Enuma Elish - The Babylonian Creation Epic

The Primordial Waters

When above the heavens had not been named, when below the earth had not been called by name, nothing existed but Apsu, the sweet water, and Tiamat, the salt sea. Their waters mingled together in the void, and from their union the first gods emerged.

When on high the heavens had not been named, when firm ground below had not been called by name, nothing but primordial Apsu, their begetter, and mother Tiamat, she who bore them all, mingling their waters as one.

First came Lahmu and Lahamu, then Anshar and Kishar, and from them the great gods multiplied. They played in the heavens, their noise growing ever louder, until neither Apsu nor Tiamat could rest.

The First Rebellion

Apsu proposed to destroy his noisy offspring. But the clever Ea, lord of wisdom, learned of the plot. He cast a spell of sleep upon Apsu, then killed him and built his dwelling upon the corpse. There, in the chambers of the Abzu, Ea and his wife Damkina conceived Marduk.

Marduk was born full-grown, fire blazing from his mouth, four eyes seeing in every direction, four ears hearing all. He was the most glorious of all the gods from his first moment of existence.

But Tiamat, grieving for Apsu, was persuaded to avenge him. She transformed herself into a terrifying dragon and created eleven monster-types to serve as her army. To her new consort Kingu she gave the Tablet of Destinies, granting him supreme authority over her forces.

The Champion of the Gods

The elder gods trembled before Tiamat's fury. Ea went forth but could not face her. Anu advanced but retreated in fear. Then young Marduk stepped forward.

"If I am to be your champion," he declared, "you must grant me supreme authority. My word must be irrevocable. What I decree must come to pass."

The gods assembled and tested him. They set a garment before him and commanded: "Let the garment be destroyed and restored by your word alone." Marduk spoke, and the garment vanished. He spoke again, and it reappeared. The gods acknowledged his power and crowned him king.

The Battle with Tiamat

Marduk armed himself with bow and mace, lightning and net. He released the four winds to roil Tiamat's innards and created the seven terrible winds: the whirlwind, hurricane, tempest, four-wind, seven-wind, cyclone, and the matchless wind.

He mounted his storm-chariot, its four horses slathered in poison, and rode against Tiamat. When she opened her mouth to swallow him, he drove the winds into her belly so she could not close it. He shot an arrow through her heart, and the great chaos dragon fell dead.

The lord stood upon her hinder parts. With his merciless mace he crushed her skull. He severed her arteries, and the North Wind carried her blood to hidden places. The gods his fathers, seeing, rejoiced and exulted.

Her army scattered. Kingu was captured and the Tablet of Destinies taken.

The Creation of the World

Marduk stood upon Tiamat's body and divided it like a shellfish. Half he raised up to form the sky, stretching it as a canopy and posting guards to keep her waters from escaping. The other half became the earth.

From her eyes he created the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates. Her tail he bent up to form the Milky Way. Her crotch became the support of the sky. Upon her belly he built the mountains. The ordered cosmos existed within and upon the corpse of chaos.

He set the stars in their courses, establishing the calendar. He created the moon to mark the months and the sun to mark the days. All the celestial order flowed from his wisdom.

The Creation of Humanity

The gods grew restless again, for now they had to work to maintain the cosmos. They demanded servants. Marduk took counsel with Ea and devised a plan.

"Who incited Tiamat to war? Let him be punished."

Kingu was brought forward. They severed his blood vessels, and from his blood Ea created humanity to bear the toil of the gods. The gods were freed from labor, and humans served in their place.

The Fifty Names

In gratitude, the gods built Marduk's temple, the Esagila in Babylon. They bestowed upon him fifty names, each representing an aspect of divine power: Asalluhi, healer; Tutu, renewer; Lugaldimmerankia, king of all heaven and earth.

With these fifty names, Marduk absorbed the functions of all other gods. He became the supreme deity, the god who was all gods, king of the universe.

Let them be held in remembrance; let the elder explain them. Let the wise and learned deliberate together. Let the father repeat them to make his sons understand. To the shepherd and herdsman may their ears be opened.

Each year at the New Year festival, this epic was recited, renewing creation, confirming Babylon's place at the center of the cosmos, and celebrating Marduk's eternal victory over chaos.