Analysis: Enuma Elish—The Babylonian Creation

Date: c. 1750 BCE

Geographic Region: Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq)

Author: Unknown

Translator: Leonard William King

Summary Overview

This document translates an ancient Mesopotamian myth that relates the origins of the gods, the world, and humanity, as told during either the Old Babylonian (c. 2000–1600 BCE) or the Kassite (c. 1595–1155 BCE) periods of Babylonian history. It offers insight into the beliefs of the Mesopotamians (specifically, the Babylonians) about their pantheon of deities and their view of their own existence and place in the cosmos.

Defining Moment

The first copies of the tablets of the Enuma Elish were uncovered at the ruins of Ashurbanipal's great library in Nineveh (near present-day Mosul, Iraq), which was founded in the seventh century BCE. Since that time, other tablets and fragments have been found throughout the regions of historic Assyria and Babylonia. The complete creation myth is recorded in approximately one thousand lines of Akkadian-Sumerian cuneiform on seven clay tablets. However, variations in the language in which the myth was transcribed and in the myth itself exist across different versions of the tablets. These variations often reflect the prominence of the dominant city-state of the period in which the tablets were made. For example, in the translations made by historian Leonard William King, Marduk—the patron god of the city of Babylon—features most prominently. The original text, of which the tablets are most likely later copies, was probably set down by scribes during the time of the Old Babylonian Kingdom or during the rule of the Kassites over Babylonia, when Babylon was the center of Mesopotamian civilization. During both periods, Babylonia experienced a cultural revival in which art and literature flourished.

Later, during the reign of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (r. 668–627 BCE), another revival took place. Ashurbanipal had tablets brought from city-states across Mesopotamia and new copies made to be stored in the great library that he had had constructed. Many works of ancient Mesopotamia were preserved and later uncovered there.

Author Biography and Document Information

The authors of the original text and of the tablets (most likely copies of an earlier text) are unknown, but both the epic and the tablets were probably recorded by scribes. The translation made in this document comes from a synthesis of some thirty-four tablets uncovered from various sites, including Ashurbanipal's library.

The translator, Leonard William King (1869–1919), was a British archaeologist and historian who specialized in ancient Mesopotamian studies, particularly in the content areas of Assyria and Babylonia. He studied and taught at King's College, Cambridge, and he served as an early expert and translator of a number of significant primary-source documents, including the Enuma Elish and the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1780 BCE). His published works include numerous translations and articles as well as Annals of the Kings of Assyria (1902) and Legends of Babylon and Egypt in Relation to Hebrew Tradition (1918).

Document Analysis

The title of the Babylonian creation myth, Enuma Elish, derives from the first lines of the first tablet, “When in the height.” The entire epic is told in seven tablets, each containing a distinct part of the story. The tablets begin with the origins of the gods and conclude with the creation of both the world and humanity and the ascendancy of Marduk as the king of the pantheon. As in many ancient civilizations, Babylonians (who inherited their beliefs largely from earlier Sumerians and Akkadians) were polytheists who honored a pantheon of gods and goddesses. These deities influenced all of human existence.

The first tablet concerns itself largely with the origins of the deities and the conflict that leads to the creation of Earth and humanity. First existed a chaos from which emerged Apsu and Tiamat, primeval embodiments of fresh water and sea water. The mingling of their waters produced the first gods, Lahmu and Lahamu, from which came Ansar and Kisar. From Ansar and Kisar, the rest of the deities descended. Among these were Anu, the sky god, and Ea, the god of water. The myth explains how the activity of the gods and goddesses disrupted the peace of Apsu and Tiamat. With encouragement from his servant Mummu, Apsu decided to do away with the younger deities; Ea discovered the plan, however. Apsu was killed and Mummu taken captive. Tiamat, in her rage, raised a host of monsters to destroy Ea and the younger deities. Tiamat raised Kingu to lead their forces and gave him the Tablets of Destiny, which, according to legend, bestow control over the universe.

The second tablet relates how Ea learned of Tiamat's anger and her march to war. Ea takes the story to his father, Ansar, and tells him, “Tiamat our mother hath conceived a hatred for us, / With all her force she rageth, full of wrath.” Ea is charged with confronting and stopping Tiamat, but at the sight of Tiamat, Ea withdraws. He returns to Ansar, who suggests the god Marduk confront Tiamat. Marduk accepts the challenge, but demands that he be given supreme power over the others gods and goddesses if he defeats Tiamat.

The third tablet explains how Ansar sent emissaries to tell the elder gods Lahmu and Lahamu of the events. Ansar also notes that he first sent the god Anu to deal with Tiamat, but the sky god failed. The account of Anu is likely among the missing lines of the second tablet; each tablet contains dozens of omitted lines. The tablet concludes with Lahmu and Lahama consenting to Marduk's demand.

In the fourth tablet, the gods prepare Marduk for battle: “They bestowed upon him the scepter, and the throne, and the ring, / They give him an invincible weaponry which overwhelmeth the foe. / Go, and cut off the life of Tiamat.” Marduk assembles his weapons and gathers the four winds to trap Tiamat. He then confronts Kingu's forces and fights Tiamat. “The lord spread out his net and caught her,” the myth reads, “And the evil wind that was behind him he let loose in her face. / As Tiamat opened her mouth to its full extent, / He drove in the evil wind, while as yet she had not shut her lips.” Marduk defeated Tiamat, whose forces fled, and from two halves of her body, he made the heavens and the earth.

Much of the fifth tablet is missing, but what survives of the text tells how Marduk assigned the gods and goddesses their stations and made the stars, the zodiac, and the calendar. The deities, gathered in assembly, all witnessed and honored Marduk's work, and Anu raised him above the pantheon and gave Marduk his many names. The story continues on the sixth tablet as Marduk addresses the assembly, and tells how and why he will create humanity: “My blood will I take and bone will I fashion / I will make man, that man may / I will create man who shall inhabit the earth, / That the service of the gods may be established.” These lines make clear the Mesopotamian belief that humanity was made by the gods to serve the gods.

The final tablet is devoted to the exaltation of Marduk. The gods proclaim him chief among them and honor him by listing out his fifty names, including his title Bel, meaning “the Lord of the World.” Among his praises, Marduk is also lauded as the “Creator of Fulness and Abundance,” “the Founder of Plenteousness,” the “Subduer of the disobedient,” and the “Director of Righteousness.” Each designation reflects another aspect of his divinity in Mesopotamian myth. The translation concludes with an epilogue exhorting humanity to honor Marduk above all others, in order to have fruitful lands and to achieve prosperity.

Bibliography and Additional Reading

Bauer, Susan Wise. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome. New York: Norton, 2007. Print.

Contenau, Georges. Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria. New York: Norton, 1954. Print.

Kirwaczek, Paul. Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization. New York: St. Martin's, 2010. Print.

Leick, Gwendolyn. The A to Z of Mesopotamia. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2010. Print.

Van De Mieroop, Marc. A History of the Ancient Near East. Malden: Blackwell, 2007. Print.