E A. — One of the principal male divinities of the pantheon of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians, and of other nations of the ancient Orient. The name is Sumerian and perhaps means “house of water.”
He is the god of fresh and salt water, thus both of the waters of rivers and springs and of those of the sea and the abyss (apso), at the bottom of which he dwells. Since water cleanses, he is the god of purifications and, in addition, of incantations. E. is therefore regarded as the exorcist among the gods, their dipu.
By means of E.’s water, the exorcist-priest performs his purifications and incantations. E. is also a formative god, presiding over the arts, very wise, and counselor to the gods.