WHO IS ENKI?
Babylonian Enuma Elish (c. 1100 BCE)
Apsu and Tiamat were the first Gods. EVER.
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Tiamat loved beautiful things. And Apsu? He loved Tiamat. So when Tiamat wanted to create this Universe, Apsu was more than happy to be of help. As Tiamat set about putting her plan into action, she realized that creating the universe was too much work. Wouldn’t it be just perfect to have someone create it for her, so she could revel in its beauty without actually having to work for it?
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Apsu loved Tiamat enough to build the Universe himself brick by brick. But he also loved his sleep and his peace. He just would not be able to get the Universe ready in time to match up to Tiamat’s impatient demands. After much deliberation he decided the only way out was to get someone on board who would build the Universe just the way Tiamat envisioned it. Who better for this task than their very own son?
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Thus Enki was created. His sole purpose was to create the Universe.
FIRST GODS
APSU (m)
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God of Fresh water
TIAMAT(f)
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God of Salt Water
ELDEST SON
ENKI(m)
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God of Life, Wisdom, Arts & Crafts
YOUNGER GODS
Enki was everything you would expect the creator of the Universe to be:
wise, witty, sensible, compassionate, imaginative and creative!
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Soon it was Enki who was telling Tiamat how the Universe should look like instead of the other way round. Enki loved what he was doing. He looked forward to adding new touches to the design of the Universe everyday.
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Meanwhile, Apsu and Tiamat had tasted the sinful pleasure of creation. Their passions flared and their desire for each other led to the addition of many, many, many more younger Gods. Each of these younger Gods was more spoiled and pampered than their older sibling. Tiamat doted on each of them. Loathe to work or help Enki out with creating the Universe, all the younger Gods did was play, fool around and make mischief.
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Apsu however had gotten intolerant of the younger ones. Not only had Tiamat started spending lesser and lesser time with him, the chaos they created also robbed him of his precious sleep. The absence of two things he loved the most, was making him ill-tempered and violent.
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Unable to take it anymore, Apsu finally decided to destroy the younger Gods. Tiamat overheard his plan to destroy the little ones and rushed to Enki for help. She pleaded with Enki to do whatever it took, to keep the younger Gods safe.
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Enki had started to lose patience with Apsu as well. Apsu's ill-timed rage had often messed with Enki's creation of the Universe. The request from Tiamat could not have come at a better time. It was time to put an end to the rogue God.
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One fine day, when the younger Gods were quieter and Apsu had succumbed to his beloved sleep...
Enki killed him.
MARRIAGE & KIDS
ENKI(m)
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God of wisdom, arts & crafts. Co-creator of Humans
NIHURSAG(f)
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Mother Of Gods
MARDUK(m)
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King of Gods
ASARLUHI(m)
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King of Magical Knowledge
ENBILULU(m)
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God of Canals & Dikes
ADAPA(m)
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The Human Sage
ABU(m)
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God of Plants & Growth
NINTULA(m)
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God of Precious Metal
NINSITU(f)
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Goddess of Healing
NANSHE(f)
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Goddess of Interpretation of Dreams
INNANA(f)
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Goddess of War
The Mischief & The Meh
And so the story goes...
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Enki was the possessor of the meh, the laws and powers concerned with all of life and the gifts of civilization, the possession of the Gods alone. Enki also knew that the meh was more beneficial to his beloved humans than the Gods. There was no way he could hand over the meh to the humans without incurring the wrath of the Gods.
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He decided to play along with his daughter's devious plans.
He pretended to get drunk at a party and allowed his daughter Innana to steal the meh from him. Innana ignorantly believed that she had outsmarted her father. To keep up the charade for the sake of the Gods, Enki even sent an army of his weakest, most futile demons to chase her down and retrieve the meh.
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The dispatch of the demons fooled everyone that Enki had been cheated by Innana. Innana herself applauded her brave retrieval of meh. Along the course Innana passed on the meh to humans. Enki smiled in secret victory, for he alone knows that with the humans is where meh was always destined to belong.
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