Enūma Eliš

Lore & Background

A form of the myth was first published by English Assyriologist George Smith in 1876; active research and further excavations led to near completion of the texts and improved translation. Most of Tablet V has never been recovered, but aside from this lacuna, the text is almost complete. Before the tablets were discovered, substantial elements of the myth had survived via the writings of Berossus, a 3rd-century BCE Babylonian writer and priest of Bel (Marduk). Clay tablets containing inscriptions relating to analogues of biblical stories were discovered by A. H.

Reader's Guide

Enūma Eliš is significant as the only complete surviving account of ancient near eastern cosmology, providing a foundational text for understanding Babylonian religion and mythology. Its discovery and translation in the 19th century sparked intense scholarly and public interest due to parallels with biblical creation stories, particularly the Genesis account. The myth describes the rise of Marduk to supremacy among the gods, a development generally viewed to have started from the Second Dynasty of Isin, triggered by the return of the statue of Marduk from Elam by Nebuchadnezzar I, although a late Kassite date is also sometimes proposed. It may have been recited during the Akitu festival. Some late Assyrian versions replace Marduk with Ashur. The text remains a subject of active research, analysis, and discussion in the 21st century, with significant publications including works by Talon, Kämmerer & Metzler, Lambert, and Gabriel. The earliest manuscript was excavated from Assur and dated to the 9th century BCE, though it may have been recited as part of oral tradition prior to this date.

Did You Know?

• Most of Tablet V has never been recovered, but aside from this lacuna, the text is almost complete.
• Before the tablets were discovered, substantial elements of the myth had survived via the writings of Berossus, a 3rd-century BCE Babylonian writer and priest of Bel (Marduk).
• The earliest manuscript was excavated from Assur and dated to the 9th century BCE.
• Some late Assyrian versions replace Marduk with Ashur.