ENUMA ELISH. - Title of the greatest religious and mythological poem of the Babylonians and Assyrians, thus named from its first two words, which mean "when on high"; modern scholars usually call it, not entirely accurately, "The Poem of Creation"; it ought instead to bear the title "Poem of the Exaltation of Marduk," since its purpose is precisely to narrate how Marduk, son of Ea and until then an entirely secondary deity of the Mesopotamian pantheon, became the most prominent national god of Babylon.
The poem was composed in the times of the first dynasty of Babel, when Babylon, notably under its king Hammurabi (c. 1750 B.C.), assumed a very brilliant position both in politics and in civilization, by some Babylonian poet in the epic-hymnic language of that time, from sources partly composed in the Sumerian language, although no poem of such broad scope existed in Sumerian. The Assyrians adopted it as their national poem, even though the god exalted was Marduk, a Babylonian deity, different from their national god Assur. In one of the Assyrian recensions the name of the god is changed to the one just mentioned. It has not come down to us intact, but we can reconstruct almost its entire content. It is in verse and is divided into seven tablets. The last, which deals with the names of Marduk, was added at a later time to the six that have as their subject the life and exaltation of the god. This myth was known also to other nations of the ancient East and influenced their mythical tales.
The poem begins with the description of primeval times, when nothing yet existed except Apsu and Tiāmat, who mingled their waters together; then the gods Lajmu and Lajamu were created, and from these descended the other deities, among them also the members of the supreme triad, Anu, Enlil and Ea. The youngest generation of the gods began to make a din and, since it disturbed Apsu's sleep, it was decided to destroy them; but they were saved by Ea, when he succeeded in killing Apsu. From Ea and his wife Damkina was begotten Marduk, endowed with extraordinary qualities, of double divinity. But Tiāmat 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 frightened gods accepted Ea's advice to elect the young Marduk as their leader. Indeed, having convoked a general assembly, they conferred supreme power on Marduk, ready to fight in his following against the monstrous hosts of Tiāmat. Marduk was proclaimed king, armed himself fully and engaged in battle with the furious goddess, whom he succeeded in overthrowing. With her body Marduk made heaven and earth. Thereby the god began the construction of the universe, from the stars of the sky to plants, to animals and to man, who was kneaded from clay and from the blood of Qingu. Then he divided the pantheon into two hosts, the Igigi and the Anunnaki, and prepared to accept the gifts offered to him in token of gratitude by his companions. The gods built for him the celestial Babel with the famous temple Esagila. There followed a grandiose banquet, during which the supreme god of the pantheon delivered a speech in honor of the victorious god and placed Marduk's weapons in the sky. The sixth tablet ends with a winged hymn in honor of the exalted god. In the seventh the fifty names of Marduk are explained.