3 Comments

  1. Enlightenedsoul on March 2, 2021 at 8:56 pm

    Soul-scalping

  2. BlindTheEye on March 2, 2021 at 10:52 pm

    The black eyes don’t always happen towards the start of spring, but when they do:
    https://www.livius.org/articles/religion/akitu/

    On 4 Nisannu, the high priest of the Esagila (šešgallu) opened the festival, saying that the new year had begun. To the populace, this meant the beginning of a holiday of a week. On the same day, the king went to the temple of Nabû, where the high priest gave him the royal scepter. He then traveled to Borsippa, a city 17 kilometers downstream from Babylon that had a famous Nabû temple. Here, he spent the night. At the same time, the šešgallu recited the Babylonian creation epic (Enûma eliš) in the house of the New year.

    The fifth of Nisannu saw the king’s return to Babylon, accompanied by the statue of Nabû from Borsippa. The statue was left behind in the Uraš gate, and the king went to the Esagila to greet Marduk. He had to do this humbly, laying down his weapons, crown and scepter. The šešgallu listened to the king’s words that he had not sinned against Marduk and hit him very hard on the cheek (the king had to have tears in his eyes). Perhaps, this was a punishment for sins that were unwillingly committed. Kneeling in front of the statue of Marduk, the king receives an oracle about the glorious future, and was given back his royal insignia. At sunset, the king and the šešgallu performed a not completely understood ritual with a white bull.

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