Lecture Outline: Enuma ElishI. Mesopotamia- Actually the whole land surrounding the rivers on both sidesa) “land between rivers”b) Tigris and EuphratesII. Mesopotamian civilizationsa) Sumerians (earliest human civilization)- Earliest human civilization, period- 3500 BCE- Their language is not related to any known languageb) Akkadians (influenced by Sumerians)- Semitic people- Became heavily influenced by Sumerian civilization1. Assyrians- Descendants of the Akkadians and spoke a dialect of Akkadian2. Babylonians- Descendants of the Akkadians and spoke a dialect of AkkadianIII. Enuma Elisha) Babylonian creation epicb) Enuma Elish = “When on high”- First two words of the work- A convention – myths are named by their first few wordsb) poem recited/performed at New Year Festival- King of Babylon acts out the story - He may act out the role of Marduk because Marduk becomes king of the gods just like the king becomes king of Babylond) tells of rise to power of Marduk1. Marduk = patron god of Babylon- Protector god 2. storm god3. NOT binaturale) c. 1000 BCEf) 7 cuneiform tablets- Wedge shaped symbolsg) poetry vs. prose- Poetry = something composed in meter, rhythm, beets- Prose = anything that is not poetry - Poetry is easier to memorize because it has a rhythm IV. Enuma Elish- NOT a myth; is a literary work that contains a myth- Contains several different stories a) creation myth- One of the myths the Enuma Elish tells b) succession myth (Apsu/Tiamat to Marduk)- Tells how someone becomes king of the gods by taking the kingship from someone else- How a god succeeds to the kingship- Tells how the kingship passes from Apsu to Tiamat to Marduk c) Marduk vs. Tiamat - The big battle1. thunderstorm vs. sea - A naturalistic, metaphorical reading of the battle2. Babylon vs. Sealand (= enemy state) - A political reading of the battle - Babylon = Marduk- Sealand = Tiamat (she is the sea, binatural)3. order vs. chaos - Marduk represents order- Anyone who is opposed to Marduk (Tiamat) is chaos - Kings of gods establish order in the universe V. Enuma Elish: Apsu and Tiamata) in the beginning = water (primordial waters)- What existed at the beginning of the universe? Water- Because Mesopotamia is surrounded by rivers - Tigris and Euphrates often flood – strong connection to water – it is everywhereb) Apsu = fresh water; Tiamat = sea (salty water) - Primordial waters is not actually water, it is gods- We are not told how Apsu and Tiamat is created, they just are because they are the primordial waters- Apsu = male; Tiamat = femalec) binatural (= space and god)- Apsu and Tiamat are both waters and gods d) they produce god- Apsu and Tiamat mingle their waters together (reproduction)e) Lahmu (m) and Lahamu (f)- Created by Apsu and Tiamatf) Anshar (m) + Kishar (f) = Anu - Created by Lahmu and Lahamug) Anu- Created by Anshar and Kishar1. sky- Binatural – he is the sky and the god2. esp. uppermost sky (tripartite)- Specifically, Anu was the uppermost part of the skyh) Anu father of Ea; Ea father of Marduk- Anshar Anu Ea Marduk (important family tree!)i) noise of gods- Gods keep reproducing, and there are so many gods that are making a ton of noise j) Apsu 1. can’t sleep- Because of noise 2. plots destruction- Wants to kill the gods even though they are his own descendantsk) Tiamat protests- You can’t kill them!l) vizier Mummu incites Apsu- Don’t listen to Tiamat, you have to kill them!VI. Enki/Eaa) Enki (Sumerian)/Ea (Akkadian) = aka Nudimmud1. spheres of influence = cleverness/wisdom and fresh water 2. trickster god3. assoc. with human creationb) finds out Apsu’s plotc) lulls Apsu, Mummu to sleepd) kills Apsu; takes Mummu captivee) home/temple in apsu = reservoir of fresh water- Forms out of Apsu’s body- Temples were not made for worship- Believed that all of the water came from a reservoir under the earth called Apsu – this is where Ea made his temple f) Ea + Damkina = Marduk (4 eyes, 4 ears, breathes fire)- Ea (m) and Damkina (f) produce Mardukg) Anu gives 4 winds to Marduk- Anu = Marduk’s grandfather- Anu = Sky god- Marduk also has power over winds because he is the storm godVII. Tiamat’s plota) winds disturb Tiamat (sea)- Blowing up her watersb) gods can’t sleepc) Tiamat creates army (11 monsters) d) god Qingua. leader of armyb. given Tablet of Destinies- Mysterious object, we don’t know what it did- Important and powerfulc. Tablet of Destinies = controls gods’ powers/spheres of influences?- In beginning it says that the gods had not had their powers yete) Ea finds out plot; goes to Anshar- Anshar = Ea’s grandfatherf) [not in Reader] Anshar sends1. Ea- Returns in fear, cannot fight Tiamat (grandson)2. Anu- Does the exact same thing (son)3. Marduk- Third time is the charm (great grandson)VIII. Marduk becomes kinga) gods swear allegiance to Mardukb) declare him king of gods - Analogous to what happens to the Babylonian New Year Festival c) Marduk, with bow and winds goes to battle TiamatIX. Tiamat’s monsters passage a) repeated (no less than four times) by1. Tiamat2. Ea- Repeats to Anshar 3. Anshar- Repeats to a group of gods4. Kakka or Gaga (vizier of Anshar)- Repeats to another group of godsb) repetition (why)/ effects:1. song “chorus”- Remember, this is a poem2. emphasizes Tiamat/monsters3. emphasizes Marduk’s deedX. Battle between Storm God and Monstera) recurring mythic idea in ANEb) storm god often king of godsc) monster often assoc. with primordial waters (or sea)d) monster often dragon-like or serpentinee) is Tiamat dragon-like/serpentine?1. not explicit in Enuma Elish2. assoc. with primordial waters/sea3. Babylonian cylinder seal XI. Marduk battles Tiamata) winds (Tiamat as balloon); arrow - Winds blow up Tiamat as a balloon, Marduk shoots his arrow and pops her- Anticlimactic, perhaps to highlight Marduk’s powerb) splits Tiamat in two- Her
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