What is Enuma Elish summary?

The Enuma Elish (also known as The Seven Tablets of Creation) is the Mesopotamian creation myth whose title is derived from the opening lines of the piece, “When on High”. The myth tells the story of the great god Marduk’s victory over the forces of chaos and his establishment of order at the creation of the world.

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.

What does Marduk create?

Marduk also created the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, rain clouds, and mountains from Tiamat’s body. He set the cosmos working in an orderly fashion and ordered the gods to build a city—Babylon. Having also killed Qingu, Marduk used that god’s blood to create human beings as servants of the gods.

How strong is Enuma elish?

Its combat strength is roughly the same as that of the King of Heroes Gilgamesh on his golden age. In the battle against Gilgamesh described on the Epic, it displayed a performance on par to him, who is recognized as one of the strongest heroes in human history.

What kind of myth is the Enuma Elish?

Enuma Elish: “When on High . . .” The Enuma Elish is a Babylonian or Mesopotamian myth of creation recounting the struggle between cosmic order and chaos. It is basically a myth of the cycle of seasons.

What was the creation myth of the Babylonians?

Enuma Elish is the old Babylonian creation myth, which has been preserved for thousands of years on clay tablets.

What did Tiamat mean in the Babylonian creation myth?

Wikander explains the word as meaning a creative force, but also points out that a wordplay with the god name Mummu appearing later is intended [Ola Wikander, Enuma elish. Det babyloniska skapelseeposet, Stockholm 2005]. Tiamat represented the saltwater sea and the female principle. The name means ‘the ocean’.

What did Marduk do to Tiamat in Enuma Elish?

Enraging Tiamat with accusations, Marduk quickly nets her, fills her with fierce whirlwinds, and slays her. After triumphing over Tiamat, Marduk uses her remains to build the earth, making the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the water that flows from her eyes.