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Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Epic of Creation. The Library of Babylonian Literature, Volume 1, 2024

The Babylonian Epic of Creation, also known as Enuma Elish, circulated outside Babylonia for more than a millennium. Various versions of the epic provided the mythological background for cultic rituals in cities stretching from seventh-century BCE Ashur through first-century CE Palmyra to fifth-century CE Edessa. In the third century BCE, the Babylonian priest Berossus wrote a summary of the text that focused on the wondrous and the heroic, to impress an outside audience: the new rulers of the Seleucid Dynasty. The author of the first creation account in the Bible, in contrast, speaking to an inner audience – those who believed in the god of Israel – used the epic as a template for a thoroughly revised version of how the world had come into being. And in yet another take on Enuma Elish, the fifth-century CE philosopher Damascius, apparently drawing on the work of his fourth-century BCE predecessor Eudemus, gave a detailed account of the beginning of the text in order to demonstrate the existence of early eastern analogues for his own conception of the ‘ontological hierarchy’. This essay traces the legacy left by the Babylonian Epic of Creation outside the cuneiform world.

In: I. Arkhipov, L. Kogan, N. Koslova (eds.), The Third Millennium: Studies in Early Mesopotamia and Syria in Honor of Walter Sommerfeld and Manfred Krebernik. (Cuneiform Monographs, 50). Leiden–Boston, 546–568., 2020

I 104 i-lit-ti qul-ti ki-ṣir dnin.urta This line forms a kind of bridge between the account of the creation of Enkidu by the mother goddess (ll. 100-103) and the description of his appearance and his life among the animals of the wild (ll. 105-112). Although every single word of the line is clear, its interpretation is surrounded by considerable controversy. Three problems need to be addressed: (i) what is implied by ilitti qūlti, lit. 'offspring of silence';1 (ii) the meaning of kiṣru in kiṣir Ninurta, lit. 'knot of Ninurta'; (iii) the role of the god Ninurta in the creation of Enkidu. The first problem has been much discussed, the second less so and the third is not generally regarded as controversial. (i) W. von Soden translates qūltu in this line as 'quiet of night.'2 Philologically, this is not improbable as qūltu can indeed refer to the silence of night (usually in the phrase qūlti mūši).3 However, as rightly pointed out by A.R. George, it is not at all clear "why Enkidu should be the offspring of the quiet of night as against any other part of the day" (George 2003:789). Some scholars follow a suggestion by A. Schott and emend to kul-⟨la⟩-ti: ilitti kullati 'offspring of the clay pit(?).'4 But this or, for that matter, any other emendation can only be * The author gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 18-18-00503). 1 MS P; MS h: mu-t[um ? ]. As noted by George (2003:789), "[t]he apparent variant mūtu, 'death,' for qūltu is a mechanical error based on the misreading of qul and needs no further exegesis"

BTSK Insight, 2016

Lecture presented at the London Centre for the Ancient Near East; 4 March, 2019

Time and Mind , 2016

The symbolism of the two complementary figurines found at the Chalcolithic site of Gilat—a woman with a churn and a ram with cornets—is reconsidered. The male sexual symbolism of the ram, the seminal associations of the cornets, and their position on the animal’s back suggest that the ram figurine expresses the belief that semen, the vital element of paternal issue, originates in the spinal cord. With her emphasized genitals and the uterine symbolism of the churn, the woman figurine evokes the transformation of the semen into bones in the womb. Analysis of the red painting used in the figurines suggests that heat was considered the physical factor behind the production of semen and its ensuing transformation into bones. The analysis also underscores the importance of blood, the maternally transmitted vital fluid, for the formation of flesh in the embryo. These findings, echoed in other ancient cultures, attest to the earliest integrated representation of the phenomenon of procreation discovered so far. This representation, however, is perceptible only after the viewer is made aware of the hidden continuity in the ceramic wall between each figure (ram, woman) and its associated artifact (cornets, churn). It is concluded that, given that this esoteric information focuses on the mysteries of procreation, the two figurines may not necessarily represent deities.

Joan, Eahr Amelia. Re-Genesis Encyclopedia: Synthesis of the Spiritual Dark– Motherline, Integral Research, Labyrinth Learning, and Eco–Thealogy. Part I. Revised Edition II, 2018. CIIS Library Database. (RGS.)

Enheduanna holds special recognition as the author of Inanna’s hymn, The Exhalation of Inanna. In this hymn, Enheduanna addresses Inanna as wife (consort/mother goddess?) of God An or Nanna. (ASWM: 20; TOD: 137; SMSSL: 40.) Thorkild Jacobsen says that God An (Akkadian Antum) was originally female, but was replaced by a sky God, who usurped her position and name. Discussion to follow on the significance of the God or goddess An and possibility that Enheduanna’s support of Sargon’s rule represented another example of the transition from mother rite to father right and subsequent downgrade of Inanna “from divine to human, from the served to the servant.” (ASWM: 20.) (MG: 199; TOD: 95-6, 109, 137; PPSF: 61; DTG.)

Bibliotheca Sacra, 2008

For more than a century many scholars have read the Hebrew creation account in Genesis 1 in the light of parallels from Mesopotamia (particularly Enuma Elish). Despite its popularity there are fundamental problems with suggesting that Enuma Elish provides the conceptual background of Genesis 1. A more viable background that provides greater explanatory value comes from ancient Egyptian creation myths.

Creation of life from clay “The creation of life from clay can be seen as a miraculous birth theme that appears throughout world religions and mythologies. It can also be seen as one of gods who craft humans out of earthly materials. As such, this class of story falls within a larger set of divine or cosmogonic origin stories about creation, whether through divine emergence or divine craft.” “Many religions carry this ‘creation of human beings from clay’ story. The earliest are the pre-cursors of the Abrahamic faiths – namely the early Mesopotamian religions. Other faiths that postulate the ‘creation of human beings from clay’ stories include the ancient Egyptians, some African tribes and the Incas. The ‘creation of humans from clay’ stories are common throughout the world, including places like Australia and the Pacific Islands which were not in contact with Islam or any of the other Abrahamic faiths until recent times. It is apparent that folkloric tales about the creation of humans from clay/earth/mud are very common throughout the world.”

In the Wake of Tikva Frymer-Kensky, 2009

The late second millennium composition Enuma elish, known for decades as the Babylonian Creation Epic, is now read primarily as a political myth intended to support Babylon’s claim to be foremost among cities and to justify the elevation of its patron god, Marduk, to the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon. While this revised interpretation of the epic allows us to consider Enuma elish in its proper context, among other myths of hero gods such as Anzu, Labbu, and Girra and Elamatum, it has not encouraged the analysis of other aspects of the composition. The role of Tiamat in particular, and the relevance of her femininity to the outcome of the epic, requires further exploration. This essay examines the ways in which gender roles--and their transgression--shape the narrative of Enuma elish.

2019

ENUMA ELISH - O Livro da Criação Sumério, 2008

Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Epic of Creation, 2025

Enuma Elish, once widely known as the Babylonian Epic of Creation, is today read primarily as a political narrative rather than a creation myth. While it certainly encompasses a cosmogony of sorts, it chiefly serves to justify the god Marduk’s ascension to divine kingship and, by extension, to establish the legitimacy of Babylon (Marduk’s patron city) as the preeminent city in Mesopotamia. The means by which Marduk secures his rulership has traditionally been understood as follows: Marduk battles and defeats the dreadful female ‘monster’ Tiamat, completing a task that has daunted all Marduk’s potential competitors for kingship, including the gods Ea (Marduk’s father) and Anu (one of his forefathers). Subsequently, in a vividly described account, Marduk structures the cosmos from Tiamat’s corpse. In other words, the composition might yet be said to be structured around a Chaoskampf, a battle against chaos (with Marduk in the role of heroic defender of order and Tiamat in the role of chaos monster), followed by cosmic creation. As I argue in this essay, however, close attention to the individual characters and composition of Enuma Elish suggests the narrative is centered around quite different themes.