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What does the name of the Babylonian creation myth translate to in English?
Enuma Elish
The Enūma Eliš (Akkadian Cuneiform: 𒂊𒉡𒈠𒂊𒇺, also spelled “Enuma Elish”) is the Babylonian creation myth (named after its opening words). It was recovered by English archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in 1849 (in fragmentary form) in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (Mosul, Iraq).
What is the theme of Enuma Elish?
The central argument of the Enuma Elish as a whole is thus to elevate Marduk as the sovereign deity—to demonstrate that out of the Babylonian pantheon, he is the supremely powerful god; and not only that, he displaces older gods, like the Sumerian Ea, in importance.
Why was the Enuma Elish written?
The Enuma elish, the epic of creation, was read at the festival in order to remind the participants that cosmos (order) arose out of chaos by means of a struggle between Marduk, the god of heaven, and Tiamat, the goddess of the deep and the powers…
Is Enuma Elish a cosmogony?
Enuma Elish is one such cosmogony myth. The story begins with two primeval gods, Apsu and Tiamat.
What happens in Enuma Elish?
The Enuma Elish is the Babylonian Creation Myth. Written across seven stone tablets, the poem describes the beginning of the universe as a separating of water from Chaos. Essentially, the universe begins in a chaos of swirling waters until, with time, the waters separate into Apsu (fresh water) and Tiamat (salt water.)
Who is the hero of the Enuma Elish?
As Marduk, the champion of the young gods in their war against Tiamat, is of Babylonian origin, the Sumerian Ea/Enki or Enlil is thought to have played the major role in the original version of the story.
How does Enuma Elish start?
Enuma Elish begins with the universe unformed and containing only water. Only two beings exist in this unformed creation: Apsu, the fresh waters, and his wife, Tiamat, who is the salt water and the chaotic oceans. Tiamat is depicted as a monstrous dragon.
Who killed Apsu?
The gods, stunned by the prospect of death, called on the resourceful god Ea to save them. Ea recited a spell that made Apsu sleep. He then killed Apsu and captured Mummu, his vizier. Ea and his wife Damkina then gave birth to the hero Marduk, the tallest and mightiest of the gods.