Whilst dealing with this part of the religious beliefs of the Babylonians, a few words are needed concerning the creation-story which is prefixed to an incantation used in a purification ceremony. The original text is Sumerian (dialectic), and is provided with a Semitic translation. In this inscription, after stating that nothing (in the beginning) existed, and even the great cities and temples of Babylonia were as yet unbuilt, the condition of the world is briefly indicated by the statement that "All the lands were sea." The renowned cities of Babylonia seem to have been regarded as being as much creations of Merodach as the world and its inhabitants--indeed, it is apparently for the glorification of those cities by attributing their origin to Merodach, that the bilingual account of the creation was composed.. "When within the sea there was a stream"--that is, when the veins of Tiawath had been cut through--Êridu (probably = Paradise) and the temple Ê-sagila within the Abyss were constructed, and after that Babylon and the earthly temple of Ê-sagila within it. Then he made the gods and the Annunnaki (the gods of the earth), proclaimed a glorious city as the seat of the joy of their hearts, and afterwards made a pleasant place in which the gods might dwell. The creation of mankind followed, in which Merodach was aided by the goddess Aruru, who made mankind's seed. Finally, plants, trees, and the animals, were produced, after which Merodach constructed bricks, beams, houses, and cities, including Niffer and Erech with their renowned temples. We see here a change in the teaching with regard to Merodach--the gods are no longer spoken of as "his fathers," but he is the creator of the gods, as well as of mankind. The order of the gods in the principal lists. It is unfortunate that no lists of gods have been found in a sufficiently complete state to allow of the scheme after which they were drawn up to be determined without uncertainty. It may, nevertheless, be regarded as probable that these lists, at least in some cases, are arranged in conformity (to a certain extent) with the appearance of the deities in the so-called creation-story. Some of them begin with Anu, and give him various names, among them being Anšar and Kišar, Lahmu and Lahame, etc. More specially interesting, however, is a well-known trilingual list of gods, which contains the names of the various deities in the following order:-- EXTRACTS FROM THE TRILINGUAL LIST /Obverse/ Sumer. Dialect Sumer. Standard Common Explanation (Semit. or Sumer.)