ements compared
with those of the planet dedicated to the king of the gods.

Venus at sunrise and sunset.

A fragment of a tablet published in 1870 gives some interesting
particulars concerning the planet Venus, probably explaining some as
yet unknown mythological story concerning her. According to this, she
was a female at sunset, and a male at sunrise; Istar of Agade (Akad or
Akkad) at sunrise, and Istar of Erech at sunset: Istar of the stars at
sunrise, and the lady of the gods at sunset.

And in the various months.

Istar was identified with Nin-si-anna in the first month of the year
(Nisan = March-April), with the star of the bow in Ab (August-September),
etc. In Sebat (January-February) she was the star of the
water-channel, Iku, which was Merodach's star in Sivan (May-June), and
in Marcheswan her star was Rabbu, which also belonged to Merodach in
the same month. It will thus be seen, that Babylonian astronomy is far
from being as clear as would be desired, but doubtless many
difficulties will disappear when further inscriptions are available.

Stars identified with Merodach.

The same fragment gives the celestial names of Merodach for every
month of the year, from which it would appear, that the astrologers
called him Umun-sig-ea in Nisan (March-April), Dapinu in Tammuz
(June-July), Nibiru in Tisri (September-October), Sarru (the star
Regulus), in Tebet (December-January), etc. The first three are names
by which the planet Jupiter was known.

As for the planets and stars, so also for the constellations, which
are identified with many gods and divine beings, and probably contain
references, in their names and descriptions, to many legends. In the
sixth tablet of the Creation-series, it is related of Merodach that,
after creating the heavens and the stations for Anu, Bel, and Ae,

"He built firmly the stations of the great gods--
Stars their likeness--he set up the /Lumali/,
He designated the year, he outlined the (heavenly) forms.
He set for the twelve months three stars each,
From the day when the year begins, . . . for signs."

As pointed out by Mr. Robert Brown, jr., who has made a study of these
things, the "three stars" for each month occur on one of the remains
of planispheres in the British Museum, and are completed by a tablet
which gives them in list-form, in one case with explanations. Until
these are properly identi