickened into new life, and the vibrationspulsated rapidly, as if to protect her from close contact with somedangerous force. The high-priest was ushered into the divine presencepreceded by four eunuchs and followed by two black pages. Three times heprostrated himself before her, with every mark of humility andreverence. After the third obeisance Istar commanded a chair to bebrought for the old man, and bade him be seated in her presence.Amraphel, however, with a sudden, inexplicable qualm, refused the honor.

  "Belit Istar," he began, after a prolonged silence which Istar had notthought of breaking, "for two years now, ever since the miracle of theincarnation, you have dwelt secluded in the Great City. Here all menhave worshipped you in awe and in love. But now, from that city in whichyour first earth-life was lived, where, in the early dawn of Chaldeanhistory, you and your bright Tammuz and the mighty Izdubar dwelttogether, your people cry aloud to you again. By the benevolentgenerosity of Nabu-Nahid, their king, the men of Erech have raised a newand mighty temple in your honor, have called it by your name, and theypray, through my mouth, that you will go down into Erech and will withyour divine presence consecrate the far-famed holy house in whichhenceforth, in all honor and glory, you will dwell. This, to-day, is mymission to you, Lady of Heaven. May my words find favor in your ears!"

  While he spoke to her Istar had watched the man with troubled eyes.Something in his way of speaking moved her to distrust and tounhappiness. When he had finished the trouble lay in her heart, and sherebelled inwardly against him. But when she spoke, it was but to ask,quietly:

  "The people of Erech pray me to go down among them. When would they haveme come, and how?"

  "Eight days hence they wish to consecrate to you their new temple. You,the king, the king's son, the priests, your own attendants, and manylords and slaves of the royal houses, will journey in barges down thegreat river. It will be two days before Erech can be reached; butentertainment will be provided by the way for you and for the king andthe king's son. Musicians, dancers, and singers shall show their skillbefore you. Canopies will shade you from the fierce fires of Shamash.Cool wines and fruits and grains, with the flesh of cows, will beprovided for your sustenance. Through the journey, Lady of Heaven, youshall know no want."

  "And at the journey's end I shall behold the temple?"

  "Not on the first night. At sunset of the second day's journey thesacred city will rise up before you; and all night there will befeasting and rejoicing. You will be housed as fittingly as mortal mencan make your lodging, in the long rooms behind the temple. Far morespacious are they than these. Here, in communion with the gods yourbrothers, the night will quickly pass away; and when the morning dawns,and many people fill the temple, then you shall enter among them, andshall pass up the steps of the sacred shrine and shall enter into thehigh place, where purifying water will be placed in the deep. When thiswater is blessed at your hands it will be carried down among those inthe temple and sprinkled over them, and thereby great miracles will beperformed. Then, when you sit in the mercy-seat and receive the holyprayers of the people, giving them leave to address you and worship yourholy name, all lower Babylonia will fall upon its knees before you, willproffer sacrifice, and hold in highest honor you that are come to dwellamong them. Yea, and the city of Erech shall be forever holy amongcities. O goddess, may my words find favor in your ears!"

  Istar listened to these words as to the others, quietly, but with adistrust that she would have been unable to explain. When thehigh-priest ceased to speak she let the silence remain unbroken for someminutes. Finally, rising up before him, she replied, more dogmaticallythan she had ever spoken to any one:

  "I, O Amraphel, will go down into Erech, and there will I consecrate, asmuch as in my power it lies, this newly erected temple. I will listenthere to the prayers of the people, and will answer them if I may. Yea,for three days I will take up my abode in the city of Erech. But longerthan that I will not tarry. Babylon is the seat of my dwelling; and inBabylon I will fulfil my time. Moreover, let not the festival be orderedtill two more Sabbatu be passed. Then shall the barges at the greatbridge be made ready, and the king, and the king's son, and the priests,and lords, and slaves may assemble there on the twentieth day of thismonth of Ab. Lo, I have spoken."

  Amraphel made no protest. Once again he prostrated himself before her,in token of obedience to her will. Then, for a moment, he made an effortto scan her face. But the light flowed round about it so that he couldperceive nothing. Presently there came over him a sudden rush of dreadlest she should read the thoughts in his heart. Yet as his hands touchedthe hem of her garment she did not shrink from him; and, as he turned toleave her, she looked upon him with kindly
eyes. He left her presencewith perplexity and doubt in his mind; though how it had entered in hecould not have told. _Was_ Istar human? _Could_ she be divine? As theold man drove rapidly away down the A-Ibur-Sabu, it seemed to him thatthe firm, material beliefs of fifty years were swept from his mind, andhe was left again as a child before whom the world and its inscrutablemysteries are opening for the first time.

  When the high-priest was gone, Istar rose from the rugs upon which shehad sunk back for the moment, and began to move slowly up and down thesunlit court. As she went the rays of her aureole grew dim, till theembroidery of her purple robe could be distinguished, and her hairglistened only under the beams of the sun. And Istar's thoughts, likeher steps, were slow. She would neither define nor analyze them. Only,being as ever alone, she murmured them aloud to herself; and it was aswell, perhaps, that no one was at hand to hear her, as she said, softly:

  "The king will go--and the king's son! Twelve days--and then--Belshazzar,the--king's--son."