religion and cosmology: primary source documents The Middle East 867 The Enûma Elish (Babylonian Creation Myth), excerpt, ca 12th century b.c.e The holy house, the house of the gods, in the holy place had not yet been made; 26 The green herb of the field he created, No reed had sprung up, no tree had been created No brick had been laid, no building had been set up; 28 The wild cow and her young, the wild calf; the ewe and her young, the lamb of the fold; No house had been erected, no city had been built; 29 Plantations and forests; No city had been made, no creature had been created 30 The he-goat and the mountain-goat him Nippur had not been made, E-kur had not been built; 31 The Lord Marduk laid in a dam by the side of the sea, Erech had not been created, E-ana had not been built; 32 [He ] a swamp, he made a marsh, The Deep had not been created, Eridu had not been built; 33 [ .] he brought into existence Of the holy house, the house of the gods, the habitation had not been made 35 [ .] he made in their place 10 All lands were sea 11 At that time there was a movement in the sea; 12 Then was Eridu made, and E-sagil was built, 13 E-sagil, where in the midst of the Deep the god Lugal-dul-azaga dwelleth; 14 The city of Babylon was built, and E-sagil was finished 15 The gods, the Anunnaki, he created at one time; 16 The holy city, the dwelling, of their hearts’ desire, they proclaimed supreme 27 The lands, the marshes, and the swamps; 34 [Reeds he form]ed, trees he created; 36 [Bricks he laid], buildings he set up; 37 [Houses he made], cities he built; 38 [Cities he made], creatures he created 39 [Nippur he made], E-kur he built; 40 [Erech he made, E-an]a he built 3f Thy exalted minister is Papsukal, the wise counselor of the gods May Nin-aha-kudû, the daughter of Ea, Purify thee with the pure censer, 17 Marduk laid a reed upon the face of the waters, And may she cleanse thee with cleansing fire! 18 He formed dust and poured it out beside the reed 8f With a cup of pure water from the Deep shalt thou purify thy way! 19 That he might cause the gods to dwell in the habitation of their hearts’ desire, 20 He formed mankind 21 The goddess Aruru together with him created the seed of mankind 22 The beasts of the field and living creatures in the field he formed 23 He created the Tigris and the Euphrates, and he set them in their place; 24 Their names he declared in goodly fashion 25 The grass, the rush of the marsh, the reed, and the forest he created, 10 By the incantation of Marduk, the king of the hosts of heaven and earth, 11 May the abundance of the land enter into thee, 12 And may thy decree be accomplished for ever! 13f O E-zida, thou glorious dwelling, thou art dear unto the hearts of Anu and Ishtar! 15 May [Ezida] shine like the heavens, may it be bright like the earth, may it [be glorious] like the heart of heaven, From: Leonard William King, The Seven Tablets of Creation (London: Luzac and Co., 1902)