Myths and epos of Mesopotamia.
The cosmogonic myth and the supreme gods of the Sumerians.
According to the Sumerian version of the cosmogonic myth, the primary element of the world was water chaos, teeming with monsters.
In its depths, a firmament was born in the form of a huge mountain, the top of which was the god of heaven An (Anu), depicted with a horned tiara on his head.
The flat disc shaped base of the firmament was thought of by the earth goddess Ki.
The gods of heaven and earth began to give birth to children, the most important of which is Enlil (Akkadian Ellil) – "lord", the god of air.
He divided heaven and earth and became the de facto supreme deity of Sumer and Akkad (Anu was represented as being very far away and interfering little in the affairs of the world).
The children of Enlil were Nanna (Sin) - the god of the moon, Utu (Shamash) - the god of the sun, Ninurta/Ningirsu is the god of war, Nergal is an underground deity with destructive functions.
While occupying the supreme place in the pantheon, Enlil, nevertheless, depended on the advice of several great gods.
One day, he saw a young Ninlil bathing and took possession of her.
For this, by a general decision, he was banished to the underworld.
But Ninlil, who was already carrying a child in her womb – Nanna, followed Enlil.
There was an unshakable rule according to which anyone who got into the "country of no return", if he left it, was obliged to leave someone in his place.
And then Enlil, alternately taking the form of the three guardians of the underworld: the "guardian of the gate", the "man of the underground river" and the "carrier", connects with Ninlil, who is making her way to him.
They give birth to three underground gods who are destined to remain in the afterlife instead of their parents and older brother.
The third great god after Anu and Enlil was Enki (Ea in Akkadian mythology) - the master of underground waters, the god of wisdom, the keeper of the me tablets.
His symbol was the winged fish goat, his companion was the human fish Kululu.
The Birth of the Gods.
(A. N. Fantalov, ink drawing).
The Sumerian myth of the creation of man.
Enlil, Enki, Sin, Utu, Ninurta, Nergal and some others are considered cosmic igig gods.
Deities of less high rank, the earthly Anunnaki were called to work hard, digging channels and carrying the earth.
They strongly grumbled and Enki, together with the goddess Ninmah, decide to create people in order to shift the burden of labor on them.
Enki and Ninmah fashioned three human couples, determined their fate and arranged a feast for them.
At the feast, the creator gods became very drunk.
Ninmah again takes clay and makes six freaks out of it, and Enki "gives them a taste of bread" and determines the fate.
Thus, the prerequisites for social and intellectual separation have already appeared among people.
Enki gives people a plow, a hoe, a brick mold.
On the blessed island of Tilmun, also watered with the help of Enki, the goddess Ninhursag (identified with Ninmah) grows eight wonderful plants – her daughters.
Enki eats these plants, after which the disease affects the eight organs of his body.
Ninhursag curses Enki and leaves the island, the world begins to perish.
Returned to the island with the help of a fox, Ninhursag again creates eight goddesses, each of which symbolizes the diseased part of Enki's body (rib, jaw, tooth...) and heals the patient.
The healing of Enki.
(A. N. Fantalov, ink drawing).
The Babylonian myth of the struggle of the gods.
Apsu – in Akkadian mythology, the personification of the water ocean and his wife, the gigantic monster Tiamat, gave birth to the older and younger gods.
But the gaiety of the mighty young Igigs irritated Apsa.
He, together with his adviser Mummu, decides to destroy the gods.
The omniscient Ea, however, having learned of the terrible plan, put Apsu to sleep and killed him.
He built a dwelling over the dead man, creating there a beautiful son named Marduk.
Meanwhile, according to the myth, Tiamat, wanting to avenge his murdered spouse, gathers an army of eleven monsters (dragons, lions, many headed sheep, etc.).
She makes the monster King her husband, handing him the tablets of fate The Igigi are afraid to join the battle.
Then Marduk demonstrates his power by lighting and extinguishing the stars.
He promises to defeat Tiamat, and with this condition the gods grant him supreme power.
During the fight, Tiamat opens a huge mouth, but Marduk sends winds that penetrate into the monster's womb.
Tiamat "loses control", the young god pierces her with an arrow and kills her.
Then he takes Kinga prisoner and deals with an army of monsters (one of which, the fiery red dragon Mushkhush, combining the features of a snake, an eagle, a lion and a scorpion in its appearance, becomes a symbol and companion of god).
After the victory comes the time of the world order Tiamat Marduk cuts in two, making the upper part of the sky (locking it with a bolt so that moisture does not flow freely down) and from the lower ground.
He kills Kingu and, mixing his blood with clay, creates people.
Finally, Marduk creates a heavenly Babylon with the temple of Esagil and sets his bow in the sky.
The Sumerian myth of the Flood.
The great god Enlil is always annoyed by the noise made by people.
To destroy humanity, he sends epidemics.
The sage Atrahasis, on the advice of Enki, turns with prayer and sacrifices to Namtar (responsible for the sphere of diseases).
The victims had the effect of "the country has grown, people have multiplied".
Once again, the discontented Enlil sends drought and famine.
Enki advises people to make sacrifices to the god of rain and storm, Adad, and the country is once again saved from destruction.
Then Enlil decides to arrange a worldwide flood.
Enki orders Atrahasiss to build a large ship and take his family, animals and plants on it.
The flood lasted for seven days and nights.
Atrahasis and his family survived him and, as a reward, received eternal life.
Sumerian myths about the Underworld.
When it became necessary to lead the underworld, Ereshkigal was sent there, because no one else from the upper gods wanted to go there (the ideas about the afterlife in the mythology of Mesopotamia were very sad, the souls there "dressed in the clothes of wings" eat clay and drink sewage).
Ereshkigal became the queen of the Anunnaki, "The Mistress of a distant land".
Once, the Igigi arranged a feast.
The mistress of a distant land sent her servant Namtar to them for the share due to her.
When the messenger appeared, all the gods stood up, except Nergal (two lion heads, a club and an axe).
After learning about the incident, an angry Ereshkigal demands that the guilty person be handed over to her.
Otherwise, she threatens to release the dead into the wild.
The Igigi tell Nergal to go down to the underworld.
Nergal approaches Ereshkigal, grabs her by the hair and pulls her off the throne.
The terrified goddess offers herself to him as a spouse and promises him power over the underground kingdom.
Nergal agrees.
Ereshkigal's sister, the goddess Inanna, also decided to descend to the "land from which there is no return".
Ereshkigal, fearing for the loyalty of his spouse, who could not resist the beauty, decides to ruin her.
In front of each of the seven gates, Inanna is met by a gatekeeper, and selects one of the items of clothing (and at the same time elements of a magical amulet) as a payment for passage.
Inanna appears before Ereshkigal naked and defenseless.
She directs the "look of death" at her, turns her into a corpse and hangs her on a hook.
Inanna's faithful servant turns to her father Enlil and brother Nanna, but they refuse to help.
Only the god Enki decides to intervene.
He scoops up clay and creates two funny freaks, Kurgar and Galatur, who penetrate into the underworld and revive Inanna.
However, the Anunnaki demand that someone else remain underground instead of the goddess.
Accompanied by the demons of the gaul, Inanna rises to earth, but none of her relatives agrees to sacrifice themselves.
In the city of Kulab, she sees her husband Dumuzi, the shepherd god, sitting on a throne and surrounded by beautiful maidens.
In anger, Inanna fixes the gaze of death on him and gives him to the demons.
According to the myth, Dumuzi's sister Gestinanna ("The Vine of Heaven") decides to sacrifice herself for her brother.
But Inanna makes a decision: "Half a year you, half a year your sister."
(In the Akkadian version, Ishtar, on the contrary, descends into the underworld in order to free her husband Dumuzi.
The goddess Inanna in the underworld.
(A. N. Fantalov, ink drawing).
Mesopotamian myths about the me tablets.
Inanna, wanting to benefit her city of Uruk, decides to get the tables of the wisdom of me, the keeper of which is Enki.
She gets Enki drunk and, having coaxed permission from him to take everything she wants, puts me into the boat and sails away.
Enki, who has sobered up, sends the demons of the water element in pursuit with his adviser Isimud.
But Inanna manages to deliver me to Uruk and they are lost to Enki forever.
The Akkadian myth says that when Ellil took off his insignia while washing, the lion headed eagle Anzu stole them, along with the tables of the destinies of me, in order to become more powerful than all the gods.
In pursuit of him, the god of war, Ningirsa, rides on the wind.
He overtakes Anza and wounds the bird with an arrow.
But, with the help of the me tables, the eagle heals the wound.
Only after the third attempt, Ningirsa defeated Anzu, who now becomes his assistant and symbol.
Later Ningirsa/Ninurta defeated the monsters: the evil demon Asaga, the seven headed hydra, the six headed sheep, the seven headed lion, the good dragon and the "lion terror of the gods".
A source:
http://mythology.webhost.ru/ Alexey Fantalov
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