Enuma Elish - Genesis of Genesis - Babylonian Myths - Extra Mythology

Myths are not stories that are untrue. Rather, they are tales that don't fit neatly into the historical record, which serve as a foundation to a culture. In the days before Adam and Eve, before the invention of writing itself, there were different gods than the ones we know today. Older gods. In the beginning, when neither the heavens above nor the earth below had a name, there was nothing but void, water, and chaos. One day, the waters separated into sweet freshwater and briny water full of salt. But these waters were more than mere matter, for they were the first of the gods. Thanks so much to Blinkist for sponsoring this episode. Want to discover the key ideas from countless books in under 15 minutes? How about absolutely free? Then stick around until after the episode to find out how. When the waters divided, the sweet became the primordial Apsu, and the salty became Tiamat, goddess of chaos. And there they floated in the void. There were no fields or marshes, no sun or stars. No other gods had been called into being, and there was no time or destiny. But then, in a divine flash of creation, Tiamat and Apsu combined once more, and from them many gods came to be. First came the twins Lamu and Lahamu, then Anshar and Kisar were created. Time began to flow, and the days grew long. Eventually, those gods had children, and their children had children. And before long, the universe was filled with rambunctious godlings. But all this divine procreation had an unintended side effect. The young gods, it seems, were extremely loud. Much louder than the silence of the void had been. So loud, in fact, that Apsu could no longer sleep at night or focus on god stuff during the day. And it was definitely getting to Tiamat as well. And she wasn't exactly the patient type. So, Apsu attempted every idea he could think of to calm the gods, but nothing seemed to work. Exasperated, and with no other options, he proposed to Tiamat that they destroy the new gods to finally have some peace and quiet. While this plan was tempting, Tiamat was hesitant to destroy their precious creations, obnoxious though they may be. Huh... Eh... No, she wouldn't allow it. And that was that. Her decision made, she left, despite the protests of Apsu. Then as Apsu stood in resignation and defeat, his advisor Mumu suggested to go behind Tiamat's back and destroy the young gods anyway. Apsu was delighted with this plan, embraced his advisor, and they set right to work, plotting the children's demise. However, someone else had been listening in on the conversation. Enki, god of wisdom and mischief, and he made a little plan of his own. That night, he cast a sleeping spell on Apsu. Then the next day, when Mumu came to wake him, he found that he could not, and at that moment, Enki leapt from the shadows, struck Apsu down, killing him and imprisoning Mumu for his treachery. After saving his and the rest of the godlings' lives, Enki built a home out of Apsu's remains. Then before long, he and his wife created Marduk, god of the sun, whose power and splendor exceeded all other gods. But divine life wasn't all sun gods and roses, for when Tiamat found that her mate had been killed, she flew into a rage, instantly regretting not killing the young gods when she had the chance. Now they had grown too powerful, so she was only left with one choice. She would go to war against them. Tiamat ordered her most loyal advisor to serve as her champion, and presented him with the magical Tablets of Destiny, which controlled the fates that he would proudly wear as armor. Then she summoned hurricanes and forged unbreakable weapons, and she created hideous serpent monsters with razor-sharp teeth, whose bodies were filled not with blood, but with poison. In the end, she actually created eleven different monsters to destroy her children. Fish creatures, raging hounds, great rams, and scorpion men. All were brutal and fearless. Then the war began. Enki and the younger gods fought fiercely, but they were no match for Tiamat's storms and beasts. And just when all seemed lost for the young gods, Marduk stepped out from among the ranks and vowed to defeat Tiamat himself. The elated young gods declared Marduk their king, and he prepared himself for the upcoming battle. He slung a spear upon his back, held a club in his right hand, and hung his bow and quiver at his side. Then being the sun god after all, he filled his body with burning flame. As he stepped out to face Tiamat, he created a net out of the four winds and trapped her within it. She struggled and roared, but could not escape the snare. And with Tiamat trapped, Marduk then challenged her champion, easily slaying him and claiming the Tablets of Destiny for himself. Then he turned back to Tiamat, drew his bow, and fired an arrow which split the mighty god in two. Out of the eyes of the fierce goddess, great waters poured forth, creating the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, until Tiamat was no more. Taking a page from his father's book, Marduk then built the heavens and the earth from Tiamat's corpse. He bound the eleven monsters to his feet as a trophy, and then he set to work being the new king of the universe, assigning gods to different jobs and duties. Then once everyone had a chance to settle in, Marduk calls for a meeting with the god of wisdom, for he still has one problem left to solve. What to do with the gods who took Tiamat's side in the war? They discussed this matter for quite a long time, but eventually reached a decision. Tiamat's champion would be charged with treason, you know, because there's a justice system now, and they would execute him. But from his blood, they would create humans, both to serve the gods and assist them in keeping order in the world. That way, Tiamat's chaos and destruction could never threaten anyone again. Though these gods' names aren't very common anymore, the echoes of them remain with us to this day. For instance, the scribes who wrote Genesis knew of these stories, and the similarities to another tale of a world brought into being out of the water and the void are plain to see. A god that separated water from water as creation began, who created the heavens and the Earth? Haha, sure bud. Just if I'm ever being too loud, don't manifest an army of monsters and destroy me, okay? Um, that wasn't an answer. 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