Ancient Mesopotamia

Two understand how the gods influenced our hero, Gilgamesh, one must first look at the various ways the gods meddled into his life. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale of a half-mortal man whose quest to break his own boredom turns into a tale of friendship, immortality, and kingship. However, his tale would not have been able to happen if it was not for the influence of the various Sumerian deities. After the people of Uruk complained to the gods about Gilgamesh’s child-like behavior, the goddess Aruru creates the man that will become Gilgamesh’s closest friend, Enkidu. Enkidu was created as an equal to the king so that Gilgamesh would have a way to occupy his time. Unfortunately, after the two friends defeated the giant Humbaba, a terrible demon creature, the god Enlil becomes enraged, but despite Enlil’s best effort, he is unable to punish the two.

According to the Babylonian mythological poem known in world literature as Enuma elish ("When above," its initial two words), Marduk was granted the leadership of the pantheon as well as the "kingship over the universe entire" as a reward for avenging the gods by defeating Tiamat, the savage and defiant goddess of chaos, and her monstrous host. Following his victory, Marduk fashioned heaven and earth, arranged and regulated the planets and stars, and created the human

Though there are many differences between the Hebrew God and middle-eastern beliefs of the divine, Gilgamesh also depicts some similarities. Sumerian gods respond to prayers from the Uruk citizens that Gilgamesh is an unjust ruler by creating Enkidu, the

The Enuma Elish is a Babylonian creation story comprised of seven tablets. It was thought to be used during celebrations and ceremonies in 12th century B.C. The story focuses on many Gods, primarily Tiamat and Marduk. The title, Enuma Elish means “when on high” in old Babylonian.

    The Enuma Elish, often known as The Creation Epic, is often considered the primary source of Mesopotamian cosmology. However, to view the Enuma Elish as a cosmological myth obscures the true intent of the epicís author. The cosmological elements of the Enuma Elish are secondary to the authorís effort to explain the supremacy of Marduk, to justify absolute oriental monarchy, and to defend Babylon as the axis mundi.

Within “Enuma Elish,” the Babylonians gave an account of how they believed the world was formed. The gods were viewed as most important, and supposedly had absolute power, however, these gods were not preexisting, nor all powerful. “I shall appoint my holy chambers / I shall establish my kingship”(V.32.7-8). The gods were believed to rule over everything that occurred in the universe. Contrary to the most high God, the gods depicted in Enuma Elish were self centered, arrogant bigots. According to this myth, humans were created to serve the gods. “I shall create humankind, they shall bear the gods’ burdens that those may rest”(VI.33.6-7-8). Marduk, the creator god, was viewed as a hero, because of his overthrowing of Tiamat and Apsu. “He is indeed the son, the Sun, the most radiant of the gods”(VI.35.87-88). Though Marduk

The first category of culture is religion. There were several similarities between the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians had their own religion and beliefs. Both were polytheistic, meaning they believed in numerous gods or goddesses instead of one god or goddess. There were also several differences between the Mesopotamian and Egyptians. While the Mesopotamians and Egyptians worshiped thousands of deities, there were four main essential deities for the Mesopotamians: An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga. An was the god of heaven. Enlil was the god of wind and became the power of energy, force, and authority on the earth. Enki was the god of

Enkidu was Gilgamesh’s companion and closest friend. He was created as Gilgamesh’s equal because the people of Uruk begged for relief from his harsh rule. The goddess Aruru was given the task of creating him. After washing her hands, she pinched some clay and threw it in the wilderness to create Enkidu. He was beastly and ran with the animals until he met Gilgamesh.

In the book, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods create Enkidu as a counter to Gilgamesh. Enkidu has similar features to Gilgamesh; he is burly enough that “none can withstand his arms” and Gilgamesh did not meet anyone who could do the same (The Epic of Gilgamesh 4). Gilgamesh is captivating and endearing, but he lacks in practical skills. In the epic, Enkidu is present to enhance Gilgamesh and to make him a preferable person.

For Gilgamesh, the god Anu had his daughter Aruru create Enkidu. Enkidu was a man of the wild, to be Gilgamesh’s equal. He was part human and part animal. Instead of being Gilgamesh’s enemy they became the best of friends and ended up battling foes together. With Gilgamesh having found a companion that is worthy, they were basically unbeatable together.

The Sumerians, like most cultures, questioned the world around them with such things as, “Who are we?” or “Why are we here?.” The Sumerians thought they floated above a hollow space with heaven in an arch above them. Vast oceans surrounded them, which they believed created the earth they lived on. The Sumerians called the universe “an-ki”, which brought together the names of the god An and the goddess Ki. These two gods, being the most powerful and important, had many children

Enuman Elish (which means When on High) is a Babylonian creation myth dating to the late second millennium BCE. Enuman Elish tells the story of how the universe came into being, a great struggle among the gods, and the creation of the world and humanity. Enuman Elish is broken down into two distinctive parts, the Theogony part (encompasses the birth of the gods) and the Cosmogony part (The beginning of the universe and mankind). The first part of the story (Theogony part) describes the birth of the gods from the union of the fresh water god, Apsu, and the salt water goddess Tiamat. When Apsu plots to kill the young gods (his children) for making too much noise, Tiamat informs her son Ea, the most powerful of the young gods; in turn Ea kills

Enlil was a major God in Sumerian Mythology. His name took on many different interpretations as he was believed to have control of the wind and storms. One reason historians believed he had control of the wind was because his name could be translated to “Lord Wind” or “Lord Air”. Historians also called him a storm God because he worked with wind and storms together to build or destroy the land or whatever was in his path. To his fellow Gods, Enlil was considered the main God, as he was the one to grant kingship to rulers of Mesopotamia. As a great provider he was know as the lord of abundance, hence, he could give as well as take away. He was the only one that could grant kingship to the rulers of Mesopotamia. His word was concrete, therefore,

1.What are three things that you noticed about the Egyptian creation myths?  How do these myths compare to the Enuma Elish?

Enki: As the god of fertile earth and water, he was the son of the god An and a twin brother of Adad.it was not