his kingdom. He slew the tyrant Khumbaba
in the forest of cedars, and by means of a stratagem tempted the satyr
Ea-bant to leave the woods and become his counsellor and friend. Istar
wooed him, but he scorned her offers, and taunted her with her misdeeds
to the hapless lovers who had been caught in her toils. In revenge the
goddess persuaded her father Anu to create a winged bull, which should
work havoc in the country of the Babylonians. But Gilgames destroyed the
bull, an achievement, however, for which he was punished by Heaven.
Ea-bani died of the bite of a gadfly, and his spirit mounted to the
skies, while Gilgames himself was smitten by a sore disease. To heal it
he sailed beyond the mouth of the Euphrates and the river of death,
leaving behind him the deserts of Arabia and the twin-mountain where men
in the shape of huge scorpions guard the gateways of the sun. At last he
found Xisuthros, the hero of the Deluge, and learned from him how he had
escaped death. Cured of his malady, he returned homeward with a leaf of
the tree of life. But as he rested at a fountain by the way it was
stolen by a serpent, and man lost the gift of immortality.

In Babylonia, and to a lesser extent in Assyria, women were practically
on a footing of equality with the men. They could trade in their own
names, could make wills, could appear as witnesses or plaintiffs in
court. We hear of a father transferring his property to his daughter,
reserving only the use of it during his life. Polygamy was not common;
indeed, we find it stipulated in one instance that in the case of a
second marriage on the part of the husband the dowry of the first wife
should be returned to her, and that she should be free to go where she
would. Of course these rules did not apply to concubines, who were often
purchased. Adoptions were frequent, and slaves could be adopted into the
family of a freeman.

The large number of slaves caused the wages of the free labourer to be
low. But the slaves were treated with humanity. From early times it was
a law that if a slave were hired to another, the hirer should pay a
penalty to his master whenever he was incapable of work, thus preventing
"sweating" or overwork. Similarly, injuries to a slave were punished by
a fine. The slave could trade and acquire property for himself, could
receive wages for his work when hired to another, could give evidence in
a court of law, and might obtain his freedom either by manumission, by