The Babylonian Creation Myth
"Long since, when above the heaven had not been named, when the earth beneath (still) bore no name, when the ocean (apsu), the primeval, the generator of them, and the…
From: Unknown To: 700 B.C.E.
Location: Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“The Babylonian Account of the Creation” from Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, compiled by Robert Francis Harper.
The Babylonian Account of the Creation
[Translated by William Muss-Arnolt]
Long since, when above the heaven had not been named, when the earth beneath (still) bore no name, when the ocean (apsu), the primeval, the generator of them, and the originator (?) Tiamat, who brought forth them both their waters were mingled together; when fields were (still) unformed, reeds (still) nowhere to be seen.
Long since, when no one of the gods had been called into being, when no name had been named, no fates [had been determined]; then were created the gods, [all of them?].
Luchmu and Lachamu were called into being [as the first?]. Ages multiplied [and days grew old?]; An-shar (and) Ki-shar were created. Long were the days. [* * *] [before?] Anu, [Bel, and Ea were created, the great gods?] An-shar and Ki[-shar * * *] [What follows is broken off.]
[Two new fragments discovered by Professor Carl Bezold in the British Museum collection appear to belong to this first tablet. The former relates how Apsu and Tiamat bewailed the creation of light and how their son Mummu reveals unto them a plan to change the light back again into utter darkness.]
Let the light be darkened, like night may [it be.] Upon hearing this Apsu's face brightened up. They planned evil against the gods [, their first-born].
[After another break of some fifteen or twenty lines, there follows the account of the revolt of Tiamat against the upper gods, which is found four times in the same form in this account of the creation.]
Tiamat, the mother of the gods, turned against them in hatred with all her force; she is bitterly enraged. To her turn the gods, without exception. [Even those, whom Luchmu and Lachamu created, go to her aid]
They are banded together, and at the side of Tiamat they advance; cursing the day (light), they follow Tiamat.
Angry, plotting, restless by day and by night, ready for the fray, fuming and raging, they banded themselves together and started the revolt. The mother of the deep, the creator of all, has made in addition invincible weapons, spawning monster serpents, sharp of tooth, and unsparing of fang; with poison instead of blood she filled their bodies. Monster vipers, fierce ones, she clothed with terror, decked them with awful splendour, and made them high of stature (?), that their aspect might inject terror and arouse horror. Their bodies are inflated, irresistible is their attack.
The viper she created, the dragon, and the lachamu, the storm-giant, the mad hound, and the scorpion-man, the raging storms, the fish-man, and the ram, provided with weapons, unmerciful, not dreading a fight; defiant of mind, invincible against all enemies.
In addition to creating thus these eleven, she exalted among the gods, her sons, whom she had borne, Kingu, and made him greatest among them all (saying):
"To march before the host, let that be thy mission; Command the weapons to strike, the attack to begin." To be foremost in war, supreme in victory, she intrusted to him; and placed him upon a throne (saying):
"By my charm and incantation I have raised thee to power among the gods. The dominion over all the gods I intrusted to thee. Lofty thou shalt be, thou my chosen spouse; Great be thy name in all the [world]."
She then gave him the Tablets of Destiny, and laid them upon his breast (saying):
"Thy command be never annulled, firm stand the word of thy mouth." Thus exalted and having obtained divine power among the gods, her children, Kingu ruled. "Let the opening of your mouth quench the fire; he that excels in bravery, let him rise in power."
[The second tablet opens with a verbatim report of the situation described in the second half of the first tablet, to the god An-shar, who becomes greatly distressed and excited, smites his sides in anger and wrath, bites his lips, and breaks out in cries of fury. One of the gods ventures to suggest that it would certainly be possible for An-shar, the great warrior, to slay Apsu, and fight successfully with Tiamat. Then follows a break, and after that, An-shar turns to his son Anu, "the powerful, courageous hero, whose strength and power [are great] and whose onslaught is irresistible," and calls upon him to defeat Tiamat:]
"[Get thee] and before Tiamat stand thou up; Perchance her anger be quieted and her heart be softened. [But if she resists] and hearkens not to thy word, [speak * * * to her], and then she may be quieted." And Anu listened to the word of An-shar, his father. Straightway he went to her; to her he marched. But as he [approached] and beheld the awful visage of Tiamat, Anu took fright and fled in haste.
[What he reported to An-shar is not preserved. From Tablet III, 54, it may be gathered that An-shar then turned to Nudimmud, but here he pleaded also in vain. Thereupon Marduk, Ea's son, volunteers to fight Tiamat, but under conditions which he communicated forthwith to An-shar, his grandfather (whom, however, he addresses as " father," meaning, no doubt, " father of the gods ") An-shar accedes to his conditions, and promises him great reward and high honours. The closing lines of the second tablet are thus:]
Marduk heard the word of his father. His heart [rejoiced] and he spoke thus to his father:
"O lord of the gods, fate-determiner of the great gods, when indeed I shall become your avenger, conquering Tiamat and thus saving your lives, assemble the gods and proclaim my control as supreme. In Ubshukenna then enter ye all joyfully, and my authority instead of thine shall assume control. Let whatsoever I do remain unaltered; unchangeable and irrevocable be ever the command of my lips.
An-shar opened his mouth and to Gaga, his messenger, he said: “Go, Gaga, my messenger, thou who rejoicest my heart, to Luchmu and Lachamu I will send thee; willingly then hear the command of my heart. [* * *] thy [* * *] before thee [invite to the assembly] the gods, them all; [may they sit down at the table], partake at the feast; [may eat bread] and mix the wine, [may mount] their [seats] and decree the fate. Go then Gaga, stand before them, [the word that I now tell thee], repeat unto them (and say):
An-shar, your son, has sent me (to you), the command of his heat he entrusted to me (saying): Tiamat, our mother, turned against us in hatred with all her force; she is bitterly enraged. To her turn the gods, without exception. Even those, created by you, go to her aid. They are banded together, and at the side of Tiamat they advance; cursing the day (light), they follow Tiamat. Angry, plotting, restless by day and by night, ready for the fray, fuming and raging, they banded themselves together and started the revolt. The mother of the deep, the creator of all, has made in addition invincible weapons, spawning monster-serpents, sharp of tooth, and unsparing of fang; with poison instead of blood she filled their bodies; monster-vipers, fierce ones, she clothed with terror, decked them with awful splendour and made them high of stature (?), that their aspect might inject terror and arouse horror. Their bodies are inflated, irresistible is their attack. The viper she created, the dragon, and the lachamu, the storm-giant, the mad hound, and the scorpion-man, the raging storms, the fish-man and the ram, provided with weapons, unmerciful, not dreading a fight; defiant in mind, invincible against all enemies.
In addition to creating thus these eleven, she exalted among the gods, her sons, that she had bourne, Kingu, and made him greatest among them all (saying): ‘To march before the host, let that be thy mission; Command the weapons to strike, the attack to begin.’ To be foremost in war, supreme in victory, she intrusted to him, and placed him upon a throne (saying): ‘by my charm and incantation I have raised thee to power among the gods. The dominion over all the gods I intrusted to thee, Lofty thou shalt be, thou my chosen spouse; Great be thy name in all the world’
She then gave him the Tablets of Destiny, and laid them upon his breast (saying): ‘Thy command be never annulled, firm stand the word of thy mouth’
Thus exalted and having obtained divine power, among the gods, her children, Kingu ruled. ‘Let the opening of your mouth quench the fire; he that excels in bravery, let him rise in power.’ I sent Anu, but he dared not to face her. Nudimmud was afraid and turned to flight. Then I called upon Marduk, the counsellor of gods, your son; To go against Tiamat he has set his mind. He opened his mouth and thus spoke unto me: ‘When indeed I shall become your avenger, conquering Tiamat, and thus saving your lives, assemble all the gods and proclaim my control as supreme. In Ubshukenna then enter ye all joyfully, and my authority instead of thine shall assume control. Let whatsoever I do remain unaltered; unchangeable and irrevocable be ever the command of my lips.’Hasten, then, and quickly deliver your dominion to him, that he may go and meet your enemy, the mighty! "
Gaga departed and wended his way until he came to Luchmu and Lachamu, the gods, his fathers. There he prostrated himself, kissing the ground at their feet. He bowed down, rose up again, and spoke thus unto them:
"An-shar, your son, has sent me to you, the command of his heart he intrusted to me, (saying):
'Tiamat, our mother, turned against us in hatred with all her force; she is bitterly enraged. To her turn the gods, without exception. Even those, created by you, go to her aid. They are banded together, and at the side of Tiamat they advance; cursing the day (light), they follow Tiamat. Angry, plotting, restless by day and by night, ready for the fray, fuming and raging, they banded themselves together, and started the revolt. The mother of the deep, the creator of all, has made in addition invincible weapons, spawning monster-serpents, sharp of tooth, and unsparing of fang; with poison instead of blood she filled their bodies; monster-vipers, fierce ones, she clothed with terror, decked them with awful splendour, and made them high of stature (?), that their aspect might inject terror and arouse horror. Their bodies are inflated, irresistible is their attack. The viper she created, the dragon, and the lachamu, the storm-giant, the mad hound, and the scorpion-man, the raging storms, the fish-man, and the ram, provided with weapons, unmerciful, not dreading a fight; defiant of mind, invincible against all enemies. In addition to creating thus these eleven, she exalted among the gods, her sons, that she had borne, Kingu, and made him greatest among them all (saying):
‘To march before the host, let that be thy mission; Command the weapons to strike, the attack to begin.’ To be foremost in war, supreme in victory, she intrusted to him, and placed him upon a throne (saying): ‘By my charm and incantation I have raised thee to power among the gods. The dominion over all the gods I intrusted to thee. Lofty thou shalt be, thou my chosen spouse; Great be thy name in all the world.' She then gave him the Tablets of Destiny, and laid them upon his breast (saying): 'Thy command be never annulled, firm stand the word of thy mouth.'
Thus exalted and having obtained divine power, among the gods, her children, Kingu ruled.
‘Let the opening of your mouth quench the fire; he that excels in bravery, let him rise in power.' I sent Anu, but he dared not to face her. Nudimmud was afraid and turned to flight. Then I called upon Marduk, the counsellor of gods, your son; To go against Tiamat he has set his mind. He opened his mouth and thus spoke unto me: 'When indeed I shall become your avenger, conquering Tiamat, and thus saving your lives. Hasten, then, and quickly deliver your dominion to him, that he may go and meet your enemy, the mighty!'"
When Luchmu and Lachamu heard this, [their heart became frightened], and the host of heaven's gods were wailing bitterly, (saying): "What indeed has happened that they conceived hatred(?); we can not understand the [actions] of Tiamat." Then they gathered together, proceeded to [* * *]; the great gods, all of them, who decree fate, entered in before An-shar, and filled [the chamber?]. They encouraged one another by gathering together, and sat down to the banquet, [and partook of] the meal; Ate bread and mixed [wine]. The sweet wine confused their senses, drinking they waxed drunk, their bodies were filled (with meat and drink); They became bewildered, their [spirits] rose, and to Marduk, their avenger, they intrusted the rule.
Thereupon the gods placed Marduk on the royal throne, surpassing his fathers in power, he took his place as decider and ruler. [When Marduk had taken his seat, the gods addressed him in the following words:]
"Yea, thou art the honoured among the great gods; thy destiny is unequalled, thy word is ‘Anu' indeed. O Marduk, thou art the honoured among the great gods; thy destiny is unequalled, thy word is ‘Anu' indeed. Henceforth thy command shall be absolute; To exalt and to abase shall be within thy power. Verily, thy word shall be supreme, thy command irresistible. None among the gods shall trespass upon thy dominion. May abundance, the desire of the shrines of the gods, while they are in want, be showered upon thy sanctuary!
Marduk, as thou indeed wilt become our avenger, we gladly give thee dominion over the whole world. In the council (of the gods) may thy word always prevail; thy weapon be always victorious, crushing the foe and the enemy! O lord, spare thou the life of him that putteth his trust in thee; but as for the god who led the rebellion, pour out the blood of his life."
Thereupon the gods spread out in their midst a garment; to Marduk, their first-born, they spoke:
“Thy rule, O lord, shall surpass that of the gods, to vanish and to create—speak thou, and thus it shall be. Open thy mouth and command, and the garment shall disappear; Speak then again, and the garment shall reappear." As Marduk uttered the word, the garment disappeared; and again he spoke, and, behold, the garment was there. When the gods, his fathers, beheld such power of his word, they greeted him joyfully, saying, "Marduk is king." They invested him with sceptre, with throne, and with ring (?), and gave him a weapon, unequalled, to kill the enemy. "Go, now" (they said), "and cut asunder the life-thread of Tiamat, let the winds carry her blood to hidden regions." Thus the gods, his fathers, fixed the destiny of Bel (-Merodach) and wished him safety and success in the work upon which he entered.
He made ready a bow, he girded his weapon upon him; He prepared a lance, to be used in the fight before him. A club he took also; in his right hand he grasped it. The bow and the quiver he hung at his side. He made a flash of lightning to go before him, whose midst he filled with destructive fire. He made a net wherewith to inclose the life of Tiamat. The four winds he set, so that she might not escape. The south wind and north wind, the east wind and west wind he brought near to the net, which his father Anu had given him. He created the evil wind, the storm, and the hurricane, The fourfold wind, the sevenfold wind, the whirlwind, the wind without equal; Then he let loose the winds which he had created, seven in all. To destroy the life of Tiamat, they swept along after him.
Then Bel (the lord) grasped the "storm," his mighty weapon. He mounted his chariot, an object unequalled for terror, harnessed to it the four fiery steeds, horses, ferocious, courageous, and swift; their teeth full of slaver, their bodies flecked with foam, trained in galloping, and knowing how to trample underfoot. [And Marduk stood up in it], the battle-hero, [looking toward right and toward] left, making up his mind, [* * *] armed with furor; Majestic halo surrounded his head. He made straight for her and drew nigh unto her. Where Tiamat the furious stood, he set his face. Upon his lip [* * *] holding a magic herb he grasped with his finger. At that hour the gods beheld him with admiration. The gods, his fathers, beheld him with admiration, indeed. Nearer drew Bel (the lord) anxious to fight Tiamat, and seeking to capture Kingu, her spouse. When the latter saw him he became distraught, his mind deranged, his actions confused. And the gods, his helpers, who marched by his side. Beheld their leader's distress, and they looked terrified. Tiamat [alone] stood ground, turned not her neck, with her lip uttering taunts of defiance: "Against the, O Bel, the gods take up the fight. Where they are gathered, there is now thy place.”
But Bel brandished the "storm," his great weapon, and reproached Tiamat for what she had done (saying): "Below thou art mighty, yea! lofty above. But thy heart drove thee to stir up destructive fight, un [til the gods? forsook] their fathers for thee. Around thee thou hast gathered] them, shown hatred [to us?]. Chosest Kingu to be thy husband and spouse, and bestowedst upon him divine power. [* * *] thou hast planned strife. To the gods, my fathers, thou didst evil. Thus, then, may thy host be tied, thy weapons be bound. Stand! I and thou, come let us fight!"
But Tiamat, when she heard these words, acted like one possessed, and she lost her senses. Tiamat shrieked out wild and loud. Trembling, her whole frame shook through and through. She uttered a spell, recited an incantation. And also the gods of battle charm their weapons. Then they approached one another, Tiamat and Marduk, the counsellor of gods. To the fight they rushed, advanced to the battle. Bel spread out his net and inclosed her. The evil wind, following him, he let loose against her; and when Tiamat opened her mouth to swallow (the evil wind),
Marduk quickly drove in the evil wind, ere she could shut her lips. The terrible winds inflated her stomach; she lost her reason; gasping, still wider she opened her mouth. He seized his lance and plunged it down into her stomach. Her entrails he pierced, cut through her heart. He overpowered her and put an end to her life, threw down her carcass and stood upon it. Now that Tiamat, the leader, had been slain, her host was broken up, her throng was scattered.
The gods, her helpers, who marched by her side, trembled and feared, turned backward to flight, and tried to escape, to save their lives. But they were surrounded, so that none could escape; Bel took them captive and broke their weapons. They were caught in the net, they sat in the snare, and filled with their wailing the whole wide world. Punishment they had to endure, and were held in prison.The eleven creatures, also, which she had created with terrors, a horde of demons, which had marched by her side, he placed into fetters, and [tied] their hands; and he trampled under his feet their resistance. Moreover, Kingu, who had been great above all of them, he bound and did unto him like unto the [other] gods (?), tore away from him the Tablets of Destiny, which hung on his breast; With his own seal he sealed them and laid them upon his own breast.
Now, after Marduk had conquered and defeated his foes, had brought to naught the arrogant adversary, thus fully completing An-shar's victory over his enemy, and attaining the purpose of Nudimmud, the valiant Marduk strengthened his hold on the gods that were captive; and returned to Tiamat, whom he had defeated. Bel-Marduk trampled down the body of Tiamat; With his merciless weapon he smashed open her skull, cut through the veins of her blood, and let the north wind carry it far away. His fathers beheld this, they rejoiced and were glad; presents and gifts they brought unto him. And Bel was appeased, as he gazed on her dead body. Her corpse he divided, and wonderful feats he performed. He cut her into two halves, like a flat (?) fish. He took one half and made the heavenly dome, pushed bars before it, and stationed watchmen.
He gave them command not to let out its waters; then he passed through the heavens, inspected the regions (thereof), and in front of apsu he established the home of Nudimmud. Bel measured out the structure of apsu; and corresponding to it he fashioned Esharra. The great structure Esharra, which he had built as heaven, he made Anu, Bel, and Ea to inhabit as their own city.
[Here ends the fourth tablet of the creation-account; immediately upon this follows, according to the custom of the Babylonian scribes, the first line of Tablet V:]
"He established the stations for the great gods!”
[Then follows a colophon, which states that there were one hundred and forty-six lines of the fourth tablet (of the series entitled):
"Long since, when above (the heaven) had not been named,"
[and, that the tablet was written by Na'id-Marduk, in honour of Nebo, his lord, for the preservation of his life; he wrote and placed it in E-zida, the Temple of Nebo in Borsippa.]
He established the stations for the great gods. The stars, like unto them, and the constellations he fixed; He ordained the year, and marked off its sections. Twelve months he divided by three stars. And when the days of the year he had fixed according to the stars, he established the station of Nibir to mark their bounds, that none (of the days) might deviate, nor be found lacking.
The mansions of Bel and of Ea he established with him.''
He opened great gates on both sides (of the firmament), made strong the bolts on the left and on the right. In the midst (of heaven) he placed the zenith. Nannar, the moon-god, he brought forth, and intrusted the night to him; placed him there, as the luminary of night, to mark off the days; month after month, he fashioned him as full moon (saying): "At the beginning of the moon, when evening begins, let thy horns shine, to mark off the heavens; On the seventh day make half the disk, stand perpendicular, on the Sabbath, with thy first half; when at sunset thou risest on the horizon, stand opposite her [on the fourteenth] in brightest splendour. [From the fifteenth] on, approach again the course of the sun. [On the twenty-first] stand perpendicular again to the sun. [From the twenty-second] on [* * *] to seek his course. [On the twenty-eighth to the sun] approach and hold judgment [* * *]''
[Only one half of a single line of Tablet VI is preserved.]
[Of Tablet VII these lines are preserved:]
God Zi [* * *] [they called him Marduk in the second place] who fixed [* * *] their circuit [* * *] Not be forgotten among men [this deed * * *]
God Zi-azag [God of pure life] they called him in the third place; he who causes purification. "God of favourable wind, lord of acceptance (of prayers) and mercy; who bringeth forth abundance and fulness, granteth rich blessings; who increaseth everything that is small; whose mild breath we feel amid storm and distress."
Thus may they speak, glorify, and worship him! God Mir-azag [God of the shining crown] fourthly, let them thus praise him: "Lord of pure incantation, restorer of dead to life, showing mercy even unto the vanquishecl gods, removing the yoke from the gods, his adversaries; who in their place (?) created mankind; the merciful who hath power to grant life. May this word concerning him remain and he never forgotten among mankind, whom he hath created!"
God Tu-azag [God of pure incantation], fifthly, thus be his enchanting word in: their mouths; who destroys the wicked with his pure incantation.
God Sha-zu [Knower of hearts], who knows the heart of the gods, who searches the innermost; who does not allow the wicked to make his escape from Him; who summons the council of the gods and rejoices their heart; who subdues the rebels [* * *] and causes justice to prevail [* * *] who resistance [overthrows] [* * *]
God Zi-si [Destroyer of aggressors], who sends forth the hurricane and lets loose the storm and the winds.
God Shug-kur [Exterminator of all the wicked], sixthly, who destroys the [enemies] who brought to naught their compacts and agreements, and destroys all the wicked [* * *]
[The rest of the obverse is broken off, as well as the beginning lines of the reverse, which commences with line four.]
[* * *] star, [who riseth on the firmament of heaven]. Because he split asunder Tiamat without resting, let his name be Nibiru, who defeated Kirbish-Tiamat. May he direct the course of the stars of heaven, and pasture like sheep all the gods! Let him take hold of Tiamat; let him oppress and shorten her life. For future ages, forever and ever. Be this in force and do not cease, remain in force forever.
Because he created heaven and fashioned the earth, Father Bel called his name "Lord of the Universe." The names of the Igigi [the host of heaven’s gods], he received all of them. When Ea heard this, his heart rejoiced, that to his son such lofty names had been given. “Ea shall be his name, like mine. May he deliver all my binding commands. May he transmit all my commandments!" Fifty names they gave him, according to the great gods, fifty names, and enhanced his power.
The leader (king) shall hearken to this and proclaim it again, the wise and the prudent likewise take it to heart. Let father relate it to son, and speak constantly thereof. May the shepherd and leader open his ears, that he may rejoice in the lord of gods, in Marduk! His land, then, may prosper; he himself remain sound; his word be constant and firm, his order obeyed; his command none shall change, not even a god. But if he looks angry, not turning (in mercy) his neck, no god can rival his anger or wrath, the long-suffering [* * *] [who] sin and evil before him [***].
Harper, Robert Francis. Assyrian and Babylonian Literature. Appleton, 1904.
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