Enūma Eliš

Lore & Background

The *Enūma Eliš* is a Babylonian creation myth composed in Akkadian on seven clay tablets, each containing between 115 and 170 lines of Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform script, totaling about a thousand lines. Its opening words, meaning "When on High," serve as its title. The text is nearly complete except for a significant lacuna: most of Tablet V has never been recovered. The myth was recovered in fragmentary form in 1849 by English archaeologist Austen Henry Layard from the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (modern Mosul, Iraq). A form of the myth was first published by English Assyriologist George Smith in 1876, with subsequent excavations and research leading to near completion of the text and improved translations. The narrative describes the creation of the world, a battle among gods centered on offerings to Marduk, the creation of humanity destined to serve the Mesopotamian deities, and concludes with an extended passage praising Marduk. The rise of Marduk is generally thought to have begun during the Second Dynasty of Isin, triggered by the return of Marduk’s statue from Elam by Nebuchadnezzar I, though a late Kassite date is also proposed. The myth may have been recited during the Akitu festival. Some late Assyrian versions replace Marduk with the god Ashur. Before the tablets were discovered, substantial elements of the myth survived through the writings of Berossus, a 3rd-century BCE Babylonian priest of Bel (Marduk), whose account describes a primeval state of abyssal darkness and water, two primeval beings, and a female leader named Omoroca (Thalatth in Babylonian) who was slain by Bel, who formed heaven and earth from her halves.

Reader's Guide

Enūma Eliš is significant as the only complete surviving account of ancient near eastern cosmology, providing a foundational text for understanding Babylonian religion and mythology. Its discovery and translation in the 19th century sparked intense scholarly and public interest due to parallels with biblical creation stories, particularly the Genesis account. The myth describes the rise of Marduk to supremacy among the gods, a development generally viewed to have started from the Second Dynasty of Isin, triggered by the return of the statue of Marduk from Elam by Nebuchadnezzar I, although a late Kassite date is also sometimes proposed. It may have been recited during the Akitu festival. Some late Assyrian versions replace Marduk with Ashur. The text remains a subject of active research, analysis, and discussion in the 21st century, with significant publications including works by Talon, Kämmerer & Metzler, Lambert, and Gabriel. The earliest manuscript was excavated from Assur and dated to the 9th century BCE, though it may have been recited as part of oral tradition prior to this date.

Did You Know?

• Most of Tablet V has never been recovered, but aside from this lacuna, the text is almost complete.
• Before the tablets were discovered, substantial elements of the myth had survived via the writings of Berossus, a 3rd-century BCE Babylonian writer and priest of Bel (Marduk).
• The earliest manuscript was excavated from Assur and dated to the 9th century BCE.
• Some late Assyrian versions replace Marduk with Ashur.