[The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 1. (of 7): Chaldaea by George Rawlinson]@TWC D-Link bookThe Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 1. (of 7): Chaldaea CHAPTER VII 6/54
Sometimes the relationship alleged is confused, and even contradictory, as in the case of Nin or Ninip, who is at one time the son, at another the father of Bel, and who is at once the son and the husband of Beltis.
It is evident that the genealogical aspect is not that upon which much stress is intended to be laid, or which is looked upon as having much reality.
The great gods are viewed habitually rather as a hierarchy of coequal powers, than as united by ties implying on the one hand pre-eminence and on the other subordination. We may now consider briefly the characters and attributes of the several deities so far as they can be made out, either from the native records, or from classical tradition.
And, first, concerning the god who stands in some sense at the head of the Chaldaean Pantheon. IL, or RA. The form Ra represents probably the native Chaldaean name of this deity, while _Il_ is the Semitic equivalent.
_Il,_ of course, is but a variant of _El,_ the root of the well-known Biblical _Elohim_ as well as of the Arabic _Allah_.
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