The creation myth to be discussed in this article is the creation myth of the ancient Babylonians.
Map of Ancient Babylon
The Seven Slabs of Enuma Elish
Ancient Babylon, one of the four ancient civilizations, is now extinct and the site is roughly in Iraq. It has a mythological epic poem, Enuma Elish (meaning 'in the high place of heaven'), which records the creation story of ancient Babylon:
The world was born in a very high place, with no sky above and no earth below. It was all chaos, and then two gods appeared, one named Apsu, who was a male god, and the other called Tiamat, who was the mother of all things.
The two great gods met and gave birth to many gods, and they gave birth to a pair of twin brothers and sisters Ramhe and Raham; Ramhe and Raham gave birth to Anshar and Kishaar; Anshar and Kishar gave birth to their eldest son, Annu, and Annu gave birth to Ae. The brothers and gods united and bustling, and the world became noisy.
Ae
But the good times were short-lived, and the revelry of the gods did not bring joy to the two creator gods, but made their hearts burn, and the noisy sound made Tiamat upset and Apusu was overwhelmed.
Tiamat was so tired and unbearable from what the gods had done that Apsu said to Tiamat:
"Their deeds are abominable to mine, they must not relax during the day, they must not rest at night, I will destroy their behavior, restore calm, and let us be at ease." — The first slab of Enuma Elish
Tiamat heard her husband say such things, and as a mother, she was so angry that she angrily rebuked Apsu:
"How can we destroy our birth? Their behavior is really annoying, but we have to be kind. - The first slab of Enuma Elish
At this time, Apusu's confidant, the god Mum, instigated the fire, and he encouraged Apusu: "My father, destroy their rebellious deeds, and there will be peace day and night." Apsu listened to him, his face flushed and his eyes shining, and he hugged Mum, sat down on his knees and kissed him, plotting their plans.
But the gods discovered Apusu and Mum's plan, and a war began, and the wisest of them, Ae, decided to obstruct them. Ae cast a spell that put Apsu to sleep, he took off Apusu's crown, took his luck, controlled him and killed him, and then built a temple and placed it on top of Apsu.
Mum was also caught by Ae, who was tied by a nose rope, which was in Ae's hand. Apparently Ae had crushed Apusu and his henchmen, and he triumphantly returned to the temple, which he named Apusu, where Ae lived with the goddess Damkina.
The ruins of Apusu, the temple of Apusu, which in mythology was built on the remains of Apusu.
Soon, the son of Ae and Damkina was born in this temple, and his name was Marduk. Marduk was tall and strong, imposing, strange-looking, slender limbs, and gifted. The god Annu was very happy to see him, because the war was not over, and although Apsu was dead, his wife Tiamat was still there, and the gods would continue the war.
Marduk and his pet (dragon)
Believing that Marduk was perfect and superior to the gods, Anna gave him gifts and weapons to make him the main force in the attack on Tiamat.
The attacks of the gods made Tiamat terrified and insane, and they declared to Tiamat:
"When your partner Apusu was killed, you didn't speak and sat quietly,
We have created four winds that bother you, and we cannot sleep.
You don't care about your partner Apusu, nor do you care about Mum, who is already in prison,
Now you sit alone, you will fall into a frenzied panic, and we dare not stop,
You don't love us. Thinking of this burden, our eyes are fixed,
Break this eternal shackle so that we may sleep in peace. ”
— The first slab of Enuma Elish
Tiamat heard the gods declare war, she gathered some gods who were on her side, and they began to create demons against the gods, and Tiamat chose her son Jingu to crown him, enshrined him on the throne, and recognized Jingu as her second husband. After Jin Gu ascended to the throne, he officially declared war on the gods.
When Tiamat's grandson Anshar heard the news, he was so anxious that he accused Ea of killing Apusu and causing the war. He asked Ea to take this responsibility and go to Tiamat to calm the war. Ae obeyed and set off for Tiamat, but turned back in remorse, saying to Anshar in remorse:
"My Father, Tiamat's divine power is far superior to mine,
I sensed her plan, and I wasn't enough to match it.
Her power is powerful enough to be deadly,
Her strength trumps everything, and no one can stop her,
Her cries did not abate, and I was afraid of her cries, so I returned.
...... (Omitted below)"
— The second slab of Enuma Elish
Ae proposed to send another man to face Tiamat, which was angrily dismissed by Anshar, who listened to his grandfather's angry rebuke and left for Tiamat for the second time, but repented and turned back, so three times, and after persuading Anshar three times, Ansar was finally silent, and he saw that the gods were all tightly kept their lips shut, and none of the gods dared to face Tiamat. Seeing this, Ansar was furious and unwilling to summon any more gods.
Ea called on his son Marduk and asked him to appease Anshar. Marduk went to see Anshar, who promised that he would defeat Tiamat: "Ancestors, rejoice, soon you will be riding on Tiamat's neck." Anshar listened and was very happy.
The gods gathered together and tested Marduk's talents, and they recognized Marduk's power, and the gods set up a seat for him, and gave him weapons, saying:
"Marduk, you are the most glorious of the gods,
Your destiny is unmatched, and your will is like Anu.
...... (Omitted)
You are Marduk, our Avenger,
We have given you the authority of the whole universe, please sit down among the gods and swear,
Don't let your weapons go off target and let them slaughter the enemy.
Malduc, forgive those who believe in you, destroy those who seek to do evil.
...... (Omitted)
Go ahead, slit Tiamat's throat,
Let her blood flow into the wind to bring us news. ”
— The fourth slab of Enuma Elish
Malduk took his weapon, filled his body with flames, and opened the way with lightning. He fought valiantly, wrapped his web around Tiamat so that she could not move, and used the demon wind to blow Tiamat's mouth all the time, making her unable to close her mouth. After a vicious fight, Marduk successfully shot an arrow into Tiamat's mouth, the arrow penetrated her throat into her abdomen, and her body was torn apart by Marduk.
Marduk pursues Tiamat
After Tiamat's death, her army began to collapse and was sent to prison by the gods, and the demonic monsters created by Tiamat were crushed by the gods.
After Tiamat's son, Jingu, the leader of her army, was captured, Marduk took the slate from his body and hung it around his neck as a trophy. He disposed of the prisoners of war and returned to Tiamat's body. He cut open Tiamat's artery and asked the North Wind to take her blood to report to his fathers. And he sat resting, observing Tiamat's body, thinking about how to make good use of it.
After some thought, Marduk cut Tiamat's body in half, half for the sky and the other half for the earth, and he opened Tiamat's skin bag and sent a guard to keep the water from spilling out of the bag.
Marduk then ordered the god who guarded Tiamat to extract the foam from the corpse and make it into a cloud rain; he emptied Tiamat's head and poured seawater into it, and the water flowed out of his eyes and became the Euphrates and Tigris rivers; he blocked Tiamat's nostrils, opened his mouth, piled up peaks on her chest, and dug deep wells to make springs.
The Euphrates and Tigris rivers, mythically they flow from the eyes of Tiamat
After disposing of Tiamat, Marduk placed Apsu's body at his feet and pinned his crotch in the air so that half of his body could be supported.
After he had done this in Tiamat's body, he untied the net on the corpse and let her out. After admiring the fruits of his labor, Marduk triumphantly returned to heaven and built his own ancestral hall in the image of Apsu, where he enshrined three gods: the gods Annu, Enriel, and his father Ae.
Enriel, the god of earth and air, and his wife Nellir, were the sumerian gods who were replaced by Marduk during the Babylonian period.
Not only that, But Marduk also built a sanctuary for the gods, he created the moon god Nanna in the belly of Tiamat, entrusted the night to Nanna, he made the sun and moon alternate, set up a new year to hold a celebration, he divided the year into December, and arranged the constellations, stipulating that the stars should move, so that the gods could perform their duties and not cross the line.
Malduk made rules, proclaimed his will, and showed the gods the spoils of war he had received from Jingu, and Ramhe and Raham were overjoyed to see him; Anshar embraced him; Annu, Enriel, and Ae gave him gifts; and his mother Damkina gave him a shining robe. The gods gathered together to show their obedience to Marduk, and even Ramhe, Raham, and the Fathers recognized him as King of the Gods.
At the royal palace of Apsuri, Marduk, who intended to build the city of Babylon, said this to the gods:
"Above Apsu, a jewel-like dwelling.
Opposite Ishara, I built for you.
Under the heavens, I build a solid staircase,
I will build a city as a palace, and during the period I will place the ancestral hall.
I will build my church,
When you come from Apusu to see you, this will be your resting place,
When you retire from the heavenly court and make a decision, this will be your resting place,
I will call it Babylon, the House of the Gods. ”
— The fifth slab of Enuma Elish
The gods were overjoyed to hear this, and they asked to live in Babylon with their descendants, and they joyfully sang the praises of Marduk.
In order to give the gods a rest, Marduk wanted to create humans to replace the gods' labor, so he asked the gods:
"Who provoked the war?
Who instigated the Tiamat rebellion and started the war.
He who provokes war should be abandoned. ”
— The sixth slab of Enuma Elish
The prime minister of the gods, Lucardi Moandia, replied that it was Jingu.
So Marduk cut open the blood vessels of Jingu, and Ae created human beings with his blood, and from then on human beings replaced the labor of the gods, and the gods were liberated from labor.
Marduk divided the gods again, he divided all the gods up and down, he divided three hundred gods to stay above the heavenly court and make them obey Annu, and six hundred gods stationed in the Netherworld. After this division, the gods, in return for Marduk, wanted to build Babylon for him.
The gods used it to build bricks in the first year, and finally built the city of Babylon the following year. After the city was built, they sat in the ancestral hall to crown Marduk on a high throne, and they raised their glasses and enjoyed themselves, cheering Marduk's name and singing his praises. In this way, Marduk began his reign.