In this second lecture extracted from Sayce’s Origin and Growth of Religion, the renowned Assyriologist specifically considers the Babylonian deity Bel-Merodach. Noting that Cyrus the Great was a worshipper of this deity, the outlook of the priesthood of Bel-Merodach regarding his conquest of Babylon begins the discussion. Merodach, Sayce notes, is the supreme Baal (Bel, or lord) of Babylon, prompting him to compare him with the deity of the Bible, Yahweh. Sayce characterizes Babylonian religion by localization, studying particularly the temple of Bel. The concept of resurrection and Merodach’s possible origin as a sun-god of Eridu are discussed. Sayce examines Nebo the divine prophet of Borsippa, reflecting early views toward the material. The origin and associations with Yahweh of Assur, the eponymous god of Assyria, close out the discussion.

Archibald Henry Sayce (1845-1933) was a renowned Assyriologist, linguist, and sometime archaeologist. Educated at Queens College, Oxford, Sayce eventually came to hold the Professorship of Assyriology at Oxford. A prolific writer, he is responsible for many of the insights taken for granted by scholars today. Sayce, for example, was the first to suggest that the Hittites had been a major empire in ancient Anatolia (what is now Turkey). He was also a clergyman in the Church of England.