dividualized gods, but they did not
displace the mother goddesses. "The Aryan Hellenes", says Dr. Farnell,
"were able to plant their Zeus and Poseidon on the high hill of
Athens, but not to overthrow the supremacy of Athena in the central
shrine and in the aboriginal soul of the Athenian people."[139] As in
Egypt, the beliefs of the father worshippers, represented by the
self-created Ptah, were fused with the beliefs of the mother
worshippers, who adored Isis, Mut, Neith, and others. In Babylonia
this process of racial and religious fusion was well advanced before
the dawn of history. Ea, who had already assumed manifold forms, may
have originally been the son or child lover of Damkina, "Lady of the
Deep", as was Tammuz of Ishtar. As the fish, Ea was the offspring of
the mother river.

The mother worshippers recognized male as well as female deities, but
regarded the great goddess as the First Cause. Although the primeval
spirits were grouped in four pairs in Egypt, and apparently in
Babylonia also, the female in the first pair was more strongly
individualized than the male. The Egyptian Nu is vaguer than his
consort Nut, and the Babylonian Apsu than his consort Tiamat. Indeed,
in the narrative of the Creation Tablets of Babylon, which will
receive full treatment in a later chapter, Tiamat, the great mother,
is the controlling spirit. She is more powerful and ferocious than
Apsu, and lives longer. After Apsu's death she elevates one of her
brood, named Kingu, to be her consort, a fact which suggests that in
the Ishtar-Tammuz myth survives the influence of exceedingly ancient
modes of thought. Like Tiamat, Ishtar is also a great battle heroine,
and in this capacity she was addressed as "the lady of majestic rank
exalted over all gods". This was no idle flattery on the part of
worshippers, but a memory of her ancient supremacy.

Reference has been made to the introduction of Tammuz worship into
Jerusalem. Ishtar, as Queen of Heaven, was also adored by the
backsliding Israelites as a deity of battle and harvest. When Jeremiah
censured the people for burning incense and serving gods "whom they
knew not", he said, "neither they, ye, nor your fathers", they made
answer: "Since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and
to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and
have been consumed by the sword and the famine". The women took a
leading part in these practices, but refused to accept all t