Before the gods, and their human laborers...

Paradise Jan Bruegel the Elder (1620 wikimedia). Pardēz in old Iranian, a walled garden.

The religions we still know are not that old, and like nations they are superposed on a reality that doesn't fit them. Also like nations, religions seek to be applied retroactively by tweaking and rewriting their history and thus influence their respective audiences. Their discourse is written in the genre of semi-eternal truths, that reality can never live up to. Reality has always been very much on its own, but the day will come (a sort of Last Judgement Day), it will bite both religions and nations in the back. Not necessarily a good day for anybody, except for planet Earth perhaps.

After this small apocalyptic reminder let’s look at the times before there weren't any gods, no heaven, no hell below us, no countries, no religion, no possessions, just imagine.

I already wrote about the time when heaven was not invented, in a place that was not yet Greece, not even ancient Greece. Unfortunately we only know about this because of archaeological material and documents dating from the times when there were countries, heaven above and gods. It seems though there has been a time when there was only the world and the “netherworld”, the water table. There was the sky with the sun and the moon, and stars, but the generations of humans living on that land were born, died, and went back into the earth as the seeds for future generations, although not as an individual metempsychosis, and there was no role for heaven in this. At one point “the dead” were thought to linger on in the Asphodel Meadows in the underworld, or at least their seed, their souvenir, their ghost, their spirit, their soul. A two level system, where the invention of a specific place in the underworld, with god like entities, was like a prototype of what was to come, but "on high".

From the documented times in Mesopotamia we know about ideas that may have been going around in non-documented times. Documented times are times with gods, heaven, hell, countries, religion, and possessions though. We always have to be careful when the “haves” write about the “have nots” in the non documented times. It’s difficult to take abstraction from the order that came later, and to not see the “seeds” of that, and therefore the justifications of what came later, in the chaos of the early days. We’re looking back at an alleged chaos through the eyes of the order we live in[1]. In this case a Mesopotamian order looks back at its alleged chaos with its current references. I will be following lectures at the most interesting conference “Comment dire les origines dans le monde biblique et le Proche-Orient” (2023-2024) organised by Collège de France, and specifically the intervention by Nele Ziegler of the French CNRS on February, 29th 2024, Les dieux créateurs (et destructeurs) selon la documentation mésopotamienne du IIe millénaire av. J.-C.

Nele Ziegler looks at two Akkadian documents of that era: Atram-hasis (Story of the Flood (Atraḫasīs)) and Enuma eliš (Poem of Creation (Enūma eliš)), the latter in the French translation by P. Talon and S. Anthonioz[2]. English translations of these documents can be found at the Electronic Babylonian Libreary (eBL).

The Poem of Creation (Enūma eliš) is thought to have been written during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I (1125-1104 BCE), when there were gods, countries, kings, possessions etc. I will use the English translation[3] of the verses on the eBL website. The first chapter of the poem has the title “When On High No Word Was Used For Heaven”. When there was yet “no Heaven” “on high”. These are the opening verses:

“1 When on high no word was used for heaven,
2 Nor below was firm ground called by name,
3 Primeval Apsu was their progenitor,
4 Matrix-Tiamat was she who bore them all,
5 They were mingling their waters together,
6 No lea was packed together, no canebrake matted close.
7 When no gods at all had been brought forth,
8 Nor called by names, none destinies ordained,
9 Then were gods formed within these two.
10 Lahmu and Lahamu were brought forth, were called by name.”

With regard to the later “Order” there was “chaos” then, there were no names for the sky “on high” and the firm ground “below”, but there was above and below. There also was “Primeval Apsu”, the water table (“nappe phréatique”), the sweet water (“eau douce”) under the world, who seemed to have been male, and the future progenitor. And there was “Matrix-Tiamat”, the salty water, “the Sea” and the Creative power, a she "who bore all". The sweet and salty waters were not separated in the primordial world, yet the text mentions “When the Father and Mother mingled their waters together”. There were no gods yet, no names (and name calling), no destinies (divine plans, eons etc.). Nothing exists unless it's named...

Nele Ziegler points out that Apsu and Tiamat were no gods, because their names are not written with the distinctive Dingir symbol of a god: 𒀭Yet Apsu, “the progenitor”, “the begetter”, he, is superior to Tiamat, she “who bore them all”, because of the symbol “amtu” added to her name indicating “a servant, a slave”. The first two aquatic gods, Lahmu and Lahamu, male and female, formed “within” “their mingled waters”, were brought forth and called by name. The other gods descend from this aquatic couple, each generation better and stronger than the previous one, with Marduk being the absolute climax. Note how this goes against the principle in emanationism, where each generation (hypostasis, s. tattva t. de nyid) is further removed from the source, the One etc., and therefore “weaker” and more “watered down”, but also stronger, more operational and with more agency in the “order” of the world.

The god Marduk and king Marduk (Thomas Römer)

We have to remember this text dates from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I, who recovered the cultic idol of Marduk, the king being his representative in his country. The two aquatic gods begot Anšar (totality of heaven) and Kišar (totality of earth), who begot Anu. “15 Anu, his son, became Anshar’s equal”. There seems to be no mention of a mother. Anu, Ea and Enlil are the triad of Mesopotamian gods called the Anunnaki (princely seed).

“16 Then Anu begot his own equal, Nudimmud,
17 Nudimmud was one to dominate his forebears:
18 Profound in wisdom, acute of sense, he was massively strong,
19 Far more stalwart than his grandfather Anšar,
20 No rival had he among the gods his brethren.”

Nudimmud is one of the names of the god Ea, also known as Enki, the equivalent of Toth, Hermes and Mañjuśrī. Ea is the future “begetter” of the great Marduk. But there is going to be a rebellion among the gods against their forebears. What would Plato have thought of that? The young gods are much too noisy (and busy) for the inert Primeval Apsu (water table), who wants to destroy them, against the will of Matrix-Tiamat (the Sea).

“36 Saying to her, Tiamat, in a loud voice,
37 “Their behavior is noisome to me!
38 “By day I have no rest, at night I do not sleep!
39 “I wish to put an end to their behavior, to do away with it!
40 “Let silence reign that we may sleep.”

Apu’s vizir Mummu helps Apu in his destructive plan. Ea and the young gods manage to put Apsu (water table) “into deep slumber” with “his incorruptible magic spell” and kill his vizir. Then Nudimmud/Ea/Enki settles himself with his wife Damkina in “Apsu” (the water table, in fact the main land).

“71 He founded his dwelling upon Apsu,
72 He secured Mummu, held firm by a lead rope.
73 After Ea had captured and vanquished his foes,
74 Had won the victory- over his opponents,
75 In his chamber, in profound quiet, he rested.
76 He called it “Apsu,” (which means) “They Recognize Sanctuaries.”
77 He established therein his living quarters,
78 Ea and Damkina his wife dwelt there in splendor.
79 In the cella of destinies, the abode of designs,
80 The most capable, the sage of the gods, the Lord was conceived,
81 In the midst of Apsu was Marduk born,
82 In the midst of holy Apsu was Marduk born!
83 Ea his father begot him,
84 Damkina his mother was confined with him.”

When Anu his grandfather saw him (89), He was happy, he beamed, his heart was filled with joy (90). He perfected him, so that his divinity was unique (91). That is, Anu gave boons or gifts to Marduk and called him “The son, the sun, the sunlight of the gods (Mar-Utu)” (102). These boons were the four cardinal winds, with whom he managed to control his forebear Matrix-Tiamat (the Sea). The constant noise prevented the gods associated with Matrix-Tiamat to sleep. Sleep is very important for old gods… And so they schemed with great-great-grandmother Matrix-Tiamat alias “Mother Hubur” against the new gods. Mother Hubur is not into Peace and Love!... (see verses 141-162 and Chapter II Tiamat Assembled Her Creatures). In a Moby Dick like scene we see the god Marduk with bis big arms take on his great-great-grandmother the Sea, but with a different ending.

“101 He shot off an arrow, it ruptured her belly,
102 It cut to her innards, it pierced the heart.
103 He subdued her and snuffed out her life,
104 He flung down her carcass, he took a stand upon it.
105 After he had slain Tiamat, the vanguard.
106 Her forces scattered, her host dispersed.
107 As for the gods her allies, who had marched beside her,
108 In fear and trembling they turned tail,
109 They tried to find a way out to save their lives,
110 There was no escaping the mesh that encircled them.
111 He drew them in and smashed their weapons.
112 They were cast in the net and sat in a heap,
113 They were heaped up in the corners, full of woe,
114 They were bearing his punishment, held in confinement.”

Captain Ahab and Moby Dick (wikimedia)

With the carcass of Tiamat Marduk/Bel created the heaven and the universe (128-140, distributed tasks among the gods, created the luminaries that are reflections of the gods (astrology). Marduk created the calendar[4] and established rites, and the grateful gods built his temples in Babylone.

“137 He split her in two, like a fish for drying,
138 Half of her he set up and made as a cover, heaven.
139 He stretched out the hide, assigned watchmen,
140 Them he ordered not to let her waters escape.
141 He crossed heaven, he inspected the firmament,
142 He made it a counterpart to Apsu, the dwelling of Nudimmud.
145 The Lord measured the construction of Apsu,
144 He founded the Great Sanctuary-, the likeness of Esharra
145 (In) the Great Sanctuary; the Esharra he had built, (and in) heaven,
146 He made Ea, Enlil, and Anu dwell in their holy-places.”

The demiurg made the two level system into a three level system, with the invention of heaven. Technically, the two level system didn't exist either, because it was not named yet... The three “princely seed” gods rule the different levels. Anu rules over heaven (Ašrata), Enlil rules over the surface of earth (Ešarra) and Ea over the the underground water table (Apsu, Ešgalla).

Igigi protest... (photo website)

The demiurg’s creation is not finished though, and is carried out by working class gods, the Igigi. Enlil puts them to work on digging watercourses on the surface of the Earth. The story about the battle between the Ruling class gods and the working class gods can be read in the Story of the Flood (Atraḫasīs).

“1 When gods were man,
2 They did forced labor, they bore drudgery.
3 Great indeed was the drudgery of the gods,
4 The forced labor was heavy, the misery too much:
5 The great Anunna-gods, the seven, were burdening
6 The Igigi-gods with forced labor.”

The working class gods declare war against Enlil. Wê was their spokesperson.

“We want to do battle and fight!
The [Igigi] gods listened to his speech
They threw their tools into the fire
They set
To their spades the fire,
To their (earthen) baskets the Flame (god Girra).
They grasped (their hands) as they walked
Towards the door of the sanctuary of the hero Enlil.
In the middle of the vigil, it was night,
The house was surrounded.
The god did not know.
In the middle of the vigil, it was night,
The Ekur was surrounded.
Enlil did not know. (47-73)[5]”

Ea/Hermes decided to create man in order to alleviate the work of the Igigi working class gods. For this they needed a god to be sacrificed in order to use his body to create man.

"Let one god be slaughtered and let the gods purify themselves in it.
Let Nintu mix the clay in his flesh and blood[6]."

The spokesman Wê turned out to be the chosen one, as the working class god whose blood would be shed, so the other gods could purify themselves in it[7], and so that the first human couple could be created. Marduk announced his plan to create mankind.

“5 I want to knot the blood vessels, create bones,
6 And so create a human prototype, let "Man" be his name.
7 I want to create this human prototype, this man
8 So that he can do the gods' chores and the gods can rest[8].”

“33 With his blood he made mankind.
34 He made him do the work of the gods and set the other gods free.
35 After the wise Ea had created mankind
36 And imposed on him the drudgery of the gods,
37 This work is impossible to understand,
38 For Nudimmud came into being through the wonders of Marduk! (...)[9]”

The flood monster spitting water (U.Seidl)

Under the leadership of the Mesopotamian ruling classes, human laborers continue the chores of the Igigi gods. As we could have guessed, the human workers made too much noise. It needs to be mentioned here that until now humans were immortal in the sense there was no natural death, but they were subject to accidental deaths. Enlil wanted to make an end to “the noise” and to relative immortality… Enlil tried to spread illnesses, drought and famine, but to no avail. Next plan was a great deluge (Abûbu). Ea didn't agree and secretly helped Atram-hasis (Noach) to build an arch and save his family. Although this would be his kind of job, Ea left the creation of the Deluge-monster (a sort of “gargouille”) to Enlil. All humans save Atram-hasis die. Enlil who regretted even one survived, was held responsible by the other gods who agreed to make man mortal in order to avoid future nuisances.

I will end with some ideas expressed by Thomas Römer during his course on February, 29th 2024 “Il n’est pas bon pour l’être humain d’être seul… “ on the creation of humankind (Genisis 2,4-25), also part of “Comment dire les origines dans le monde biblique et le Proche-Orient” (2023-2024) organised by Collège de France.

Thomas Römer notices the use of the plural in Genesis 1:26-28: “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness”[10] and suggests it could point to a celestial court (pleroma) or to the Babylonian tablet VAT17019 (or Enûma Eliš Tablette VI quoted above). “In our image”: “ in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. This could point to a God, Father and Mother. The “image of God” is also used as the epithet of a king (e.g. Marduk see above). The created humans were supposed to continue the work (creation) of God… see the rebellion of the working class gods and the reason for the creation of mankind above. Adam and Eve were supposed to take over the digging of the water courses in Paradise (Gn 2:10)... "8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed." (Gn 2,8) "15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." (Gn 2,15). Perhaps the first humans, just like the working class Igigi gods, didn't like the garden works and decided to go on strike. Have a break, party, smell the flowers, eat an apple...  Perhaps an Igigi union man advised them to do so.

As for the ideas that humans are put to labor by the gods, it is also found in India.

"The māyā had already been understood as the power of illusion by which the gods hold mortals captive in the bonds of desire and fear, so that, driven by the hope of rewards in this world or the hereafter and by the fear of celestial punishment, they never cease to work on behalf of the gods, constantly 'feeding' them through the sacrifices they offer them. The metaphysical ignorance that the gods arouse and exploit for their benefit is thus described in the most ancient Upanisads as a kind of self-unawareness natural to man, according to which he forgets that his own inner essence, or ātman, far from being reduced to a finite and dependent reality, is identifiable, beyond even the gods, with the ultimate foundation of the universe, i.e. brahman." Blog L'ignorance comme une manipulation des dieux 28/04/2014 Based on Michel Hulin, Qu'est-ce que l'ignorance métaphysique, J.Vrin, pp. 8-12

As an illustration Römer shows a slide with a photograph that reconstitutes the mosaic-covered interior of the octagonal dome (photo) of the Florence Baptistery (Baptistery of Saint John), because it represents the simultaneous creation of Adam and Eve, “in our image”. As above, so below, with the sun and moon as limit and mirror point. Römer notes that Adam, the "sweet water" main land with the land animals and the sun share the same colour. And so do Eve, the sea, the aquatic animals and the moon. Coincidence?

The sun is warm, the moon is cold, hence the warmer and colder colours.

"Since it is necessary that the weaker animal also should have a residue greater in quantity and less concocted*, and that being of such a nature it should be a mass of sanguineous liquid, and since that which has by nature a smaller portion of heat is weaker, and since it has already been stated that such is the character of the female—it is necessary that the sanguineous matter discharged by the female is also a residue. And such is the discharge of the so-called menstrual fluid." (Generation of Animals, Aristotle, 1.19.726b30-727a2) *Female bodies do not concoct semen, for lack of heat. "Semen, then, is a compound of spirit (pneuma) and water, and the former is hot air (aerh)." "semen, if exposed in frosts to the open air, does not freeze but liquefies, as if it was thickened by the opposite of cold." (Generation of Animals)

Detail Florence Bapistery

This representation reminds me also of Primeval Apsu and his sweet waters (water table), and the sea water of Matrix-Tiamat (see above). The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 

Adam and Eve chased from the walled garden of Eden
The Childrens Book of Old Testament Story,
Mrs C D Francis 1913 (chromolitho)

***

[1] The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, David Graeber and David Wengrow (2021).

[2] Enûma Eliš. Lorsqu'en haut, LAPO 22, Paris, 2022

[3] Foster, 2005: 436–486; Lambert, 1994; Lambert, 2008: 37–59.

[4] Every 1st, 7th and 15th day of the month, there will be purifying baths.
Compare with Thomas Römer regarding the seventh day in Genesis:
“A reinterpretation of the 7th days in the Babylonian calendar, where the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days of the month were considered dangerous, and nothing was to be done to avoid angering the gods.”
“Une réinterprétation des 7e jours dans le calendrier babylonien, où les 7e, 14e, 21e et 28e jours du mois étaient considérés comme dangereux, où il ne fallait rien faire afin de ne pas irriter les dieux.” “Il n’est pas bon pour l’être humain d’être seul”.

[5] “Wê parla et
Dit aux dieux ses frères :
« (...) Enlil, le conseiller des dieux, le héros Allez, nous voulons le faire sortir de sa demeure ! À présent, proclamez la guerre, Nous voulons mener bataille et combat ! » Les dieux écoutèrent son discours
Ils jetèrent leurs outils dans le feu
Ils mirent
À leurs bêches le feu,
À leurs paniers (de terre) la Flamme (dieu Girra). 

Ils saisirent (leur main) en marchant 

Vers la porte du sanctuaire du héros Enlil. 

Le milieu de la veillée, c'était la nuit, 

La maison était encerclée. 

Le dieu ne le savait pas. 

Le milieu de la veillée, c’était la nuit, 

L’Ekur était encerclé. 

Enlil ne le savait pas.”

[6] “Qu’on égorge un seul dieu et que les dieux se purifient dedans.
Que Nintu mélange l’argile dans sa chair et son sang.”

[7] “Ils se purifient en vain par le sang lorsqu'ils sont souillés par le sang, comme si quelqu'un ayant marché dans la boue se lavait avec de la boue : il semblerait être fou si quelque être humain le remarquait en train d'agir ainsi. Et ils font des prières à ces statues comme quelqu'un qui parlerait à des maisons, ne connaissant en rien ce que sont les dieux et les héros.” Marcel Conche, Héraclite Fragments, PUF, p. 171 See my blog De la lumière humaine January 28th 2024.

[8] Enûma Eliš Tablette VI
(Marduk annonce son projet de créer l'homme :)

"5 « Je veux nouer les vaissaux sanguins, créer des os,
6 Et susciter ainsi un prototype-humain (Julliï), qu'« Homme » soit son nom.
7 Ce prototype-humain, cet homme, je veux le créer
8 Pour qu'il soit chargé des corvées des dieux et qu'eux puissent se reposer."

[9] Enûma Eliš Tablette VI
"33 De son sang il créa l'humanité.
34 II (lui) imposa la corvée des dieux et libéra les autres dieux.
35 Après que le sage Ea eut créé l'humanité
36 Et lui eut imposé la corvée des dieux,
37 - Ce travail est impossible à comprendre,
38 Car Nudimmud accomplit sa création grâce aux merveilles de Marduk! -e’est ale» que (...)"

[10] Genesis 1:26-28 New International Version
"26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

"27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them."

"28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”