The Sumerian incantation, which is provided with a Semitic translation,
adds somewhat to our knowledge of this cosmogony. It states that in the
beginning nothing as yet existed, none of the great cities of Babylonia
had yet been built, indeed there was no land, nothing but sea. It
was not until the veins of Tiawath had been cut through that paradise
and the abyss appear to have been separated and the gods created by
Merodach. Also did he create _annunaki_ or gods of the earth, and
established a wondrous city as a place in which they might dwell.
Then men were formed with the aid of the goddess Aruru, and finally
vegetation, trees, and animals. Then did Merodach raise the great
temples of Erech and Nippur. From this account we see that instead of
Merodach being alluded to as the son of the gods, he is regarded as
their creator. In the library of Nineveh was also discovered a copy
of a tablet written for the great temple of Nergal at Cuthah. Nergal
himself is supposed to make the statement which it contains. He tells
us how the hosts of chaos and confusion came into being. At first,
as in the other accounts, nothingness reigned supreme, then did the
great gods create warriors with the bodies of birds, and men with the
faces of ravens. They founded them a city in the ground, and Tiawath,
the great dragon, did suckle them. They were fostered in the midst of
the mountains, and under the care of the 'mistress of the gods' they
greatly increased and became heroes of might. Seven kings had they,
who ruled over six thousand people. Their father was the god Benani,
and their mother the queen, Melili. These beings, who might almost be
called tame gods of evil, Nergal states that he destroyed.[6] Thus
all accounts agree concerning the original chaotic condition of the
universe. They also agree that the powers of chaos and darkness were
destroyed by a god of light.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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