Enuma Elish

by

Anonymous

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Themes and Colors
Order, Civilization, and Religion Theme Icon
The Sovereignty of Marduk Theme Icon
Chaos vs. Council Theme Icon
Feminine Power and Subjugation Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Enuma Elish, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Chaos vs. Council Theme Icon

Like many ancient texts giving accounts of creation, the Enuma Elish suggests patterns for how human beings should live their lives in imitation of the gods. The structure of this particular text highlights several gatherings, or councils, of the gods, leading up to the showdown between Tiamat (the sea-goddess, representing chaos) and the champion Marduk, whose emergence as the head of the Babylonian pantheon is central to the epic. Early in the text, councils tend to have a secretive or chaotic character that ultimately gives way to monstrous violence; in contrast, councils where Marduk is involved are deliberative, triumphant, and even celebratory. Through this contrast, the anonymous author of the Enuma Elish commends orderly deliberative bodies as the ideal mechanism for human governance, one that leads to society’s flourishing.

The assemblies that take place in the first half of the story are not quite worthy of the name, as they tend to be secretive and unilateral or else chaotic and tending to produce demonic violence. The first council in the story effectively takes place behind the backs of the other gods. When Tiamat is upset about the younger gods’ noisy play, Apsu and his vizier Mummu get together to discuss these affairs (“They went and sat in front of Tiamat, / And discussed affairs concerning the gods their sons”). Apsu and Mummu decide to destroy the gods, and even when Tiamat is upset by this, urging patience instead, the two plot secretly to go ahead with their original plan. It’s only because the wise god Ea finds out what they intend that he’s able to preemptively slay Apsu. In this instance, Apsu only takes counsel from his personal adviser, and they act in secret, betraying Apsu’s offspring.

The next council in the story consists of the gods nagging Tiamat with their grievances and Tiamat making trouble in response. The gods are aggrieved because when Marduk, the hero-god created out of the remnants of Apsu, plays with the wind and sea, he stirs up Tiamat’s waters. The gods accuse Tiamat of not loving Apsu enough to protect him from Ea’s violence, and of not loving them (her children) enough to protect them from Marduk’s disturbing play. To avenge Apsu and stop Marduk, the gods “convene a council and create conflict.” But Tiamat mainly reacts to her children’s grievances (“Tiamat listened, and the speech pleased her. ‘Let us act now, as you were advising!’”) and goes along with the “evil” they “plotted…in their hearts” instead of engaging in any real deliberation. After listening to her offspring “scheming restlessly night and day,” she fashions an army of snakes, dragons, and other fierce creatures to defend them. This council is instigated by murmuring and results in monstrous creations intended to wreak destruction.

In contrast, the assemblies that take place once Marduk steps into the picture are much more restrained in character, they take deliberate action, and they lead to celebration and triumph among the society of the gods. When Marduk and the gods allied with him get together, their gathering focuses on deliberation and countering an adverse fate. When Ea hears about Tiamat’s agitation, he tells his father, Anshar, that Tiamat “has convened an assembly and is raging out of control.” Anshar then assembles the Anukki (the gathering of gods) to figure out if there is anything they can do, or if “fate [is] fixed.” At first the group “sat silently,” in contrast to the “restless scheming” seen among Tiamat’s offspring. But when Marduk speaks up, he tells his father, “Convene the council, name a special fate: My own utterance shall fix fate instead of you!” In contrast to the type of assembly over which Tiamat presides, which is noisy and merely stirs up conflict, this more solemn, deliberative gathering declares a solution from the outset—imposing order on conflict.

Once order is established, the gathering gives way to celebration. When he hears Marduk’s plan, Anshar has all the gods summoned to a banquet in order to “decree a destiny for Marduk the champion.” When Lahmu, Lahamu, and the rest of the gods hear about Marduk’s readiness “of his own free will” to confront Tiamat, they spend most of this assembly enjoying themselves over wine and beer, becoming “carefree and merry.” From now on, little deliberation is necessary, much less infighting or the summoning of fearsome monsters; instead, the gods preemptively celebrate what their champion has decreed. In contrast to complaint, chaos, and violence among Tiamat’s followers, Marduk’s gathering is characterized by solemnity, decisiveness, and celebration. This stark contrast commends the latter example as the ideal model for human governance as well.

It’s worth noting, too, that after Marduk’s battle with Tiamat concludes in peace and the foundation of Babylon—the center of civilization for the epic’s original audience—one more assembly takes place. In the final Tablet of the epic, the gods sit together and announce Marduk’s various titles and extol his attributes, an activity that models ideal religious behavior for Babylonians in addition to ideal governance.

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Chaos vs. Council ThemeTracker

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Chaos vs. Council Quotes in Enuma Elish

Below you will find the important quotes in Enuma Elish related to the theme of Chaos vs. Council.
Tablet 1 Quotes

When skies above were not yet named
Nor earth below pronounced by name
Apsu, the first one, their begetter
And maker Tiamat, who bore them all,
Had mixed their waters together.
But had not formed pastures, nor discovered reed-beds;
When yet no gods were manifest.
Nor names pronounced, nor destinies decreed.
Then gods were born within them.

Related Characters: Tiamat, Apsu
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 233
Explanation and Analysis:

Apsu made his voice heard
And spoke to Tiamat in a loud voice,
'Their ways have become very grievous to me.
By day I cannot rest, by night I cannot sleep.
I shall abolish their ways and disperse them!
Let peace prevail, so that we can sleep.'
When Tiamat heard this,
She was furious and shouted at her lover;
She shouted dreadfully and was beside herself with rage,
But then suppressed the evil in her belly. 'How could we allow what we ourselves created to perish?
Even though their ways are so grievous, we should bear it patiently.'

Related Characters: Tiamat (speaker), Apsu (speaker)
Page Number: 234
Explanation and Analysis:

Tiamat was stirred up, and heaved restlessly day and night.
The gods, unable to rest, had to suffer . . .
They plotted evil in their hearts, and
They addressed Tiamat their mother, saying,
'Because they slew Apsu your lover and
You did not go to his side but sat mute,
He has created the four, fearful winds
To stir up your belly on purpose, and we simply cannot sleep!
Was your lover Apsu not in your heart?
And (vizier) Mummu who was captured? No wonder you sit alone!
Are you not a mother? You heave restlessly
But what about us, who cannot rest? Don't you love us?
Our grip(?) [is slack], (and) our eyes are sunken.
Remove the yoke of us restless ones, and let us sleep!
Set up a [battle cry] and avenge them!
Con[quer the enemy] and reduce them to nought!'

Related Characters: Tiamat, Apsu, Mummu
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 237
Explanation and Analysis:

They crowded round and rallied beside Tiamat.
They were fierce, scheming restlessly night and day.
They were working up to war, growling and raging.
They convened a council and created conflict.
Mother Hubur, who fashions all things,
Contributed an unfaceable weapon: she bore giant snakes,
Sharp of tooth and unsparing of fang.
She filled their bodies with venom instead of blood. […]
She stationed a horned serpent, a mushussu-dragon, and a lahmu-hero,
An ugallu-demon, a rabid dog, and a scorpion-man,
Aggressive umu-demons, a fish-man, and a bull-man
Bearing merciless weapons, fearless in battle.
Her orders were so powerful, they could not be disobeyed.

Related Characters: Tiamat
Page Number: 237
Explanation and Analysis:
Tablet 2 Quotes

'Will no (other) god come forward? Is [fate] fixed?
Will no one go out to face Tiamat […] ?'
Then Ea from his secret dwelling called
[The perfect] one of Anshar, father of the great gods,
Whose heart is perfect like a fellow-citizen or countryman,
The mighty heir who was to be his father's champion,
Who rushes (fearlessly) into battle: Marduk the Hero!
He told him his innermost design, saying,
'O Marduk, take my advice, listen to your father!
You are the son who sets his heart at rest!
Approach Anshar, drawing near to him,
And make your voice heard, stand your ground:
he will be calmed by the sight of you.'

Related Characters: Nudimmud / Ea (speaker), Marduk, Tiamat, Anshar
Page Number: 242
Explanation and Analysis:

The Lord rejoiced at the word of his father;
His heart was glad and he addressed his father;
'Lord of the gods, fate of the great gods,
If indeed I am to be your champion,
If I am to defeat Tiamat and save your lives,
Convene the council, name a special fate,
Sit joyfully together in Ubshu-ukkinakku:
My own utterance shall fix fate instead of you!
Whatever I create shall never be altered!
The decree of my lips shall never be revoked, never changed!'

Related Characters: Marduk (speaker), Tiamat, Anshar
Page Number: 243
Explanation and Analysis:
Tablet 3 Quotes

They milled around and then came,
All the great gods who fix the fates,
Entered into Anshar's presence and were filled with joy.
Each kissed the other: in the assembly [ ]
There was conversation, they sat at the banquet,
Ate grain, drank choice wine,
Let sweet beer trickle through their drinking straws.
Their bodies swelled as they drank the liquor;
They became very carefree, they were merry,
And they decreed destiny for Marduk their champion.

Related Characters: Marduk, Anshar, Lahmu, Lahamu
Page Number: 249
Explanation and Analysis:
Tablet 4 Quotes

The Lord lifted up the flood-weapon, his great weapon
And sent a message to Tiamat who feigned goodwill, saying:
'Why are you so friendly on the surface
When your depths conspire to muster a battle force?
Just because the sons were noisy (and) disrespectful to their fathers,
Should you, who gave them birth, reject compassion?
You named Qingu as your lover,
You appointed him to rites of Anu-power, wrongfully his.
You sought out evil for Anshar, king of the gods,
So you have compounded your wickedness against the gods my fathers!
Let your host prepare! Let them gird themselves with your weapons!
Stand forth, and you and I shall do single combat!'
When Tiamat heard this,
She went wild, she lost her temper.
Tiamat screamed aloud in a passion,
Her lower parts shook together from the depths.

Related Characters: Marduk (speaker), Tiamat, Qingu, Anshar
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 252
Explanation and Analysis:

The Lord spread his net and made it encircle her,
To her face he dispatched the imhullu-wind, which had been behind:
Tiamat opened her mouth to swallow it,
And he forced in the imhullu-wind so that she could not close her lips.
Fierce winds distended her belly;
Her insides were constipated and she stretched her mouth wide.
He shot an arrow which pierced her belly.
Split her down the middle and slit her heart.
Vanquished her and extinguished her life.
He threw down her corpse and stood on top of her.

Related Characters: Marduk (speaker), Tiamat
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 253
Explanation and Analysis:
Tablet 5 Quotes

He opened the Euphrates and the Tigris from her eyes,
Closed her nostrils,
He piled up clear-cut mountains from her udder.
Bored waterholes to drain off the catchwater.
He laid her tail across, tied it fast as the cosmic bond.
And [ ] the Apsu beneath his feet.
He set her thigh to make fast the sky,
With half of her he made a roof; he fixed the earth.
He [ ] the work, made the insides of Tiamat surge,
Spread his net, made it extend completely.

Related Characters: Marduk, Tiamat
Related Symbols: Water
Page Number: 257
Explanation and Analysis:

I shall make a house to be a luxurious dwelling for myself
And shall found … [a] cult centre within it,
And I shall establish my private quarters, and confirm my kingship.
Whenever you come up from the Apsu for an assembly,
Your night's resting place shall be in it, receiving you all.
Whenever you come down from the sky for an assembly,
Your night's resting place shall be in it, receiving you all.
I hereby name it Babylon, home of the great gods.
We shall make it the centre of religion.

Related Characters: Marduk
Page Number: 259
Explanation and Analysis:
Tablet 6 Quotes

When Marduk heard the speech of the gods,
He made up his mind to perform miracles.
He spoke his utterance to Ea,
And communicated to him the plan that he was considering.
‘Let me put blood together, and make bones too.
Let me set up primeval man: Man shall be his name.
Let me create a primeval man.
The work of the gods shall be imposed (on him), and so they shall be at leisure.’

Related Characters: Marduk (speaker), Nudimmud / Ea
Page Number: 260
Explanation and Analysis: