Posted by andreas from p3EE3C365.dip.t-dialin.net (62.227.195.101) on Friday, November 29, 2002 at 1:02PM :
Take it (a partly repost) as an interlude:
Lest the Soap (opera) Subsides: "Ashur" - from the Encyclopedia Britannica
With regard to the short article from the Encyclopedia Britannica on Ashur below:
As is quite predictable - some infuriated Ashur addicts will tell in their powerful retorts that the below article is at least:
" Western, esp. British, imperialistic, anti-Assyrian, anti-darkie, anti-Eastern and
above all: "Christian" - whatever some on this forum understand by this term whatsoever.
Nonetheless, the simple fact remains that such a portray of "Ashur" is given in
what's deemed to be one of the most respectable encyclopedias - if not
THE most respectable - of the world. (For clarifcation: To me personnally,
this nere fact will NOT decide anything on content, i.e. quality or truth or so but is
merely indicative of circulation quantity and publication intensity with - HOWEVER - the ensuing deciding impact on public thinking patterns.
Now, after some tantrums of Ashur worshippers will have been thrown around there will still remain the naked fact that this very "disgusting" article is still in existence and doesn't disappear in their flaming breaths simply by force of their mightful wishful thinking or heroic denial (really a stunning experience to them....).
Thus it could prove wise to face up to this fact and to have a closer look at this strange object of displeasure:
Please note how Ashur is depicted and what notions are attached to him:
Usurpation of attributes undue and undeserved by him = all a fake up
and lie at all lack of substance / character in himself a mere projection
of worldly power interests of an political entity which exhausted itself
in its military, imperialistic and nationalistic design - all in all even
in sharp contrast to e.g. the rich Babylonian culture.
etc. etc.
So, now without any further comment of mine, how do you deal with
a) this info and b) the fact that this info has impregnated the minds of
the widest public ???
---------------------------
Ashur Encyclopædia Britannica Article
in Mesopotamian religion, city god of Ashur and national god of Assyria.
In the beginning he was perhaps only a local deity of the city that shared his name. From about 1800 BC onward, however, there appear to have been strong tendencies to identify him with the Sumerian Enlil (Akkadian: Bel),
while under the Assyrian king Sargon II (reigned 721–705 BC), there were tendencies to identify Ashur with Anshar, the father of An (Akkadian: Anu) in the creation myth.
Under Sargon's successor Sennacherib, deliberate and thorough attempts
were made to transfer to Ashur the primeval achievements of Marduk, as well as the whole ritual of the New Year festival of Babylon—attempts that clearly have their background in the political struggle going on at that
time between Babylonia and Assyria.
As a consequence, the image of Ashur seems to lack all real distinctiveness and contains little that is not implied in his position as the city god of a vigorous and warlike city that became the capital of an empire.
The Assyrians believed that he granted rule over Assyria and supported Assyrian arms against enemies; detailed written reports from the Assyrian kings about their campaigns were even submitted to him.
He appears a mere personification of the interests of Assyria as a political
entity, with little character of his own.
-- andreas
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