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226 m, away." In "'all the sacred places of Bel" torches are lit. Again, ap- peals are directed to the supreme god. The supremacy of Ninurta, which had once been proclaimed when Ninurta vanquished Zu, is reasserted, apparently to allay any fear that a released Marduk might become a challenger for supremacy among the gods. The ap- peals succeed, and the supreme god sends the divine messenger Nusku to "announce the [good] tidings to all the gods." As a gesture of good will, Gula (the spouse of Ninurta) sends to Sarpanit new clothing and sandals for Marduk; Marduk's driver- less chariot also appears. But Sarpanit is dumbfounded: she cannot understand how Marduk can be free again if he had been impris- oned in a tomb that cannot be unsealed: "How can they let him ae a ae — aan free, the one who cannot come out?" Nusku. the divine messenger, tells her that Marduk shall pass through SA.BAD, the "chiseled upper opening." He explains that it is Dalat biri sha iqabuni ilani A doorway-shaft which the gods will bore; Its vortex they will lift off. his abode they shall reenter. Dalta ina panishu etedili The door which was barred before him Shunu hurrate ina libbi dalti uptalishu At the vortex of the hollowing, into the insides. a doorway they shall twistingly bore; Qarabu ina libbi uppushu Getting near, into its midst they will break through. This description of how Marduk shall be released has remained meaningless to scholars; but the verses are explosively meaningful to us. As we have explained, the irregular and twisting segment C of the Well Shaft had not existed when the pyramid was completed and when Marduk was imprisoned within it; it was, instead, the very "doorway-shaft which the gods will bore" to rescue Marduk. Still familiar with the pyramid's inner layout, the Anunnaki real- ized that the shortest and quickest way to reach the starved Marduk THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN Shunu itasrushu ina biti etarba