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Article 3 |
 | | An important function of the Asakku myth certainly was to establish Ninurta (and hence the king as well) as “the great healer” and the “the great farmer”: the victory over the stones explains why Ninurta possessed extraordinary healing powers,42 and creation of the new world after the punishment of the stones (ll. |
 | | Asakku, the leader of the stones, is, like Anzu, referred to as “evil” and associated with the netherworld, taboo, and sin,43 while the stones themselves are divided into “evil” and “good ones” on the basis of their actions, and cursed or blessed accordingly (lines 411-647). |
 | | 42 Asakku was the name of a disease-causing demon and also meant epidemics in general, and the stones whose “destinies” are determined after Asakku's defeat are well known as materia medica and amulets used for warding off disease-causing demons. |
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