GODHEAD

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,"
(Exodus 20:4)

"The people of the Scripture ask you to cause a book to descend upon them from heaven.
Indeed they asked Musa for even greater than that, when they said: 'Show us Allah in public,'
but they were struck with thunderclap and lightning for their wickedness."
(Qur'an 4:153)

Biblical condemnation of graven images and venerated stones was driven by a belief that these
sacred objects functioned as a medium between the gods and humans and contained the living
gods. The stones were thus animated by the spirit of the gods and functioned as a type of
extraterrestrial relic that contained magical powers. Likewise the spirit of the deity was believed
to inhabit the icons. The presence of the saint or god within the painted image accounted for
the legends of miracles that were attached to the veneration of icons. The iconoclasts attributed
this belief as akin to the presence and worship of demons that lived in venerated stones and
pagan statues.
Consequently the biblical prohibitions against idol worship were further formulated and defined
during the Byzantine iconoclastic crisis. New strictures were imposed on icons and laws were
introduced that governed the depiction of the deity.

The Byzantine iconoclasm controversy ignited in 726 AD when Emperor Leo III tore down the
image of Christ over the Chalke palace gate in Constantinople. The image was replaced with a
cross accompanied by this inscription: "The Lord God does not allow the fashioning of an image
of Christ that is lifeless and without breath, made of earthly matter despised by the Writings.
Leo, together with his son, the new Constantine, signs the royal portals with the three-blessed
sign of the cross, the glory of all believers."

This act was followed by further edicts that constrained the creation of deified images or icons.
"Condemned be every one who attempts to capture the likeness of the saints with material
colours in lifeless and mute icons - for such images are of no use. To fashion them is a
nonsensical idea and devilish invention, taking the place of depicting in ourselves the virtues of
the saints as told in the Writings, and thus becoming ourselves living icons and being prompted
to a zeal similar to theirs."1

"... if anyone shall endeavour to represent the forms of the Saints in lifeless pictures with
material colours which are of no value (for this notion is vain and introduced by the devil), and
does not rather represent their virtues as living images in himself, let him be anathema!" 2

These prohibitions emphasize that capturing the likeness of the saints is "a devilish invention"
and that the notion of representing the forms of the saints had been "introduced by the devil."
The explicit references to the devil reflect an inheritance from the pagan belief that the spirit of
the god dwelled in the statue.

The iconoclastic destruction of the Serapeum in Alexandria occurred in the late 4th century AD
as part of the programme of suppression of pagan religions. The rampaging Christian iconoclasts
clearly believed that the statues and even the stones of the temple itself were imbued with the
devil as is evident from this description of the desecration: "... the columns are broken, the walls
knocked down. The gold, the fabrics and precious marbles are removed from the impious
stones imbued with the devil… The temple, its priests and the wicked sinners are now
vanquished and relegated to the flames of hell, as the vain superstition and the ancient Serapis
are finally destroyed."3

The mobs of iconoclastic zealots believed that they were destroying the gods, seen by them as
demons, that resided in the statues. The description of the destruction of the statue of Serapis
blurs the distinction between an animate and inanimate object. The statue becomes imbued
with a life of its own as if it were inhabited by a demon. "One of the soldiers, better protected
by faith than by his weapon, grabs a double-edged axe, steadies himself, and, with all his might,
hits the jaw of the old statue. Hitting the worm-eaten wood, blackened by the sacrificial smoke,
many times again, he brings it down piece by piece, and each is carried to the fire that someone
else has already started, where the dry wood vanishes in flames. The head goes down, then the
feet are hacked, and finally the god’s limbs are ripped from the torso with ropes." 4

The Christian zealots rampaged through Alexandria desecrating all sculptures of Serapis.
According to Rufinus these were “so cut and filed away that not even a trace or mention of him
or any other demon remained anywhere. In their place everyone painted the sign of the Lord’s
cross on doorposts, entrances, windows, walls, and columns.”5

The ancient pagan religions were seen by the iconoclasts as primitive superstitions that
venerated gods that were now classified as demons. The iconoclastic destruction of temples as
the houses of these demons spread across the empire under official sanction. The Codex
Theodosianus stated: "Let all temples in the countryside be demolished without disturbance or
upheaval. With their overthrow and removal, all material basis for superstition will be
destroyed."6
The Christian iconoclastic zealots "hasten to attack the temples with sticks and stones and bars
of iron, and in some cases, disdaining these, with hands and feet. Then utter desolation follows,
with the stripping of roofs, demolition of walls, the tearing down of statues and the overthrow
of altars, and the priests must either keep quiet or die. After demolishing one, they scurry to
another, and to a third, and trophy is piled on trophy, in contravention of the law." 7

In 630 AD the Prophet Muhammad threw out the idols and icons that were contained in the
Kaaba in Mecca and reflected the pre-Islamic pagan history of the shrine. This act, which is at
the core of Islamic iconoclasm, is recorded by the hadith.

"Narrated Ibn Abbas: When Allah’s Apostle arrived in Mecca, he refused to enter the Ka'ba
while there were idols in it. So he ordered that they be taken out. The pictures of Abraham and
Ishmael, holding arrows of divination in their hands, were carried out. The Prophet said, 'May
Allah ruin them for they knew very well that they never drew lots by these.' Then the Prophet
entered the Ka'ba and said 'Allahu Akbar' in all directions and came out and did not offer any
prayer therein."8

The image or icon of Muhammad, like that of Allah, is bound by conventions that prohibit the
likeness of a deity rendered in corruptible matter. These prohibitions relate back to the worship
of the Golden Calf and the injunctions against pillar worship that are extensively condemned in
both the Bible and the Qur'an. The biblical myths of the Golden Calf are synonymous with the
condemned practise of idol worship. The worship of the Golden Calf is an inheritance from the
Egyptian cult of the Apis calf or bull.

Condemnation of the worship of the Golden Calf is common both to the Bible and the Qur’an
and therefore is a theme that is consistently emphasized by all three of the monotheistic
religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. "And the Lord said unto Moses… 'They have turned
aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and
have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto,' and said, 'These be thy gods, O Israel, which
have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.'"9

According to Tacitus, in reference to Judaism, these prohibitions reflected the belief in an

eternal inimitable god. This concept could not be represented by the depiction of the human
face or figure. "They think it impious to make images of gods in human shape out of perishable
materials. Their god is almighty and eternal, inimitable and without end. They therefore set up
no statues in their temples, nor even in their cities, refusing this homage to their kings and this
honour to the Roman emperors."10

This concept of an eternal inimitable god was, according to the hadith, expressed by
Muhammad in reference to the Black Stone of Mecca which was granted a special dispensation
reflecting its status as being formed according to the image of the stars. "... they also say that
among the images and statues left in the Kaaba by Mahabad and his renowned successors, one
is the Black Stone, the emblem of Saturn. They also say that the Prophet of Arabia worshipped
the seven planets, and he therefore left undisturbed the Black Stone or Saturn’s emblem, which
had remained since the time of the Abadian dynasty; but that he broke or carried away the
other figures introduced by the Kuraish, and which were not formed according to the image of
the stars."11

In this passage the 'Dabistan,' an influential Persian text, states that "the prophet of Arabia
worshipped the seven planets" and also states unequivocally that the Black Stone is "the
emblem of Saturn." Therefore the worship of the Kaaba and the Black Stone revolves around
the worship of Saturn. This planet had a unique status in antiquity as the furthest of the visible
planets from the earth. The path traced by Saturn across the heavens took approximately thirty
years and the plane was seen as the ultimate determinant of human history.

Saturn was the seventh of the known celestial bodies of the solar system (the sun, the moon,
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) and is represented by the seven circumambulations of
the Kaaba. "The sun and moon and five other stars, which are called the planets, were created
by him in order to distinguish and preserve the numbers of time; and when he had made their
several bodies, he placed them in the orbits in which the circle of the other was revolving in
seven orbits seven stars."12

"It is certain that the star called Saturn is the highest, and therefore appears the smallest, that
he passes through the largest circuit, and that he is at least thirty years in completing it." 13

"But above all in importance, they (the Chaldeans) say, is the study of the influence of the five
stars known as planets, which they call 'Interpreters' when speaking of them as a group, but if
referring to them singly, the one named Cronus (Saturn) by the Greeks, which is the most
conspicuous and presages more events and such as are of greater importance than the others,
they call the star of Helius, whereas the other four they designate as the stars of Ares,
Aphrodite, Hermes, and Zeus (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter), as do our astrologers. The reason
why they call them ‘Interpreters’ is that whereas all the other stars are fixed and follow a
singular circuit in a regular course, these alone, by virtue of following each its own course, point
out future events, thus interpreting to mankind the design of the gods." 14

"Others maintain that they do this in honour of Saturn, either because their religious principles
are derived from the Idaei, who are supposed to have been driven out with Saturn and become
the ancestors of the Jewish people; or else because, of the seven stars which govern the lives of
men, the star of Saturn moves in the topmost orbit and exercises the mightiest influence, and
also because most of the heavenly bodies move round their courses in multiples of seven.
Whatever their origin, these rites are sanctioned by their antiquity."15

The Dabistan states that the Black Stone is the emblem of Saturn and also states that the colour
that symbolically represents Saturn is black. Black is the colour of the Kiswah that is wrapped
around the Kaaba and covers the shrine. "It is stated in the Akhtaristan, that the image of the
regent Saturn was cut out of black stone… His temple was also of black stone…" 16
Meteorites were seen in antiquity as the seed, or semen, of the gods that was cast down upon
the earth. The Dabistan refers to the Black Stone of Mecca as the symbol of male energy and as
the symbol of female productiveness. The semen of the gods courses through the universe and
is represented by meteorites which seed the earth. "In the Kabah and in the idol temple is his
stone the symbol of male energy, and his is the symbol of female productiveness; in one place it
is the Black Stone of the temple of Mecca; in another place an idol of the Hindus." 17

A black stone that appears to have been a meteorite was worshipped in a great cult temple in
Emesa in contemporary Syria. A coin from Emesa clearly shows the conical Baetyl of El-Gabal.
'Baetyl' derives from the Semitic languages and literally means the 'house of god.'

Herodian states that the shrine containing the sacred conical stone was dedicated to the sun
god and was worshipped under the Phoenician name of El-Gabal. "No statue made by man in
the likeness of the god stands in this temple, as in Greek and Roman temples, the temple does,
however, contain a huge black stone with a pointed end and round base in the shape of a cone.
The Phoenicians solemnly maintain that this stone came from Zeus; pointing out certain small
figures in relief, they assert that it is an unwraught image of the sun, for naturally this is what
they wish to see."18

Where the baetyl was believed to be a meteorite it was considered to be a manifestation of the
god now incorporated on the terrestrial plane. Thus the baetyl was the body of a star that
enclosed the spirit of the deity. Pliny describes the baetyls as sacred objects with supernatural
powers. "Sotacus mentions also two other varieties of ceraunia, one black and the other red;
and he says that they resemble axes in shape. Those which are black and round, he says, are
looked upon as sacred, and by their assistance cities and fleets are attacked and taken: the
name given to them is baetyli…"19
Philo of Byblos states that Astarte, which he recognizes as equivalent to Aphrodite, found a star
that had fallen from the sky and consecrated the sacred baetyl. "Astarte set the head of a bull
upon her head as a mark of royalty; and in travelling round the world she found a star that had
fallen from the sky, which she took up and consecrated in the holy island of Tyre. And the
Phoenicians say that Astarte is Aphrodite."20

A triad of goddesses, al-Lat, al-'Uzza and Manat, were worshipped at the pre-Islamic shrine of
Mecca. The morning/evening star represented the goddess al-'Uzza and this star establishes an
equivalence between this goddess and Aphrodite. John of Damascus writes about the idolatrous
rites of Mecca linking the morning star to the goddess worshipped there. "These used to be
idolaters and worshipped the morning star and Aphrodite, whom in their own language they
called Khabar, which means great."21

The path of Venus (Aphrodite) across the night sky is marked by two phenomena - the morning
star and the evening star. "Now Astarte, the divine mistress of Adonis, was identified with the
planet Venus, and her changes from a morning star to an evening star were carefully noted by
the Babylonian astronomers, who drew omens from her alternate appearance and
disappearance."22

The Black Stone in the Kaaba is linked to the worship of these deities and this worship also
perfectly synchronizes with the Satanic Verses of the Qur'an. These are the verses that Satan
was said to have cast onto the tongue of Muhammad and therefore to have contaminated the
Qur'an. They seek the intercession of the three pagan goddesses.

"Have ye thought upon al-Lat and al-'Uzza,

and Manat the third, the other?
These are the exalted gharaniq
whose intercession is hoped for."
The last two lines of these Satanic words have been expunged from the Qur'an. They are said to
have been the chanted invocation of the Quraysh as they made the seven ritual
circumambulations of the Kaaba and the Black Stone. The worship of al-'Uzza is now a hersey
and her shrine was destroyed in 630 AD. The worship of this entity is linked to the Satanic
Verses by the hadith.

"Then God sent down the revelation. 'By the star when it sets! Your companion has not erred or
gone astray, and does not speak from mere fancy…' When he reached God’s words, 'Have you
seen al-Lat and al-'Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?' Satan cast upon his tongue, because
of what he had pondered in himself and longed to bring to his people, 'These are the high-flying
cranes and their intercession is to be hoped for.'"23

Varro states that Aphrodite was born from fiery seed that fell from the sky and was also formed
from the 'foam-masses.' These stellar foam masses correspond to the cosmic clouds from which
stars are formed. “The poets, in that they say the fiery seed fell from the Sky into the sea and
Venus (Aphrodite) was born 'from the foam-masses,' through the conjunction of fire and
moisture, are indicating that this vis 'force' which they have is that of Venus. Those born of this
vis have what is called vita 'life'..."24

The use of the expression 'foam-masses' clearly indicates that Varro is speaking of the myth
recited by Hesiod about the birth of Aphrodite Urania. In this vision the stars become the semen
of the gods filling the night sky with a shining heavenly foam. Ouranos (Uranus) was castrated
with a gigantic scythe wielded by Cronus (Saturn) and from the foaming mutilated genitals
Aphrodite emerged. According to Hesiod this seminal foam formed the heavenly body of the
goddess.

"And so soon as he had cut off the members with flint and cast them from the land into the
surging sea, they were swept away over the main a long time; and a white foam spread around
them from the immortal flesh, and in it there grew a maiden… Her gods and men call Aphrodite
and the foam-born goddess and rich-crowned Cytherea, because she grew amid the foam…" 25

In the myth contained in the 'Theogony' the original supreme archaic Greek deity Ouranos is
castrated with a giant flint sickle wielded by Cronus (Saturn). The blood shed from the mutilated
genitals of the god falls to earth and gives birth to a race of giants among other entities. These
myths derive from archetypal myths transcribed on cuneiform tablets rereferring to the blood
of a mutilated god that is mixed with clay to create humans.

"Then the son (Cronus -Saturn) from his ambush stretched forth his left hand and in his right
took the great sickle with jagged teeth, and swiftly lopped off his own father’s members and
cast them away to fall behind him. And not vainly did they fall from his hand; for all the bloody
drops that gushed forth Earth received, and as the seasons moved round she bore the strong
Erinyes and the great Giants with gleaming armour, holding long spears in their hands and the
Nymphs whom they call Meliae all over the boundless earth." 26

The myth draws direct comparison with another that is termed the 'Kingship in Heaven,' and
describes the castration of the archetypal Mesopotamian deity Anu. This deity is seen as
equivalent to the archaic Greek deity Ouranos in that both are original creator gods that
symbolize the generalized concept of the vault of the sky. Kumarbi castrates/genitally mutilates
Anu but in the process swallows Anu's genitals and is inseminated and impregnated by Anu.
Kumarbi consequently gives birth to five gods as a result of ingesting the semen of Anu.

These concepts can be traced back to primordial creation myths that existed long before the
emergence of the contemporary monotheistic religions. A headless deity features in the original
creation myths of Babylon that have survived in the text of Eusebius of Caesarea. Eusebius
transcribes the text of Alexander Polyhistor who is himself quoting from the lost texts of the
Babylonian writer Berossus. Consequently the transmission is at several stages removed from
the original texts but is in essence supported by the cuneiform tablets that relate the creation
myths of the Enuma Elish and the Atrahasis Epic.

Berossus states, according to Eusebius and Alexander Polyhistor, that "this story is an allegory
about nature; for when everything was wet and creatures were born in it, this god cut off his
own head. The other gods took the blood that flowed from him and by mixing it with earth they
created men. Therefore men are intelligent and have a share of divine reason." 27

Thus there exists in these primordial myths a headless figure that represents a deity. The blood
that was shed from this decapitation was used to create humans and all the other creatures
that inhabited the earth. "When Belus saw that the land was empty and fertile, he ordered one
of the gods to cut off his own head, and by mixing the blood which flowed from him with earth,
to create men and wild beasts who could endure the air."28

These concepts are supported by the cuneiform tablets of two primary sources - the Enuma
Elish and the Atrahasis Epic. Both of these support the concept that humans were created from
the blood of a slaughtered god.

In these myths the gods create humans to perform the menial tasks on earth thus freeing the
deities of these burdens. A god is selected to be sacrificed to enable the creation of humans.
According to the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian Epic of Creation, humans were originally formed
from the blood of this god. The Babylonian epic retains elements of the more ancient Sumerian
version especially in the central role played by the Sumerian deity Ea.

"When Marduk heard the god's speech

He conceived a desire to accomplish clever things.
He opened his mouth addressed Ea,
He counsels that which he had pondered in his heart,
‘I will bring together blood to form bone,
I will bring into being Lullu, whose name shall be 'man.'
I will create Lullu-man
on whom the toil of the gods will be laid that they may rest." 29

The god’s assemble and decide which of their number must be executed in order to perform
this sacrifice that gives birth to humans. Quingu is selected as punishment for his role as a
warmonger among gods. The role that this god had played by inciting warfare amongst the gods
suggests that decapitation could have been an appropriate method of execution.

"Quingu is the one who instigated warfare,

who made Tia-mat rebel and set battle in motion.
They bound him, holding him before Ea,
they inflicted the penalty on him and severed his blood-vessels.
From his blood he (Ea) created mankind,
on whom he imposed the service of the gods, and set the gods free."30

This creation myth is supported by the Epic of Atrahasis thus further emphasizing the primordial
nature of this original creation myth. The oral transmission of these myths would have preceded
the physical evidence of the cuneiform tablets by millennia. It is clearly apparent that the
scribes of Babylon saw these myths as surviving through oral transmission from the dawn of
human existence. This is evident in the attempt to confer legitimacy on their pantheons of
deities by demonstrating their role in the creation of the earth and subsequently of humans.

In the Atrahasis, the blood and flesh from the slaughtered god is mixed with clay to form
humans. This process of creation is seen in the context of a ritual of purification.

"Enki made ready to speak,

and said to the great gods:
'On the first, seventh, and fifteenth days of the month,
let him establish a purification, a bath.
Let one god be slaughtered,
Then let the gods be cleansed by immersion.
Let Nintu mix clay with his flesh and blood.
Let that same god and man be thoroughly mixed in the clay.
Let us hear the drum for the rest of the time.
From the flesh of the god let a spirit remain,
let it make the living know its sign,
lest he be allowed to be forgotten, let the spirit remain.'" 31

Thus the human retains part of the original substance of the god from which he was created.
The original blood and flesh of the slaughtered god remains within the individual human as a
spirit that will not let humans forget their origin. In this version of the myth the deity that
communicated the original inspiration was the god that was slaughtered. These concepts,
conveyed originally through oral transmission, reappear thousands of years later in the Christian
crucifixion and also in the Qur'an.

"They slaughtered Aw-ilu, who had the inspiration, in their assembly.

Nintu mixed clay with his flesh and blood.
That same god and man were thoroughly mixed in the clay.
For the rest of the time they would hear the drum.
From the flesh of the god the spirit remained.
It would make the living know its sign.
Lest he be allowed to be forgotten, the spirit remained." 32

Nintu (Lady of Birth) was the primordial fertility/mother goddess who facilitated the creation of
humans by mixing the blood of the slaughtered/decapitated god with clay. The mutilation of a
deity, either through castration or decapitation, is a recurring theme in these creation myths.
"The sun appears to have been preceded by the moon, as an object of worship, but the Moon-
God was probably only representative of the primeval Saturn, who finally became the Sun-God
EL or IL of the Syrians and Semites, and the Ra of the Babylonians." 33

The blood that is shed by these acts of mutilation is mixed with clay or the earth to engender
primordial life. In the Epic of Atrahasis the goddess, Nintu, mixes blood from the decapitated
deity to create humans. This archetypal goddess was subsumed into a wider fertility cult that
ultimately celebrated goddesses such as Astarte and Aphrodite.

The testimony of John of Damascus (ca. 680-750 AD) on the 'Heresy of the Ishmaelites' provides
an early witness to the dawn of the Islamic faith. These early documents take the form of a
discourse that responds to the new religion of Islam which had arisen in the 7th century. The
work presents a very specific indication of the origin of the veneration of the Black Stone of
Mecca. Referring to the idolatrous worship of the Black Stone that is implanted in the Kaaba he
states: "This stone that they talk about is a head of that Aphrodite whom they used to worship
and whom they called Khabar."34

In this interpretation the "head of that Aphrodite" represents not the actual head of the
goddess but the decapitated head of the god that the primeval goddess moulds with clay to
create the first humans.

"...this story is an allegory about nature; for when everything was wet and creatures were born
in it, this god cut off his own head. The other gods took the blood that flowed from him and by
mixing it with earth they created men. Therefore men are intelligent and have a share of divine
reason."35
The punishment inflicted by entities such as Islamic State for the blasphemous depiction of the
Prophet Muhammad is decapitation. They hold that this extreme response is endorsed by the
Qur'an. "When you meet the disbelievers in battle, strike them in the neck…"36

In the video statement by Islamic State that accompanied the iconoclastic destruction of the
Assyrian winged beasts from Nineveh the Akkadians are singled out for condemnation as
idolaters. "The Assyrians, Akkadians, and others took for themselves gods of rain, of agriculture,
and of war, and worshipped them along with Allah, and tried to appease them with all kinds of
sacrifices. The Prophet Muhammad shattered the idols with his own honourable hands when he
conquered Mecca."37

The Epic of Atrahasis is Akkadian in origin and the Islamic State militants are therefore
upholding archaic myths that they are simultaneously attempting to destroy. Beheading in this
deified religious context for a crime that is religious in nature draws upon primordial creation
concepts. This form of ritualized execution echoes the fate of the god in the Epic of Atrahasis.
The myths of a decapitated deity that gives rise to human life predates Muhammad and his
teachings by millennia.

There is a timeless immutable concept of blasphemy that exerts a powerful hold on the human
psyche. Many of the characteristic features of contemporary iconoclasm and the blasphemy
controversy over the Muhammad cartoons appear to be replicated down the centuries
undiminished by perceptions of modernity and technological advancement. The conventions
that still underlie the depiction of the deity and their violation are the foundation for the
contemporary controversy over the Muhammad cartoons.

"The People of the Book demand that you (Prophet) make a book physically come down to
them from heaven, but they demanded even more than that of Moses when they said, 'Show us
God face to face,' and were struck by the thunderbolt for their presumption."
(Qur'an 4:153)
"The LORD God formed a human being from the dust of the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living creature."
(Genesis 2:7)

"Such is He who knows all that is unseen as well as what is seen, the Almighty, the Merciful,
who gave everything its perfect form. He first created man from clay, then made his
descendants from an extract of underrated fluid (semen). Then He moulded him; He breathed
from His Spirit into him; He gave you hearing, sight, and minds."
(Qur'an 32:6-9)

1. Iconoclastic Synod of 754 CE

2. Epitome of the Definition of the Iconoclastic Conciliabulum of 754 CE
3. Tyrannius Rufinus - Historia Ecclesiastica 2.23
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid. 11.29
6. Codex Theodosianus 16.1.2.
7. Letter of Libanius to Emperor Theodosius 1 -386 CE
8. Muhammad al-Bukhari - Sahih al Bukhari 5.59.584
9. Exodus 32:7-8
10. Tacitus - The Histories 5.5
11. The Dabistan
12. Plato - Timaeus
13. Pliny - Natural History 2.6
14. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 2.30
15. Tacitus - The Histories 5.4-5
16. The Dabistan
17. Ibid.
18. Herodian - History of the Roman Empire 5.3
19. Pliny - Natural history 37.51
20. Philo of Byblos
21. John of Damascus - Heresies
22. James Frazer - The Golden Bough
23. Al-Tabari - Ta'rikh
24. Varro - On the Latin Language 5.63
25. Hesiod - Theogony 176-180
26. Ibid. 178-188
27. Berossus as quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea - Chronicle
28. Ibid.
29. Enuma Elish - The Babylonian Epic of Creation
30. Ibid.
31. The Epic of Atrahasis
32. Ibid
33. C. Staniland Wake - Influence of the Phallic Idea
34. John of Damascus - Heresies
35. Berossus as quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea - Chronicle
36. Qur'an 47:4
37. Iconoclastic Video Statement by Islamic State on the Destruction of Assyrian Artefacts