Marduk
and Tiamat (Enuma Elish: The Epic of
Creation)
At
first glance the story of Marduk and Tiamat in the Enuma Elish seems to be a creation story of Mesopotamia as told by
the Babylonians. However, the subtext tells how humans mastered the volatile
environment of Mesopotamia. Layered below this is the rise of Babylon to be the
principal power of the region. The Enuma Elish
describes the lives of the succeeding generations of Gods, their conflicts with
the Gods before Them, and ends with Marduk as their ruler. Each generation of
Gods probably represents a prior group of peoples who lived the region. Since
Marduk is the major God of the Babylonians, this myth then becomes the story of
how Babylon came to rule Mesopotamia.
The
myth starts by describing the ancient landscape of Mesopotamia, thousands of
years ago. Apsu, the sweet water, mixes with Tiamat of the salt water. The symbol
of their union is the mingling of the Tigris and Euphrates with the sea to
produce the salt marshes. The sea was much farther inland then, and tides had
more effect on the people living there. The landscape of the area is one of
river bottoms, tidal marshes, swamps, and wetlands. Even the names of their
children Lahamu and Lahmu which means mud reflect this as well.
The
next generation of Gods were Anu, Enlil (Ellil), and Enki (Ea) of the
Sumerians. Unlike the first group, these Gods focused on developing agriculture
and decreeing divine laws. While Anu ruled the Gods, Enlil granted kingship, and
Enki created people. (In a similar story to Apsu and the noisy Gods is Enlil
and the noisy humans. In both cases, the Gods tried to destroy the noisemakers,
since the activities of farming disturbed them.)
In
Tiamat’s case, the noisy ones were the next generation of Gods, who were
replacing the original ones. They were draining the swamps, digging the canals,
and irrigating the fields. These Gods were taming the “sweet water”, thereby
killing Apsu as a God. The efforts of the new Gods threatened Tiamat, since They
were transforming the salt marshes into farmland.
Furious,
Tiamat raises an army, which metaphorically reflects the violence of the times.
Through continuous irrigation, salt made the land of the Sumerians infertile.
Faced with dwindling resources including water, the various cities fought each
other to gain these precious resources for their peoples. During this awful
time, the suffering Sumerians wrote lamentations describing their misery -- bodies
melting in the sun and cities shrouded in smoke. Into this war-torn landscape
came the Amorites, who adopted the Sumerian culture, and established their main
city of Babylon. Under their king, Hammurabi, the Babylonians cemented their
empire and imposed law and order in Mesopotamia.
This
creation myth, the Enuma Elish, relates
how the Babylonians came to power and recreated the world, making order out of
chaos. Their principal God, Marduk, assumes power over the other Gods and
defeats Tiamat. The Sumerian Gods, Enki and Enlil cede their power to Marduk by
granting “Enlil-ship” to Him. Meanwhile, the other Gods confer “Anu-power” on
Him. Hence, several generations of Gods pass from importance.
After
adopting myths from the Sumerians, the Babylonians rewrote the creation myth to
include the rise and rulership of Marduk. After Tiamat came Enlil, who was the
original head of the pantheon. With each succeeding generation, Enlil shared
his power first with Anu and then with Enki. While They ceded their power to
Marduk, Anu remained in the titular rule. In Enuma Elish, the Babylonians acknowledge their predecessors, the
Sumerians and the others. But they end the myth with Marduk recreating the
world and establishing his reign. He does this by building the world on the
bones of Tiamat, one of the Gods of the original peoples living there. Marduk
remakes the world as the Babylonians remade Mesopotamia.
Works Used.
“Ancient
Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses.” U.K. Higher Education Project. 2011. Web. http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/index.html .
Aveni,
Anthony, “People and the Sky.” Thames
and Hudson: New York. 2009. Print.
Cicero,
Sandra, “A Guide to the Babylonian Tarot.”
Llewellyn: Woodbury, MN, 2006. Print.
King,
L.W., “Babylonian Religion and Mythology.” Wisdom
Library. 1903. Web. http://www.wisdomlib.org/mesopotamian/book/babylonian-religion-and-mythology/d/doc7086.html .
Siren,
Christopher, “The Assyro-Babylonian Mythology FAQ.” 2003. Web. http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/assyrbabyl-faq.html.
“Sumerian
Mythology FAQ.” 2000. Web. http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/sumer-faq.html .
Smitha,
Frank, “Civilization in Mesopotamia.” Macrohistory
and World Time Line. 2014. Web. http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch01.htm .
