THE PLEIADES AND THE NUMBER SEVEN
The equivalence of the Pleiades with the number seven and particularly with seven divine beings is widespread (Avishur, 1973; Greenfield, 1985; Hehn, 1907; Reinhold, 2008).
The reference to the number seven and the caption of the Seleucid tablet discussed above allows the identification of the seven dots symbol as the Pleiades, at least in the late first millennium tradition (van Buren, 1939/1941; van Veen, 2008). The seven dots are a frequent iconographic motif that we find particularly on cylinder seals.
2.1. The divine heptad
In ancient Mesopotamia seven is a symbolical number, expressing perfection and completeness, thus several groups of beings are counted as seven in number, starting from the seven main gods of the pantheon, the seven mother goddesses, the seven brothers of Ištar, etc.
Seleucid tablet
Among these heptads, the Pleiades are identified in first instance with the seven major gods of the pantheon, namely the three main gods An, Enlil, Enki/Ea, and the three astral gods (moon, sun, Venus), plus a seventh god, often the mother goddess Ninhursaĝa or the Netherworld goddess Ereškigal. The- se are referred to in the expression ―the seven great gods‖ identifying the Pleiades in several references among other in the Astrolabe B and the MUL.APIN:
An omen quoted in a Neo-Assyrian report clearly shows the association of the Pleiades with the seven great gods who periodically gather to establish the fates of humankind. In fact the protasis of the omen mentions the Pleiades with the epithet the ―seven great gods‖ and the apodosis refers to the divine assembly where the destinies of the country are established:
Usually the reference to seven divine beings is un- critically interpreted as an association with the group of demons known as the Seven, which I will discuss in brief. Philological and theological argu- ments, however, show that only part of the refer- ences to divine heptads in relation with the Pleiades may allude to the Seven demons. In fact the expres- sion «the seven great gods» (d7(IMIN).BI DINGIR.MEŠ GAL.MEŠ) refers only to gods and even if the Seven demons are seldom preceded by the divine determi- native (d), they are not properly gods (Verderame, 2012).
Credit - Lorenzo Verderame
