I strongly suggest reading Stephanie Dalley\u2019s eight-page introduction to this story. Inside, you will learn thatAtrahasis is the early Sumerian version of the later Hebrew tale of Noah and the Ark. You will see that several names of the characters inAtrahasis (and the

The story officially begins on page 9 of the Dalley text, and is divided into three parts (tablets). In this first section, the Igigi are yoked with the burden of labor that the higher gods refuse to do. When they rebel, the first people are created to relieve the gods of their work. However, when the population grows too large, the gods are angered by the noise created from the Earth below, and they vow to destroy mankind. A man named Atrahasis will communicate with Ea/Enki to seek a solution to the people\u2019s problems.

NOTE: The god Enki is also called Ea (his Babylonian name). Both names are used in this story (because it is pieced together with fragments from both the Sumerian and Babylonian cultures).

1. What complaints do the Igigi bring to Ellil?
2. What is Ea\u2019s solution to the problems claimed by the Igigi?
3. Which god was sacrificed in order to assist in the creation of the first people? Why?

4. What was \u201cbestowed\u201d onto mankind?
5. How many men and women were first created? Why?
6. List a few of Mami\u2019s rules for pregnancy and childbirth.

solution?
8. Why is Atrahasis allowed to speak directly to Enki?
9. What is Enki\u2019s advice to Atrahasis?

The gods continue to curse the people below, but they are thwarted each time, thanks to Enki\u2019s/Ea\u2019s assistance to his people. This section is repetitive, but it describes the long-term suffering of the people in Mesopotamia. Focus on the behaviors and actions of these gods. One note on this tablet: On page 28, where a gap of 34 lines is indicated, Ellil decides to try a great flood to finally destroy mankind.

12. What is the third heavenly curse levied against the people?
13. What is the fourth curse? Does it get cured?
14. After these curses fail to deplete the human population, what is Ellil\u2019s fifth curse?

The text is fragmentary, and so you will be missing a few important plot points due to the poor condition of the cuneiform tablets. Here is helpful note: In the middle of page 33, where a gap of 58 lines is indicated, Atrahasis and his boat sail safely on the flood waters; they eventually settle on dry land, and Atrahasis presents a sacrificial offering to Enki/Ea, which also attracts the other gods, who are starved and parched by the end of the flood.