>>509358862This. Those are not gods but protective spirits called Apkallu. Babylonian tradition says that there were seven sages of Abzu (primordial god of fresh water lover of Tiamat who was defeated and transformed into a kingdom of underground water by Ea just as his son Marduk transformed Tiamat into the heavens, earth and underworld) who lived at the beginning of time before the Flood.
They were sent by the water god Ea to teach wisdom to post-diluvian humans. They are shown as humans with wings. Some have the head of a bird, while others don't have wings and are dressed in the skin of a fish. The image we associate with Dagon actually comes from them.
They are often depicted holding a "purifier" (Akk. mullilu, some sort of conifer cone) in the right hand and a "bucket" (Akk. banduddû) in the left hand. For example, one spell describes the magical figurines necessary for the ritual.
>7 ṣalmē alpkallē ša ṭīdi pan iṣṣūri kappē šaknu ina qāti imittišunu millila ina qāti šumēlišunu GIŠ.BA.AN.DU8.DU8-ú našû>7 apkallu-figurines of clay, which have bird faces and wings. In their right hands they carry the purifier, in their left the bucket.The cone is dipped in the bucket and the holy water sprinkled to bless places. This sort of purificatory ritual has even survived to the current day in the form of the sprinkling of holy water in Catholic churches. The sacred tree (Akka.
kiskänu) is often depicted as a stylized palm or a date palm, and it may have been related to the concept of the world tree or the tree of life.