Ancient Sumeria - Atrahasis

(This tale from Babylonia, dated ca. 1700 BCE, is the longest

and most comprehensive of the Mesopotamian Flood stories.)

Retold and Condensed by James W. Bell

I n t he beginning,bef or e men wer e cr eat ed, t he

Anunnaki \u2013 t he gods living on t he ear t h \u2013 had t o t ill t he land and wat er it t o gr ow t heir f ood. T hey f ound t he wor k t ir esome and t oo much t r ouble.

So t hey gave Enlil lor dship of t he ear t h. He summoned t he

I gigi, calling down f r om heaven t he lesser gods, lower divinit ies

wit hout names, t o do t he wor k.

Besides t illing t he soil, Enlil assigned t o t he I gigi t he addit ional

t asks of digging canals, r iver beds and keeping t heir channels

clear . For t housands of year s, t he I gigi t oiled f or t he Anunnaki.

I t was t oo much! T hey downed t heir t ools and went as a gr oup

t o t he Ekur , Enlil\u2019s cit adel at Nippur , t o demand r elief .

When t he I gigi ar r ived bef or e Enlil\u2019s st r onghold, he or der ed his door keeper , Nusku, t o bar t he gat e t o keep t hem out . But Nusku asked, \u201cW hy has your f ace become as pale as t he

t amar isk? W hy do you f ear your sons? Call t he ot her gods and

let t hem help solve t his t hing.\u201d

So Enlil summoned t he ot her s, including Anu f r om heaven, and Enki, lor d of t he Abzu. Toget her , t hey st ood on t he r ampar t s of t he Ekur and addr essed t he besieger s. \u201cW hy do you at t ack us?\u201d

The I gigi answer ed as one, \u201cThe wor k you have assigned us is killing; we can no longer bear it . W e have put a st op t o digging and declar ed war .\u201d

J ames W . Bell\u2019s

Atra-hasis

and the Flood

Ancient Sumeria

Then Enki t ook t he gods inside t o counsel t hem. \u201cW hy do we

blame t he I gigi? Their t asks ar e t oo har d.

\u201cLook,\u201d he cont inued, \u201ct he goddess Mami is wit h us. Let her

cr eat e mor t als, cr eat ur es t o be our ser vant s and t o do our

wor k. Then we can put t he yoke of Enlil on t hese beings and let

t he I gigi r et ur n t o heaven.\u201d

The gods agr eed and asked Mami t o pr oduce such cr eat ur es.

But the Goddess of Midwif ery demurred. \u201cI t is not prudent f or me t o at t empt all t his. Choose Enki inst ead, because he is wise and makes t hings r ight . I f he will pr epar e clay suit able t o t he task, I will birth it.\u201d

Enki r esponded, \u201cI f we use pur e clay t o make t hese new

cr eat ur es, t hey will be like t he animals, wit hout int elligence. To

make t hem capable of bear ing t he yoke of Enlil, we must slay

one of t he gods so his f lesh and blood can be mix ed wit h t he

clay t o be made int o a man. Then what we cr eat e will be god and

man mix ed t oget her .\u201d

The gods seized Gesht u-e, a god of wisdom, and slaught er ed him. W hen his f lesh and blood wer e t aken and mix ed wit h t he clay, a ghost came int o being so t hat none should ever f or get

him, or f ail t o r emember t hat t he new cr eat ur e called man was

par t mor t al and par t divine.

Mami t ook t he mix t ur e and pinched of f f our t een pieces, t o

cr eat e seven males and seven f emales. She pr esent ed t hem t o t he Anunnaki, saying, \u201cI have done all you asked. You have slain a god of int elligence and mix ed his f lesh and blood wit h clay so I could engender men. I r elieve you of wear isome wor k by

imposing your yoke upon t hem. I have also best owed upon t hem

t he abilit y t o use t he spoken wor d, so t hey may call t o one

anot her t o help f ulf ill t heir t asks. Let each man choose a

woman t o wive so I sht ar can bless t hem wit h healt hy childr en,

t o f ill t he ear t h wit h gener at ions upon gener at ions of ser vant s.\u201d

I t was i n t hi s manner and f or t hese r easons t hat man was

cr eat ed.

Twelve hundr ed year s went by and t he people

gr ew numer ous. The land became f illed wit h t hem and t heir

unceasing clamor . Enlil said, \u201cThe noise men make has become

t oo much; I am losing sleep. Let N amt ar come up f r om t he

depths of the Netherworld and distribute disease among them,

so t hat t heir number s and upr oar may be r educed.\u201d

The Her ald of Deat h st r ewed sickness back and f or t h acr oss

t he count r yside and many died. A wise man in Shur uppak, by name of At r a- hasis, called upon Enki. \u201cHow long ar e t he gods going t o plague us? W ill illness and deat h af f lict us f or ever ?\u201d

Enki advised At r a-hasis, \u201cCall t oget her t he elder s. Speak t o

t hem; t ell t hem t o not wor ship t heir gods or t ake t hem

of f er ings. I nst ead, let t hem build a house f or Namt ar in

Shur uppak and let each household bake a loaf of f r esh br ead

and t ake it t o his door .\u201d

The people list ened and did as Enki advised. Namt ar \u2019s house was

f illed wit h f r esh br ead and sur r ounded wit h it s pleasant ar oma.

The Her ald of Deat h was shamed by t he mult it ude of

of f er ings. He dr ew back his hand so t hat disease abat ed. The

people r egained t heir healt h and t he land r et ur ned t o

pr osper it y.

Anot her t welve hundred years passedand

t he people again became numer ous. The Ear t h gr ew cr owded and f illed wit h a t er r if ic din. Enlil said, \u201cOnce mor e, t he noise made by men is causing me t o lose sleep. Let \u2019s cut of f t heir

f ood. Let my son, N inur t a, shut t he sluice gat es of heaven so

that drought comes. Let crops f ail and the people perish.\u201d

W hen dr ought had held t he land in it s gr ip f or six year s and

t he people had become f amished, At r a- hasis again went t o Enki f or help. \u201cCall t oget her t he elder s,\u201d t he god said. \u201cTell t hem not t o wor ship t heir gods or make of f er ings t o t hem. I nst ead, build a house f or Ninur t a. Then let each household t ake of what

f lour t hey have and bake a loaf of f r esh br ead t o t ake t o his

door .\u201d

Again, t he people f ollowed Enki\u2019s advice. Ninur t a\u2019s house was

f illed wit h f r esh br ead and sur r ounded by it s pleasant ar oma.

The young god knew br ead was scar ce and, t hough he was Enlil\u2019s son, he was gr eat ly shamed by t he pr ecious of f er ings given him by st ar ving men, so he opened t he clouds and let t he r ain f all. But not hing gr ew, f or t he land t ur ned bit t er and became

encr ust ed wit h salt .

I n t he sevent h year , when people began t o eat t heir young,

At r a- hasis went t o Enki again. \u201cW e have no mor e f lour t o make

br ead. I t r ains, but t he land no longer gr ows our cr ops. W ill

t his scour ge never end?\u201d

\u201cCall t oget her t he elder s. Tell t hem t o not wor ship t heir gods, nor make t hem of f er ings nor say pr ayer s nor sing t hem songs of pr aise. Let t he ear t h be as it was in t he beginning; bef or e men ex ist ed, when t he gods st r uggled t o gr ow t heir own f ood. Let t he gods pick up t heir t ools again and go back t o t illing t he land, wit hout of f er ings or pr aise. Let t hem suf f er .\u201d

I t was t oo much f or t he gods. Faint wit h hunger , t hey year ned

t o hear pr ayer f ul supplicat ions and list en t o sweet songs of

pr aise. They r elent ed and allowed Enki t o cleanse t he ear t h

wit h sweet wat er dr awn f r om t he dept hs of t he Abzu. W it h his pur e wat er , he washed away t he salt and made t he land f er t ile agai n.

But , in anot her t welve hundred years,

what had happened bef or e occur r ed again. The people gr ew

mor e numer ous t han ever and ear t h was f illed wit h t heir

shout ing and cur ses. Enlil said, \u201cI cannot sleep because of t he

bellowing of men, but I cannot bring t hem under cont rol

because of my br ot her , Enki. He pr ot ect s t hem. Because he

cr eat ed t hem, t hey ar e his childr en. I will see him about t his.\u201d

So Enlil went t o Enki and said, \u201cYou per suaded us t o kill a god

and used your power t o cr eat e men. You imposed our yoke upon

t hem but you also had Mami gif t t hem wit h t he spoken wor d.

W hat you did was wr ong, f or men use t heir power t o shout and

cur se and ar gue wit h each ot her . N ow, you must swear an oat h

Category:	Uncategorized.
Rating:
Upload Date:	11/26/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	This document has no tags.

Documents

People