Dissertations pt.

2 – the scapegoat

i. Cain and Abel

Earlier in my assertions, before I took a deeper dive into Egyptian theogonies; I equated the “Cain and
Abel” mythos as an archetypal “Dumuzid and Marduk”. Expounding on this, we must consider “Marduk”
as a “scapegoat construct”, a somewhat “substitute-king”, whom would then be ‘sacrificed’ for all time.

The actual causes of Dumuzid’s demise are diverse as they are divergent, but a key element of this
mythology was his improper “funeral rituals” whilst Inanna ventured into the underworld. Through the
aid of Shamash and Enki, he became a deified-king (reference the Sumerian King List) — “spending half a
year in the underworld (where he is deprived of sleep) and half in glory”. For this reason, Inanna would
herald kingship on Earth—wherever she lays her head, there kingship on earth would be.

ii. Merodak-- calf of the sun

Aka Marduk, an Amoritic creation, was the national god of Babylon; an attempt by impious men at
interpreting godhood. In his eponymous name, he bears his fallacious claim and destiny. “Calf of the
Sun”— appropriating the attributes of Enlil and Utu in one swoop, despite not being a member of the
house of Enlil. With the ascension of Hammurabi of the Old Babylonian Empire, Marduk would gain
‘legitimacy’ via the “Code of Hammurabi” as the of son Ea (Enki) which would remain canon. The
Kassites bestowed on him pompous attributes while Nebuchadnezzar I begun the culture of Marduk’s
supremacy over other gods, after his victory over Elam. In a Late Babylonian god list, all the gods on the
list were identified with Marduk; for example, Ninurta was Marduk of the pickaxe, Nabu was Marduk of
accounting, Shamash was Marduk of justice and Tishpak was Marduk of the troops.

iii. Amun-Re – another ‘mardukite’ construct

…to be continued 🤝