Enuma Elish - Genesis of Genesis - Babylonian Myths - Extra Mythology
Summary
TLDRThis script narrates the ancient Mesopotamian creation myth where Tiamat, the goddess of chaos, and Apsu, the primordial freshwater god, give birth to the younger gods. Their offspring's noise disturbs Apsu, leading him to plot their destruction with his advisor Mummu. However, the god of wisdom, Enki, thwarts this plan, leading to a divine war. Enki's son, Marduk, defeats Tiamat, creates the cosmos from her remains, and establishes a new order, including the creation of humans from the blood of Tiamat's champion. The myth reflects early cultural foundations and parallels with the biblical Genesis.
Takeaways
- π Myths are considered foundational tales of a culture that don't align with historical records, rather than being simply untrue stories.
- π The narrative begins with the separation of sweet and salty waters, personified as the first gods, Opsu and Tiamat, representing order and chaos respectively.
- π‘ The concept of time and destiny started with the creation of the first gods, as the universe was initially devoid of time or purpose.
- π The young gods' loudness disturbed the peace of the elder gods, leading to a divine conflict between maintaining order and preserving peace.
- π€ Opsu, unable to tolerate the noise, conspired with his advisor Mumu to destroy the young gods, but Tiamat opposed this plan, valuing their creations.
- π΅οΈββοΈ Enki, the god of wisdom, foiled Opsu and Mumu's plot, leading to Opsu's death and Mumu's imprisonment, thus saving the younger gods.
- π Enki and his wife created Marduk, the sun god, whose power surpassed all others, symbolizing a new era of divine leadership.
- π€¬ Upon discovering Opsu's death, Tiamat's rage led her to wage war against the younger gods, creating monstrous beings to aid her cause.
- π‘ Marduk emerged as the hero, defeating Tiamat's champion and claiming the Tablets of Destiny, which controlled fates, thus asserting his power.
- πΉ Marduk's victory over Tiamat resulted in the creation of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from her divided body, symbolizing the birth of civilization.
- π₯ As a solution to the chaos, Marduk decided to create humans from the blood of Tiamat's champion to serve the gods and maintain order in the world.
Q & A
What is the definition of myths according to the script?
-Myths are not stories that are untrue; they are tales that don't fit neatly into the historical record and serve as a foundation to a culture.
What were the first entities in the script's creation story before the gods were named?
-The first entities were void, water, and chaos, which were more than mere matter as they were the first of the gods.
Who were the primordial gods Opsu and Tiamat, and what did they represent?
-Opsu and Tiamat were the primordial gods representing sweet fresh water and briny water full of salt, respectively, and they were the first to be separated from the void.
What was the unintended side effect of the divine procreation among the gods?
-The unintended side effect was the creation of rambunctious godlings who were extremely loud, disturbing the peace of Opsu and Tiamat.
Why did Opsu and Tiamat initially consider destroying the new gods?
-Opsu and Tiamat considered destroying the new gods because their noise was disturbing their peace and focus on divine matters.
Who was Mumu and what was his suggestion to Opsu regarding the young gods?
-Mumu was Opsu's advisor who suggested going behind Tiamat's back and destroying the young gods to restore peace.
What did Enki do to prevent the destruction of the young gods?
-Enki cast a sleeping spell on Opsu, killed him, and imprisoned Mumu, thus saving the young gods from destruction.
Who was Marduk and what role did he play in the conflict with Tiamat?
-Marduk was the god of the sun, created by Enki and his wife. He played a crucial role in defeating Tiamat and her forces in the war.
How did Marduk defeat Tiamat and what was the outcome?
-Marduk defeated Tiamat by trapping her in a net made of the four winds, killing her champion, and splitting Tiamat in two with an arrow. From her body, he created the heavens and the earth.
What was the fate of Tiamat's side in the war and how were humans created?
-Tiamat's side was charged with treason and executed, but from their blood, humans were created to serve the gods and assist in keeping order in the world.
How does the script relate the ancient myth to the biblical story of creation?
-The script suggests that the scribes who wrote Genesis knew of these ancient stories and that there are similarities between the tale of creation from water and void in the myth and the biblical account.
Outlines
π Creation Myth and Divine Conflict
This paragraph delves into the origins of the universe as described in ancient mythology. It begins with the separation of sweet and salty waters, personified as the gods Opsu and Tiamat. The narrative explains the emergence of other gods and the creation of time, leading to the birth of numerous divine beings. The young gods' noise disturbs Opsu, prompting a plot to destroy them, which Tiamat initially rejects. However, Opsu's advisor Mumu suggests proceeding with the destruction behind Tiamat's back. Anki, the god of wisdom, intervenes by killing Opsu and imprisoning Mumu, thus preserving the young gods. Enki and his wife then create Marduk, the sun god, whose power surpasses all others. Tiamat, enraged by Opsu's death, decides to wage war against the younger gods, creating monstrous beings to fight on her side.
πΉ The Battle of Gods and the Birth of Humanity
The second paragraph continues the mythological tale with Marduk stepping forward to challenge Tiamat and her monstrous army. Equipped with divine weapons and the power of the sun, Marduk traps Tiamat in a net and defeats her champion, claiming the Tablets of Destiny. He then slays Tiamat, whose body gives rise to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Marduk constructs the heavens and the earth from Tiamat's remains and binds the monsters as trophies. As the new king of the universe, he assigns roles to the gods and addresses the issue of Tiamat's supporters. It is decided that the champion will be executed, and humans will be created from his blood to serve the gods and maintain order, ensuring chaos never threatens again. The paragraph concludes with a modern reference to the influence of these ancient myths on the creation story in Genesis and a humorous note about the sponsor, Blinkist, which offers condensed insights from nonfiction books.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Myths
π‘Historical Record
π‘Primordial Gods
π‘Chaos
π‘Divine Creation
π‘Procreation
π‘Tiamat
π‘Marduk
π‘Magical Tablets of Destiny
π‘Treason
π‘Human Creation
Highlights
Myths are foundational tales of a culture that don't fit neatly into historical records.
In the beginning, there were no named heavens or earth, only void, water, and chaos.
The primordial waters were the first gods, Opsu and Tiamat, representing fresh and salt water respectively.
Divine creation occurred when Tiamat and Opsu combined, giving birth to many gods.
The young gods' noise disturbed the peace, leading to a divine conflict.
Opsu and Tiamat considered destroying the young gods for peace, but Tiamat hesitated.
Mumu, Opsu's advisor, suggested destroying the young gods behind Tiamat's back.
Enki, the god of wisdom, foiled Mumu and Opsu's plot to destroy the young gods.
Enki created Marduk, the sun god, from Opsu's remains.
Tiamat, enraged by Opsu's death, decided to wage war against the young gods.
Tiamat created 11 different monsters to destroy her children.
Marduk, armed with the four winds, defeated Tiamat's champion and claimed the Tablets of Destiny.
Marduk split Tiamat in two, creating the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Marduk built the heavens and the earth from Tiamat's corpse and assigned gods to various duties.
The gods decided to create humans from the blood of Tiamat's champion to serve them and maintain order.
The ancient gods' stories have influenced modern narratives, such as the creation story in Genesis.
Blinkist is a resource that condenses insights from nonfiction books into 15-minute summaries.
Listeners can get a free week of unlimited access to Blinkist and a 25% discount on a full membership.
Transcripts
myths are not stories that are untrue
rather they are tales that don't fit
neatly into the historical record
which serve as a foundation to a culture
in the days before adam and eve before
the invention of writing itself
there were different gods than the ones
we know today
older gods in the beginning when neither
the heavens above
nor the earth below had a name there was
nothing but
void water and chaos one day
the water separated into sweet fresh
water and briny water full of salt
but these waters were more than mere
matter for they
were the first of the gods
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when the waters divided the sweet became
the primordial opsu
and the salty became tiamat goddess of
chaos
and there they floated in the void there
were no fields or marshes
no sun or stars no other gods had been
called into being and there was no time
or destiny but then in a divine flash of
creation
tiamat and opseu combined once more and
from them
many gods came to be first came the
twins lamu
and lahamu then anshar and kisar were
created
time began to flow and the days grew
long
eventually those gods had children and
their children had children and before
long
the universe was filled with
rambunctious godlings but all this
divine procreation had an unintended
side effect
the young gods it seems were extremely
loud
much louder than the silence of the void
had been so loud in fact
that upsu could no longer sleep at night
or focus on god's stuff during the day
and it was definitely getting to tiamat
as well and she wasn't exactly the
patient type
so opsu attempted every idea he could
think of to come the gods
but nothing seemed to work exasperated
and with no
other options he proposed to tiamat that
they destroyed the new gods
to finally have some peace and quiet
while this plan was tempting
tiamat was hesitant to destroy their
precious creations obnoxious though they
may be
[Music]
no she wouldn't allow it and that was
that her decision made
she left despite the protests of apsu
then as absu stood in resignation and
defeat his advisor mumu suggested to go
behind tiamat's back
and destroy the young gods anyway opsu
was delighted with this plan embraced
his advisor and they set right to work
plotting the children's demise
however someone else had been listening
in on the conversation
anki god of wisdom and mischief and he
made a little plan of his own that night
he cast a sleeping spell on opsu
then the next day when mamu came to wake
him he found that he could not
and at that moment enki leapt from the
shadows struck
opsu down killing him and imprisoning
mamu for his treachery
after saving his and the rest of the
godlings lives enki built a home out of
opsu's remains then before long he and
his wife created marduk
god of the sun whose power and splendor
exceeded all other gods
but divine life wasn't all sun gods and
roses
for when tiamat found that her mate had
been killed
she flew into a rage instantly
regretting not killing the young gods
when she had the chance
now they had grown too powerful so she
was only left with one choice
she would go to war against them tiamat
ordered her most loyal advisor to serve
as her champion
and presented him with the magical
tablets of destiny
which controlled the fates that he would
proudly wear as armor
then she summoned hurricanes and forged
unbreakable weapons
and she created hideous serpent monsters
with razor sharp teeth whose bodies were
filled not with blood
but with poison in the end she actually
created 11 different monsters to destroy
her children
fish creatures raging hounds great rams
and scorpion men
all were brutal and fearless then
the war began enki and the younger gods
fought fiercely but they were no match
for tiamat's storms and beasts
and just when all seemed lost for the
young gods
marduk stepped out from among the ranks
and vowed to defeat tiamat himself
the elated young gods declared marduk
their king and he prepared himself for
the upcoming battle
he slung a spear upon his back held a
club in his right hand
and hung his bow and quiver at his side
then being the sun god after all
he filled his body with burning flame as
he stepped out to face tiamat
he created a net out of the four winds
and trapped her within it
she struggled and roared but could not
escape the snare and with tiamat trapped
marduk then challenged her champion
easily slaying him
and claiming the tablets of destiny for
himself then
he turned back to tiamat drew his bow
and fired an arrow which split the
mighty god
in two out of the eyes of the fierce
goddess great waters poured forth
creating the tigris and euphrates rivers
until tiamat was no more taking a page
from his father's book
marduk then built the heavens and the
earth from tiamat's corpse
he bound the eleven monsters to his feet
as a trophy
and then he set to work being the new
king of the universe
assigning gods to different jobs and
duties then once everyone had a chance
to settle in
marduk calls for a meeting with the god
of wisdom for he still has one problem
left to solve
what to do with the gods who took
tiamat's side in the war
they discussed this matter for quite a
long time but eventually reach a
decision
tiamat's champion would be charged with
treason you know because there's a
justice system now
and they would execute him but from his
blood they would create humans
both to serve the gods and assist them
in keeping order in the world
that way tiamats chaos and destruction
could never threaten
anyone again though these god's names
aren't very common anymore the echoes of
them
remain with us to this day for instance
the scribes who wrote genesis knew of
these stories and the similarities to
another tale of a world brought into
being
out of the water and the void are plain
to see a god that separated water from
water as creation began
who created the heavens and the earth
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