ENUMA ELISH. – The title of the greatest religious and mythological poem of the Babylonians and Assyrians, so named from its first two words, which mean “when above.” Modern scholars usually, though not entirely accurately, call it the Poem of Creation; it should rather be titled the Poem of the Exaltation of Marduk, since its purpose is precisely to narrate how Marduk, son of Ea and theretofore a quite secondary deity of the Mesopotamian pantheon, became the most prominent national god of Babylon.
The poem was composed in the time of the First Dynasty of Babylon, when Babylon, notably under its king Hammurapi (1750 B.C.), assumed a very brilliant position both in politics and in civilization. It was written by some Babylonian poet in the epic-hymnic language of the period, drawing in part on sources redacted in the Sumerian language, though no poem of such scope existed in Sumerian. The Assyrians adopted it as their national poem, even though the exalted god was Marduk, a Babylonian deity distinct from their national god Assur; in one Assyrian redaction the name of the god was changed to that of a local deity. It has not come down to us intact, but we can reconstruct almost all of its content. It is in verse and divided into seven tablets. The last, which treats of the fifty-one names of Marduk, was added later to the six that deal with the life and exaltation of the god. This myth was known also to other nations of the ancient East and influenced their mythical narratives.
The poem begins with a description of primordial times, when nothing existed save Apsu and Tiamat, who mingled their waters together; then were created the gods Lahmu and Lahamu, and from them descended the other deities, among them the triad of the great triad, Anu, Enlil, and Ea. The younger generation of gods made a great noise, and since they were destructive to the name of Apsu, it was decided to destroy them; but they were saved by Ea, who succeeded in killing Apsu. From Ea and his wife Damkina was begotten Marduk, endowed with extraordinary qualities, a double divinity. But Tiamat wished to avenge the death of her husband and prepared a war of extermination against the gods, appointing Qingu as captain of the enterprise. The terrified gods accepted Ea’s counsel to elect as their leader the young Marduk. Indeed, after convening a general assembly, they conferred supreme power upon Marduk, ready to fight at his side against the monstrous hosts of Tiamat. Marduk was proclaimed king, armed himself completely, and engaged in battle with the infuriated goddess, whom he succeeded in overthrowing. With her body Marduk made the sky and the earth. Thus the god began the construction of the universe, from the stars of the sky to plants, animals, and man, who was fashioned from clay and the blood of Qingu. Then he divided the pantheon into two hosts, the Igigi and the Anunnaki, and prepared to accept the gifts offered in token of gratitude by his companions. The gods built for him the celestial Babylon with its famous temple, the Esagila. This was followed by a grand banquet, during which the supreme god of the pantheon delivered a discourse in honor of the victorious god and placed the weapons of Marduk in the sky. The sixth tablet ends with a lofty hymn in honor of the exalted god. The seventh explains the fifty-one names of Marduk.
«EN UT SUPERBA CRIMINUM». – This is the hymn of Vespers on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; its author is unknown. It was inserted into the Breviary before the feast had been extended to the universal Church.
Even before the lance of the Roman soldier pierced it, it was the sins of men that transfixed the divine Heart of Jesus. The resolve never to sin again is the conclusion of profound meditation, in which the weeping of a soul that loves and, in love, finds the means to make itself more worthy of the love of Jesus is here inscribed in stern verse.