Surviving in tablets mainly from the early first millennium B.C.E. but derived from much earlier material dating perhaps to about 1900 B.C.E., the Ennuma Elish (a title taken from the opening words of the myth, "When on high") embodies an attempt by the ancient Mesopotamians to rationalize their seemingly hostile and violent environment. The document is clearly mythical, and thereby attempts to explain the cosmos in terms very different from those of modern science. The "Creation Epic" treats such subjects as the initial creation of the world and humankind, the nature of the gods, and the vital relationship between them and humanity. The text was recited and performed at the Babylonian Akitu festival which took place at the new year when it was believed that creation renewed itself. As the domestic quarrel among the gods is transformed into a cosmic event of tremendous significance, Marduk eventually succeeds in conquering the forces of chaos, represented especially by the dragon-goddess Tiamat and her illegitimate consort Kingu, and establishes order throughout the universe. That the kings of Mesopotamian theocratic states acted the role of Marduk in ritual performance underscores the political implications of the myth.

(J. B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Princeton University Press [Princeton, NJ: 1969], pp. 60, 66‑9, 514. Reprinted by permission. Brackets indicate gaps in the text owing to damage of the clay tablets. The text has been reconstructed whenever possible.)

Tablet One

When on high the heavens had not been named,

Firm ground below had not been called by name,

Naught but primordial Apsu, their begetter,

[And] Mummu [and] Tiamat, she who bore them all,

Their waters commingling as a single body;

No reed hut had been matted, no marsh land had appeared,

When no gods whatever had been brought into being,

Uncalled by name, their destinies undetermined--

Then it was that the gods were formed within them.

Lahmu and Lahamu were brought forth, by name they were called,

Before they had grown in age and stature.

Anshar and Kishar were formed, surpassing the others.

They prolonged the days, added on the years.

Anu was their heir, of his fathers the rival;

Yea, Anshar's first-born, Anu, was his equal.

Anu begot in his image Nudimmud.

This Nudimmud was of his fathers the master;

Of broad wisdom, understanding, mighty in strength,

Mightier by far than his grandfather Anshar.

He had no rival among the gods, his brothers.

The divine brothers banded together,

They disturbed Tiamat as they surged back and forth,

Yea, they troubled the mood of Tiamat

By their hilarity in the Abode of Heaven.

Apsu could not lessen their clamor

And Tiamat was speechless at their [ways].

Their doings were loathsome unto [. . .].

Unsavory were their ways; they were overbearing. . . .

Apsu, opening his mouth,

Said unto resplendent Tiamat:

"Their ways are verily loathsome unto me.

By day I find no relief, nor repose by night.

I will destroy, I will wreck their ways,

That quiet may be restored.Ý Let us have rest!"

As soon as Tiamat heard this,

She was angry and called out to her husband.

She cried out aggrieved, as she raged all alone,

Injecting woe into her mood:

"What?Ý Should we destroy that which we built?

Their ways are most troublesome, but let us attend kindly!". . .

[Now] whatever they had plotted between them,

Was repeated unto the gods, their first-born.

When the gods heard [this], they were astir,

[Then] lapsed into silence and remained speechless.

Surpassing in wisdom, accomplished, resourceful,

Ea, the all-wise, saw through their scheme.

A master design against it he devised and set up,

Made artful his spell against it, surpassing and holy.

He recited it and made it subsist in the deep,

As he poured sleep upon [Apsu].Ý Sound asleep he lay.

When Apsu he had made prone, drenched with sleep, . . .

Having fettered Apsu, he slew him. . . .

After Ea had vanquished and trodden down his foes,

Had secured his triumph over his enemies,

In his sacred chamber in profound peace he assigned [it].

In that same place his cult hut he founded.

Ea and Damkina, his wife, dwelled [there] in splendor.

In the chamber of fates, in the abode of destinies,

A god was engendered, most able and wisest of gods.

In the heart of Apsu was Marduk created,

In the heart of holy Apsu was Marduk created.

He who begot him was Ea, his father;

She who bore him was Damkina, his mother.

The breast of the goddesses he did suck.

The nurse that nursed him filled him with awesomeness.

Alluring was his figure, sparkling the lift of his eyes.

Lordly was his gait, commanding from of old.

When Ea saw him, the father who begot him,

He exulted and glowed, his heart filled with gladness.

He rendered him perfect and endowed him with a double godhead.

Greatly exalted was he above them, exceeding throughout.

Perfect were his members beyond comparison.

Unsuitable for understanding, difficult to perceive.

Four were his eyes, four were his ears;

When he moved his lips, fire blazed forth.

Large were all four hearing organs,

And the eyes, in like number, scanned all things.

He was the loftiest of the gods, surpassing was his stature;

His members were enormous, he was exceeding tall.

"My little son, my little son!

My son, the Sun!Ý Sun of the heavens!"

Clothed with the halo of ten gods, he was strong to the utmost,

As their awesome flashes were heaped upon him. . . .

Anu brought forth and begot the fourfold wind

Consigning to its power the leader of the host.

He fashioned, . . . station[ed] the whirlwind,

He produced streams to disturb Tiamat.

The gods, given no rest, suffer in the storm.

Their heart[s] having plotted evil,

To Tiamat, their mother, said:

"When they slew Apsu, thy consort,

Thou didst not aid him but remainedst still.

When the dread fourfold wind he created,

Thy vitals were diluted and so we can have no rest.

Let Apsu, thy consort, be in thy mind

And Mummu, who has been vanquished!Ý Thou art left alone!

[. . .] thou pacest about distraught,

[. . . without ce]ase.Ý Thou dost not love us!

[. . .] pinched are our eyes,

[. . .] without cease.Ý Let us have rest!

[. . . to batt]le.Ý Do thou avenge them!

[. . .] and render [them] as the wind!"

[When] Tiamat [heard] [these] words, she was pleased:

"[. . .] you have given. Let us make monsters,

[. . .] and the gods in the mid[st . . .].

[. . . let us do] battle and against the gods [. . .]!"

They thronged and marched at the side of Tiamat.

Enraged, they plot without cease night and day,

They are set for combat, growling, raging,

They form a council to prepare for the fight.

Mother Hubur, she who fashions all things,

Added matchless weapons, bore monster-serpents,

Sharp of tooth, unsparing of fang.

[With venom] for blood she has filled their bodies.

Roaring dragons she has clothed with terror,

Has crowned them with haloes, making them like gods,

So that he who beholds them shall perish abjectly,

[And] that, with their bodies reared up, none might turn [them

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ back].

She set up the Viper, the Dragon, and the Sphinx,

The Great-Lion, the Mad-Dog, and the Scorpion-Man,

Mighty lion-demons, the Dragon-fly, the Centaur--

Bearing weapons that spare not, fearless in battle.

Firm were her decrees, past withstanding were they.

With eleven of this kind she brought [forth].

From among the gods, her first-born, who formed [her assembly],

She elevated Kingu, made him chief among them. . . .

She gave him the Tablet of Destinies, fastened on his breast:

"As for thee, thy command shall be unchangeable, [Thy word]

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ shall endure!"

As soon as Kingu was elevated, possessed of [the rank of Anu],

For the gods, his sons, [they decreed] the fate:

"Your word shall make the fire subside,

Shall humble the `Power-Weapon,' so potent in [its] sweep!". . .

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ [Yet Tiamat's divine off-spring heard

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ of her plan, and Anshar commanded Ea to

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ confront the dragon goddess in battle.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Ea, however, failed to subdue her, and

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ then turned to his own son Marduk, who

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ was promised that he would be proclaimed

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ supreme among the gods if he defeated

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ Tiamat.]

Tablet Four

To stir up the inside of Tiamat they rose up behind [Marduk].

Then the lord raised up the flood-stream, his mighty weapon.

He mounted the storm-chariot irresistible [and] terrifying. . . .

The lord went forth and followed his course,

Towards the raging Tiamat he set his face. . . .

[To] enraged [Tiamat] he sent word as follows:

"Why art thou risen, art haughtily exalted,

Thou hast charged thine own heart to stir up conflict,

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ . . . sons reject their own fathers,

Whilst thou, who hast born them, hast foresworn them love!

Thou hast appointed Kingu as thy consort,

Conferring upon him the rank of Anu, not rightfully his.

Against Anshar, king of gods, thou seekest evil;

[Against] the gods, my fathers, thou hast confirmed thy wickedness.

[Though] drawn up be thy forces, girded on thy weapons,

Stand thou up, that I and thou meet in single combat!"

When Tiamat heard this,

She was like one possessed; she took leave of her senses.

In fury Tiamat cried aloud.

To the roots her legs shook both together.

She recites a charm, keeps casting her spell,

While the gods of battle sharped their weapons.

Then joined the issue Tiamat and Marduk, wisest of gods.

They strove in single combat, locked in battle.

The lord spread out his net to enfold her,

The Evil Wind, which followed behind, he let loose in her face.

When Tiamat opened her mouth to consume him,

He drove in the Evil Wind that she could not close her lips.

As the fierce winds charged her belly,

Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open.

He released the arrow, it tore her belly,

It cut through her insides, splitting the heart.

Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life.

He cast down her carcass to stand upon it. . . .

When he had vanquished and subdued his adversaries,

Had . . . the vainglorious foe,

Had wholly established Anshar's triumph over the foe,

Nudimmud's desire had been achieved, valiant Marduk

Strengthened his hold on the vanquished gods,

And turned back to Tiamat whom he had bound.

The lord trod on the legs of Tiamat,

With his unsparing mace he crushed her skull.

When the arteries of her blood he had severed,

The North Wind bore [it] to places undisclosed.

On seeing this, his fathers were joyful and jubilant,

They brought gifts of homage, they to him.

Then the lord passed to view her dead body,

That he might divide the monster and do artful works.

He split her like shellfish into two parts,

Half of her he set up and sealed it as sky,

Pulled down the bar and posted guards.

He bade them to allow not her waters to escape.

He crossed the heavens and surveyed the regions.

He squared Apsu's quarter, the abode of Nudimmud,

As the lord measured the dimensions of Apsu.

The Great Abode, its likeness, he fixed as Esharra,

The Great Abode, Esharra, which he made as the firmament.

Anu, Enlil, and Ea he made occupy their places.

Tablet Five

He constructed stations for the great gods,

Fixing their astral likenesses as constellations.

He determined the year by designating the zones:

He set up three constellations for each of the twelve months.

After defining the days of the year by means of heavenly figures,

He founded the station of Nebiru to determine their heavenly bands,

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ that none might transgress.

Alongside it he set up the stations of Enlil and Ea.

Having opened up the gates on both sides,

He strengthened the locks to the left and the right.

In Tiamat's belly he established the zenith.

The Moon he caused to shine, entrusting the night to him.

He appointed him a creature of the night to signify the days:

"Monthly, without cease, form designs with a crown.

At the month's very start, rising over the land,

You shall have luminous horns to signify six days,

On the seventh day reaching a half‑crown.

At full moon stand in opposition in mid‑month.

When the sun overtakes you at the base of heaven,

Diminish your crown and retrogress in light. . . ."

He [then] formed the clouds and filled them with water.

The raising of winds, the bringing of rain and cold,

Making the mist smoke, piling up her poison:

These he appointed to himself, took into his own charge.

Putting her head into position he formed thereon the mountains,

Opening the deep which was in flood,

He caused to flow from her eyes the Euphrates and Tigris,

Stopping her nostrils he left, [. . .]

He formed at her udder the lofty mountains,

Therein he drilled springs for the wells to carry off the water.

Twisting her tail he bound it to Durmah . . . Apsu at his foot,

Thus he covered the heavens and established the earth.

So he created heaven and earth, . . .

When he had designed his rules and fashioned his ordinances,

He founded the shrines and handed them over to Ea.

The Tablet of Destinies which he had taken from Kingu he carried,

He brought it as the first gift of greeting, he gave it to Anu.

The gods who had done battle and had been scattered,

He led bound into the presence of his fathers.

Now the eleven creatures which Tiamat had made . . . ,

Whose weapons he had shattered, which he had tied to his foot:

[Of these] he made statues and set them up at Apsu's gate, saying:

"Let it be a token that this may never be forgotten."

Tablet Six

When Marduk hears the words of the gods,

His heart prompts him to fashion artful works.

Opening his mouth, he addresses Ea

To impart the plan he had conceived in his heart:

"Blood I will mass and cause bones to be.

I will establish a savage, `man' shall be his name.

Verily, savage man I will create.

He shall be charged with the service of the gods,

That they might be at ease!Ý

The ways of the gods I will artfully alter.

Though alike revered, into two groups they shall be divided."

Ea answered him, speaking a word to him,

Giving him another plan for the relief of the gods:

"Let but one of their brothers be handed over;

He alone shall perish that mankind may be fashioned [out

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ of his blood].

Let the great gods be here in Assembly,

Let the guilty be handed over that they may endure."

Marduk summoned the great gods to Assembly; he issued instruction.

To his utterance the gods pay heed.

The king addressed a word to the Anunnaki:

"If your former statement was true, declare the truth on oath!

Who was it that contrived the uprising,

And made Tiamat rebel and join battle?

Let him be handed over!

His guilt I will make him bear. You shall dwell in peace!"

The Igigi, the great gods, replied to him,

The king of the gods of heaven and earth, counselor of the gods:

"It was Kingu who contrived the uprising,

And made Tiamat rebel, and join battle."

They bound him, holding him before Ea.

They imposed on him his guilt and severed his blood vessels.

Out of his blood he fashioned humankind.

He imposed the service and let free the gods.

After Ea, the wise, had created humankind,

Had imposed upon it the service of the gods‑‑

That work was beyond comprehension;

As artfully planned by Marduk, did Ea create it‑‑

Marduk, the king of the gods divided all the Anunnaki above

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ and below.

He assigned them to Anu to guard his instructions.

Three hundred in the heavens he stationed as a guard.

In like manner the ways of the earth he defined.

In heaven and on earth six hundred thus he settled. . . .

After [the Anunnaki] had made merry within it,

In Esagila, the splendid had performed rites,

The norms had been fixed and all their portents,

All the gods apportioned the stations of heavens and earth. . . .

Anshar pronounced supreme his name "Marduk":

"Let us make humble obedience at the mention of his name;

When he speaks, the gods shall pay heed to him.

Let his utterance be supreme above and below!

Most exalted be the Son, our avenger;

Let his sovereignty be surpassing, having no rival.

May he shepherd the black‑headed ones, his creatures.

To the end of days, without forgetting let them acclaim his ways.

May he establish for his fathers the great food offerings;

May the subjects ever bear in mind their god,

And may they at his word pay heed to the goddess.

May food‑offerings be borne for their gods and goddesses.

Without fail let them support their gods!

Their lands let them improve, build their shrines,

Let the black‑headed wait on their gods.

As for us, by however many names, he is our god!"