Marduk

Symbol: spade; snake-dragon

Culture: Babylon, ancient Mesopotamia

Mother: Ninhursag

Father: Enki

Children: Nabu

Overview

Marduk was the patron god of the ancient city of Babylon; he later rose to become the king of the Babylonian pantheon of deities. Marduk, which translates to “bull calf of the sun” in Babylonian, was likely originally worshiped locally in Mesopotamia as a minor deity associated with farming. Around the time of Babylon’s King Hammurabi in 1792 BCE, Marduk was known as a sky god and was elevated to the status of supreme deity. In the Babylonian epic the Enuma Elish, Marduk is said to have achieved his position by slaying the primordial sea goddess Tiamat and creating the heavens and earth from her body. In later mythologies, Marduk became associated with the Greek god Zeus and the Roman god Jupiter. In fact, the Babylonians often connected Marduk with the planet Jupiter, which may have been the inspiration for the Romans to give the planet that name.

In Mythology

The first known human civilization developed around 3500 BCE in Sumer, a region of southern Mesopotamia that corresponds to modern-day Iraq and Kuwait. In Sumerian mythology, the deity who would later be called Marduk is believed to have originated as Asarluhi, a minor local god said to be responsible for farming. His connection to agriculture was illustrated by the image of a spade, a symbol that carried over to his incarnation as Marduk.

During King Hammurabi’s reign, which lasted from 1792 to 1750 BCE, Marduk had risen to become the patron deity of Babylon, a powerful Mesopotamian city-state and seat of the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonians portrayed Marduk as a human dressed in regal attire and carrying a spade and the figure of a snake-dragon. His wife was said to be the fertility goddess Sarpanitu, and their son was Nabu, the god of writing and wisdom. In time, Marduk became more than just the patron of Babylon; he was viewed as the sky god and supreme deity in Babylonian mythology. He eventually assumed that role throughout all of Mesopotamia. The story of his rise to power is recounted in the Enuma Elish, a creation myth believed to have been written about the time of Hammurabi.

In the myth, the primordial universe was a place of chaos that was the home of two powerful beings. Apsu was a male deity and lord of fresh water. His wife was Tiamat, a female deity and personification of salt water. Together, Tiamat and Apsu became the parents of the first gods. Apsu soon grew angry with his children because their constant noise kept him up at night, so he decided to kill them. Tiamat warned their son Enki about the plot, and Enki responded by killing his father. Tiamat was enraged at her husband’s death and led an army of monsters against her children. Kingu, a warrior god who was seemingly invincible, led her army.

Enki and his fellow gods suffered numerous defeats at the hands of Kingu and Tiamat. As they neared despair, Enki’s son Marduk stepped forward and promised to kill Tiamat in return for being named king of all the gods. The gods agreed and Marduk made good on his word by defeating Kingu in battle. Marduk then took on Tiamat who assumed the form of a monstrous dragon. Marduk entangled Tiamat in a great net and then called upon the winds to subdue her. He took an arrow and killed Tiamat by splitting her body in two. He took one-half of her body and used it to create the sky. From the other half, he created the earth. Marduk then executed Kingu and created the first humans from his blood. As promised, Marduk was named supreme deity and given fifty royal titles. He decreed that the gods will care for the humans, and, in return, humans will obey divine will and act as servants to the gods.

Origins & Cults

In Mesopotamian society, specific deities were associated with certain cities as both a protector figure and a status of that city’s power. The more importance a city had in ancient Mesopotamia, the more prominence that city’s patron deity had in its religious hierarchy. For much of the third millennium BCE, Babylon was a minor city and its patron agriculture deity, Asarluhi, was placed near the bottom of that hierarchy. When Babylon rose to become a powerful empire under Hammurabi, its patron deity—by then known as Marduk—was elevated to the chief position among the gods.

Babylonian deities were not believed to rule from the heavens. Instead, they were believed to inhabit great temples built in their patron cities. Marduk’s temple was known as the Esagila and housed a giant golden statue of the god that was used in the coronation ceremonies of Babylonian kings. The statue was considered so important that it was often the target of invading forces. The Babylonians believed that if the statue were removed from the city, Marduk’s protection would be removed as well and disaster would befall Babylon. The city was also home to a large pyramid-shaped structure known as a ziggurat that was dedicated to Marduk. The ziggurat was several stories tall, and many archeologists believe it was the inspiration for the biblical Tower of Babel.

As was the case with many ancient cultures, Babylonian gods were also associated with the forces of nature and celestial objects such as the sun, moon, and stars. For example, Marduk’s wife, Sarpanitu, was connected to the planet Venus. Marduk himself was associated with the planet Jupiter. Centuries later, as the Babylonian Empire declined and was eventually replaced by the Greek civilization, the Greek equivalent of Marduk became known as Zeus. When the Romans gained power, they adopted the Greek deities and named their supreme deity Jupiter. Archaeologists speculate that Marduk’s connection with the planet Jupiter may have carried over to the time of the Romans and indirectly inspired them to name the planet after their king of the gods.

Bibliography

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“The Enuma Elish.” California State University, Northridge, www.csun.edu/~rlc31920/documents/History%20110/Enuma‗Elish.pdf. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.

Mackenzie, Donald A. Myths of Babylonia and Assyria. 1915. Masterlab, 2014.

Mandal, Dattatreya. “10 Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses You Should Know About.” Realm of History, 9 May 2017, www.realmofhistory.com/2017/05/09/10-ancient-mesopotamian-gods-goddesses-facts/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.

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Mark, Joshua J. “The Mesopotamian Pantheon.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 25 Feb. 2011, www.ancient.eu/article/221/the-mesopotamian-pantheon/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.

Spar, Ira. “Mesopotamian Deities.” Metropolitan Museum of Art, Apr. 2009, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/deit/hd‗deit.htm. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.