Comments on: Mesopotamian gods, chaos-monsters, and the “combat myth” (Satan 2)

By: Ansu

Ansu — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:42:05 +0000

Interresting to read your brief resumé of the mysterious Ninurta-myth. But I am a bit puzzled; Does’nt this myth start off with Ea advicing (or prophesizing) Enlil to lend Anzu the Tablet of Destiny?

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:01:33 +0000

Hey Dave Elkin, I noticed the same similarity, could there really be a connection? It does not seem unlikely that Lovecraft could have based some of his fiction on ancient Mesopotamian religion. The idea of there being powerful reptilian gods seems very similar to Cthulhu mythos…

By: Mateo Urquijo

Mateo Urquijo — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:05:54 +0000

Hello! I am wondering about the possible correlation between the Ugaritic `Lotan,` and `Azhi Dahaka,` from Zoroastrianism and their respective or correlative influence on Judaism and subsequent Christianity. First, when was `Psalms` composed? That is, is the Leviathan in Ps.104 the same as the Leviathan in Job 41? I am trying to figure out where to draw the line on Zoroastrian influence and the far older Canaanite/Ugaritic influences carried over from Judaic tradition. Or is it that the Leviathan myth in Zoroastrianism from 650bce itself a carry over from ancestral culture, 2000-3000bce? Thank you!

By: Phil Harland

Phil Harland — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 15:14:29 +0000

Hello Raj,

This myth is within Mesopotamian culture, not Jewish or Israelite religion specifically (so Moses’ tablets are not involved). Instead, within several Mesopotamian myths there is the notion that the king of the gods possessed a tablet in which were written many if not most of what was to happen in the future. Type “evolution” into an online English dictionary.

Phil

By: raj

raj — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 11:13:41 +0000

please advise what is the gods tablet , moses tablet , what it contains and what it means evolution .

By: Phil Harland

Phil Harland — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 20:30:44 +0000

You are really onto something here, Dave Elkin. Timothy Beal discusses the links between chaos-monsters and modern horror, including Lovecraft's Cthulhu in chapter 12 of Religion and Its Monsters (For those unfamiliar as I was not so long ago, Lovecraft was a very well known horror writer who died in 1937 but continues to a have a devoted following, some more serious than others). Quite interesting in this connection (as Beal also points out) are the various branches of the "Campus Crusade for Cthulhu" (playing on the similar titles of Christian organizations at colleges and universities) which exist at various institutions and are, often in a humorous manner, devoted to Lovecraft's horror writing. See, for example, this site. There the quite deliberately humorous promotional statement begins like this: "Bored by an ordinary, nothing life? Searching for excitement, power? Seeking a higher cause, one worthy of your very life? The Campus Crusade for Cthulhu offers all this, AND MORE! How does Tall, Green, and Slimey sound to you? Pretty scarey. But you can handle it. You will have to learn how to. You will learn to yearn for the soft squeezing caress of undulating tentacles. Or you will be eternally sorry that you did not..."

By: Dave Elkin

Dave Elkin — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 06:09:25 +0000

H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos has always struck me as having a foundation in the ancient legends of the Near East. However, he never seemed to see the good, only the evil. It is interesting where one can find ancient gods and ancient myths if one looks