Adad as the greatest god (1)

Text
Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.23.17-20:
Let me tell you what the Assyrians believe about the sovereignty of the sun. To the god whom they revere as highest and greatest (summum maximumque) of the gods they have given the name of Adad, a name which, being interpreted, means “One One.” Him, then, they worship as the most powerful god, but they associate with him a goddess called Adargatis, and to these two deities, by whom they understand the sun and the earth, they ascribe full power over all things. And, instead of using a number of names to express the power shared by these deities in all its forms, they indicate the manifold pre-eminence of this twofold godhead by the attributes which each deity bears. These attributes of themselves tell of the nature of the sun; for the statue of Adad is distinguished by rays which point downward, to show that the might of heaven is in the rays which pour down from the sun to the earth, but the statue of Adargatis is distinguished by rays which point upward, to show that everything that the earth brings forth owes its birth to the power of the rays sent from above. Under the statue of Adargatis are figures of lions, to indicate that the goddess represents the earth, on the same principle as that by which the Phrygians have represented the Mother of the Gods, that is to say, the earth, in a car drawn by lions.

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Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.23.17-20

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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