AS the previous article showed, the Babylonian ‘civilisation was at its peak in Mesopotamia during the second millennium BC. This was parallel to the Middle and the New Kingdom of the Pharaonic civilisation.
The main legend or epic that was in existence at the time of the Babylonians is the Enuma Elish epic poem, which address¬es the process of genesis and celebrates the victory of the gods over chaos. The words Enuma Elish are just the first beginning words of the epic, which mean “when on high”. It seems that the tablet on which this epic was found is from the seventh century BC; yet the origin of the epic dates back to the 18th century BC.
As we mentioned previously, the Ancient Egyptians, at the beginning of the third millennium, figured out the process of creation in the presence of their Ennead of gods, which started with Atum, the creator of the world, who created himself from the primeval water Nun. Then Atum was degenerated into Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), who in turn gave birth to Geb (earth) and Nut (sky). Finally, these two in turn gave birth to two pairs; Osiris (good) with his consort Isis and Seth (evil) with his consort Nephtis. From Isis and Osiris of the Ennead, Horus, the protector of Egypt, was born.
On the other hand, in·the Enuma Elish epic of Babylonia, there is a similar Ennead of gods that was created initially from the primordial water (self-divine substance) in the form of three gods; Mammu, who represents the womb of chaos, Tiamat, salt water and Apsu, that is sweet water. These gave birth to Lahmu and Lahamn, who represent water and earth silt from which Anu (heavens) and Ea (earth) were born. Out of this Ennead, Anu and Ea gave birth to Marduk (sun god), who was the lord of Babylon that created humanity. He shaped the first man by mixing the divine blood with dust, thus the first man has been created from the substance of a god, therefore, he shared the divine nature, in a however limited way.
In the epic, the gods met regularly every year at Babylon, the centre of the earth. They built a temple where celestial rites could be performed. The result was the great Ziggurat in hon¬our of Marduk; a building in the form of a stepped tower. The Ziggurat is looked at as the earthly temple, symbol of infinite heaven. When it was completed, Marduk took his seat at the summit and the gods cried aloud: “This is Babylon, dear city of the god, your beloved home.” Then they performed the liturgy, from which the universe received its structure, the hidden world was made plain and the gods assigned their places in the universe.
The myth also expressed people’s convictions as explained by Karen Armstrong in her famous book A History of God:
“That Babylon was a sacred place, the centre of the world and the home of the gods, a notion that was crucial in almost all the religious systems of antiquities. The idea of a holy city, where men and women felt that they were closely in touch with the sacred power, the source of all being and efficacy, would be important in all three of the monotheistic religions of our own God.”
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