The Babylonian Legends of the Creation | Page 6

Ea in the Babylonian Legend.
When Tiâmat heard of Ea's victory over Apsû and Mummu she was
filled with fury, and determined to avenge the death of Apsû, her
husband.
The first act of TIÂMAT after the death of Apsû was to increase the
number of her allies. We know that a certain creature called
"UMMU-KHUBUR" at once spawned a brood of devilish monsters to

help her in her fight against the gods. Nothing is known of the origin or
attributes of UMMU-KHUBUR, but some think she was a form of
TIÂMAT. Her brood probably consisted of personifications of mist,
fog, cloud, storm, whirlwinds and the blighting and destroying powers
which primitive man associated with the desert. An exact parallel of
this brood of devils is found in Egyptian mythology where the allies of
Set and Aapep are called "Mesu betshet" i.e., "spawn of impotent
revolt." They are depicted in the form of serpents, and some of them
became the "Nine Worms of Amenti" that are mentioned in the Book of
the Dead (Chap. Ia).
Not content with Ummu-Khubur's brood of devils, Tiâmat called the
stars and powers of the air to her aid, for she "set up" (1) the Viper, (2)
the Snake, (3) the god Lakhamu, (4) the Whirlwind, (5) the ravening
Dog, (6) the Scorpion-man, (7) the mighty Storm-wind, (8) the
Fish-man, and (9) the Horned Beast. These bore (10) the "merciless,
invincible weapon," and were under the command of (11) Kingu,
whom Tiâmat calls "her husband." Thus Tiâmat had Eleven mighty
Helpers besides the devils spawned by Ummu-Khubur. We may note in
passing that some of the above-mentioned Helpers appear among the
Twelve Signs of the Zodiac which Marduk "set up" after his conquest
of Tiâmat, e.g., the Scorpion-man, the Horned Beast, etc. This fact
suggests that the first Zodiac was "set up" by Tiâmat, who with her
Eleven Helpers formed the Twelve Signs; the association of evil with
certain stars may date from that period. That the Babylonians regarded
the primitive gods as powers of evil is clear from the fact that Lakhamu,
one of them, is enumerated among the allies of Tiâmat.
The helpers of Tiâmat were placed by her under the command of a god
called KINGU who is TAMMUZ. He was the counterpart, or
equivalent, of ANU, the Sky-god, in the kingdom of darkness, for it is
said in the text "Kingu was exalted and received the power of Anu," i.e.,
he possessed the same power and attributes as Anu. When Tiâmat
appointed Kingu to be her captain, she recited over him a certain spell
or incantation, and then she gave him the TABLET OF DESTINIES
and fastened it to his breast, saying, "Whatsoever goeth forth from thy
mouth shall be established." Armed with all the magical powers

conferred upon him by this Tablet, and heartened by all the laudatory
epithets which his wife Tiâmat heaped upon him, Kingu went forth at
the head of his devils.
When Ea heard that Tiâmat had collected her forces and Was
determined to continue the fight against the gods which Apsû and
Mummu had begun, and that she had made her husband Kingu her
champion, he was "afflicted" and "sat in sorrow." He felt unable to
renew the fight against the powers of darkness, and he therefore went
and reported the new happenings to Anshar, representative of the "host
of heaven," and took counsel with him. When Anshar heard the matter
he was greatly disturbed in mind and bit his lips, for he saw that the
real difficulty was to find a worthy antagonist for Kingu and Tiâmat. A
gap in the text here prevents us from knowing exactly what Anshar said
and did, but the context suggests that he summoned Anu, the Sky-god,
to his assistance. Then, having given him certain instructions, he sent
him on an embassy to Tiâmat with the view of conciliating her. When
Anu reached the place where she was he found her in a very wrathful
state, and she was muttering angrily; Anu was so appalled at the sight
of her that he turned and fled. It is impossible at present to explain this
interlude, or to find any parallel to it in other ancient Oriental literature.
[Illustration: Shamash the Sun-god rising on the horizon, flames of fire
ascending from his shoulder. The two portals of the dawn, each
surmounted by a lion, are being drawn open by attendant gods. From a
Babylonian seal cylinder in the British Museum. [No. 89,110.]]
When Anu reported his inability to deal with Tiâmat, a council of the
gods was called, and Ea induced his son, Marduk to be present. We
next find Anshar in converse with the god Marduk, who offers to act as
the champion of the gods and to fight Tiâmat and