Enuma Elish
Notes
- Babylonian creation story
Summary
When the heavens and earth did not yet exist, Apsû and Tia-mat, the creators, brought forth children. These children became rambunctious, and Apsû wished to kill them. The children overheard the plot and one of them, Ea, killed Apsû and took his kingship. Tia-mat assembled a demon army to revenge Apsû, and all of the gods were afraid to challenge her. Eventually, Ea’s son Marduk offered to take her on. The other gods supported him in this venture. Marduk created his own army and marched on Tia-mat. Though terrified, he still challenged her. She momentarily went crazy and Marduk killed her. Using Tia-mat’s body, Marduk created heavens and earth, as well as a shrine to the gods called Babylon. With rebel blood, Marduk created man who would take on the gods’ labor so they could rest. All the gods then worshipped Marduk and declared his glory.