CHAPTER THREE THE CULT OF NEBO AND BEL
Nebo and Bel were the main gods of Edessa according to the Doctrina Addai, the Acts of Sharbel, and Jacob of Sarug's Homily on the Fall of the Idols. l In fact two ways are open to examine whether the reference to the cult of Nebo and Bel is only an "erudite remark" made by some Christian authors on two traditional Meso potamian deities which might, for instance, go back to Jes. 46, I, or whether it actually refers to the most important cults of Edessa in pagan times. One way consists of an analysis of all passages on pagan cults in the Doctrina Addai, the Acts of Sharbel and the Homily on the Fall of the Idols. The other one is to confront the literary evidence with all other testimonies to the existence of these cults in the same area and period. A combination of both ways and their respective results may seem fairly conclusive. Besides Nebo and Bel the Doctrina Addai mentions the cult of Bath-Nikkal at Harran, of Atargatis (Tar
1 The Doctrine of Addai, ed. G. Phillips, 23 (transl.), 24, I I.I5f.; Acts of Sharbel; W. Cureton, Ancient Syriac Documents, 41; Jacob of Sarug, Homily on the Fall of the Idols, Landersdorfer, Die G6tterliste, 13 (transl.), 19, 1.52 (text); Moses of Chorene, Historia Armeniae, II, 27; cj. D. Chwolsohn, Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus, Petersburg 1856, II, I6If.; I, 450. 2 cj. E. Dhorme, Les religions de Babylonie et d' Assyrie, Paris 1945, 54-60; 68ff., 83ff.; Haussig, Worterbuch der Mythologie I, 1965, 102 s.v. Mondgott; III s.v. Ningal. NEBO AND BEL any doubt Atargatis was the goddess par excellence at Mabbug Hierapolis. Lucianus devoted a special treatise to her temple and cult at that city, which is situated half-way between Aleppo and Edessa.3 The mention of the Eagle as a special deity of the Arabs has for a long time not been understood. E. Kirsten in RAe S.v. Edessa wrote: "Die Bedeutung des Adlers im Kult von Edessa ist ebenfalls unsicher." 4 F. Cumont inclined to link its cult with the so-called "Aigle funeraire," which takes a central position in his conception of after-life in Roman paganism. F. C. Burkitt proposed to change the text of the Doctrina Addai on this point and to read dsr) = Dusares, instead of nsr) = Eagle.5 Dusares, the main god of the Arab N abataeans, would be worshipped at Edessa, if this emendation of the text is accepted. In fact the reading nsr) = Eagle is excellent and therefore to be preserved because in the desert-city of Hatra near ancient Assur the cult of Maren Nsr) = Our Lord the Eagle is attested. Hatra was mainly inhabited by Arab desert dwellers who settled there and brought their cults with them. The Eagle represents the god of heaven, who is distinct from the heavenly bodies which may represent him.s Therefore in the Hatrene pantheon there is a clear distinction between Maren Nsr) = Our Lord the Eagle, and Maren = Our Lord. The latter title always means Samas, the Sun god of Hatra in his function of member of the triad which was worshipped in the main temple of that city. The triad consists of M aren = Our Lord, Marten = Our Lady and Bar-Maren = the Son of Our Lords (i.e., of Maren and Marten). Maren and Bar-MarEm were by far the most important
3 cf. G. Goossens, Hierapolis de Syrie. Essai de monographie historique, Louvain 1943, I 27ff. ; R. A. Oden, Studies in Lucian's De Syria Dea, Harvard Semitic Monographs 15,1977; the text of De Syria Dea quoted is that of the Loeb edition Vol. IV, 1925, 338-411. With R. A. Oden, Studies, 14ff. the present author is of the opinion that Lucian of Samosata and not an unknown Pseudo-Lucian is the author of De Syria Dea. H. W. Attridge - R. A. Oden, The Syrian Goddess (De Dea Syria) Attributed to Lucian, Texts and Transl. 9, Missoula 1976 gave a text based on the Loeb and Teubner edition of Lucian and a new English translation. 4 E. Kirsten, RAG IV, sp. 563. 5 F. C. Burkitt, Appendix to Mr. C. Winckworth's Note, JThS 25, 192 4, 40 3. 6 cj. H. Seyrig, Le culte du soleil en Syrie a l'epoque romaine, Syria 48, 1971, 371f.