Enuma Elish

by

Anonymous

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Order, Civilization, and Religion Theme Analysis

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.
Order, Civilization, and Religion Theme Icon

In the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation epic likely written in the second millennium BCE, the reader is quickly thrown into the midst of a community of gods, their identities hard to distinguish, and often at enmity with each other. Before long, the hero-god Marduk emerges to subdue chaos and establish order among the gods, soon bringing into existence the recognizable forms of the heavens, the earth, and the rudiments of human civilization—the city and the religious cult center. Through this gradual emergence of order from chaos, the anonymous author argues for the divine origins of the world and humanity and the goodness of the ordered patterns of life and Babylonian religion.

The goodness of order is first affirmed among the “civilization” of the gods themselves. The epic starts before anything of creation exists whatsoever (“When skies above were not yet named … when yet no gods were manifest”), except for the gods Apsu (“the begetter”) and his consort Tiamat (“the maker”). Apsu and Tiamat then create several generations of gods out of their commingled essences (they “mixed their waters together”), each generation surpassing the last in greatness. The generation of additional gods is presented as a good and natural thing; it’s better that things exist than that they don’t.

However, the multiplicity of creation also leads to problems—the younger gods’ play disturbs their mother, Tiamat; accordingly, Apsu plots to destroy them. When the god Ea hears of this plan, he intervenes and slays Apsu. From within the slain Apsu, Ea and Damkina create Marduk. Marduk emerges already mature and powerful, so perfect and superior to every god that’s come before that “his godhead was doubled.” This sequence in the epic suggests that communities are predisposed to chaos unless some sort of order is imposed on them. The emergence of Marduk, begotten out of the very midst of chaos, is a turning point toward the establishment of order.

Once Marduk defeats Tiamat, who is bent on revenge for the slaying of Apsu, he goes about setting both gods and earthly creation in order. After Marduk slays Tiamat, he divides her waters and secures them above and below the earth (a common ancient Near Eastern conception of the establishment of the earth). Because Tiamat was associated with water and chaos, this division and assigning of Tiamat to appointed places is a clear symbol for the establishment of order out of chaos. Marduk also establishes the constellations—which symbolize the many different gods— and divides up the year according to their movements. He sets the waxing and waning of the moon to mark the months. Having arranged water and sky, Marduk also designates Tiamat’s leftover waters for the fashioning of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, so central to Mesopotamian civilization. Through all these actions, Marduk is setting in place the world that would be familiar to Mesopotamian readers/hearers of the epic, repeatedly taming chaos in order to facilitate human flourishing.

Marduk’s laying the groundwork for civilization then proceeds into the work of creating religious cults and, almost as an aside, humanity. Marduk declares that the cult center for the god Apsu will be the assembly-place for all the gods. He names this place Babylon, “home of the great gods […] the center of religion.” The gods spend two years shoveling and making bricks with which to build Babylon, and each god also builds his individual shrine within it. Thus Marduk is responsible for making Babylon the center of religion, and the gods themselves create it.

When this work is complete, the other gods give speeches in praise of Marduk, and Marduk is inspired to do something still greater—to create human beings. Ea imposes on humanity the toils of the gods so that the gods can retire to rest in the sky. The characteristics of human beings aren’t elaborated upon, but people are obviously meant to inhabit Babylon and serve the gods there, especially Marduk, who has created the conditions, both in heaven and on earth, that make it possible for human beings to exist and live orderly lives—guided by stars, nourished by rivers, and able to live together in a divinely established city.

Unlike other ancient religious texts, the Enuma Elish doesn’t go into great detail about the character of the divine, divine expectations of human beings, or a higher purpose for human life. The intent of the text seems to be to simply account for the origins of the ordered world humans see around them, and to affirm a role for human beings within that world. As people heard the epic read or watched it being performed, they would be reminded of the centrality of Babylon within the broader world—as well as simply getting to enjoy a dramatic story.

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Order, Civilization, and Religion ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Order, Civilization, and Religion appears in each tablet of Enuma Elish. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Order, Civilization, and Religion Quotes in Enuma Elish

Below you will find the important quotes in Enuma Elish related to the theme of Order, Civilization, and Religion.
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:

Inside pure Apsu, Marduk was born.
Ea his father created him,
Damkina his mother bore him.
He suckled the teats of goddesses;
The nurse who reared him filled him with awesomeness;
Proud was his form, piercing his stare.
Mature his emergence, he was powerful from the start.
Anu his father's begetter beheld him,
And rejoiced, beamed; his heart was filled with joy.
He made him so perfect that his godhead was doubled.
Elevated far above them, he was superior in every way.

Related Characters: Marduk, Nudimmud / Ea, Apsu, Anu, Damkina
Page Number: 235
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 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: