Atrahasis, Tablet I

Ipiq-Aya, Atrahasis (1700 BC)

From the introduction:

• Atrahasis is essentially the Noah figure of Mesopotamian literature.
• Atrahasis means 'extra-wise'.
• Atrahasis goes by many names: Utnapishtim, Ziusudra, Xisuthros.
• Atrahasis may be connected with such figures as Noah, Prometheus, Odysseus, and Al-Khadir.
• The Old Babylonian Version seems to date from 1700 BC.
• The author named for the text is Ipiq-Aya, who worked during the reign of Ammi-saduqa, King of Babylon (1702-1682 BC).
• The text may have been written in Sippar, for the priestesses of the temple of Shamash (the sun god), to explain why they were not allowed to have children.
  

Tablet I

Synopsis

In the beginning, after heaven (ruled by Anu) was divided from earth (ruled by Ellil) the Anunnaki made the Igigi work for them, building irrigation canals and rivers like the Tigris and Euphrates. After 3600 years of this, the Igigi were not happy with the situation, so they counseled with each other and decided to rebel against Ellil. Besieged by the Igigi, Ellil called a council of the great Anunnaki to discuss this war with his own rebellious sons. The council decided that the labor imposed upon the Igigi was indeed too great. Their solution was to choose one god to be sacrificed, and to mix his flesh and blood with clay to create primeval man, who would then labor for the gods. Ilawela was chosen to be sacrificed, but a spirit of him would remain as a reminder of his sacrifice. Now the womb goddesses created 7 men and 7 women and decreed that they should pair off as husband and wife. Specific rites for child birth and marriage are decreed. But the people multiplied themselves to overflowing, and they made a great noise which rose up to ears of Ellil, who was annoyed. He therefore ordered that a disease should ravage the people to reduce their numbers (and thus their noise). Atrahasis recieved instruction from his god, Enki, and ordered the people to rebel against the gods - making no more offerings unto them - and to make offerings to Namtara, a demon of the underworld who could end the plague. The people built a temple to Namtara and made a flour offering, which brought an end to the plague.

Commentary


This is clearly an ancient Mesopotamian document:

• The canal-controller Ennugi
• The labor of the Igigi is building irrigation canals, clearing channels, and digging out the Tigris and Euphrates river beds.
• The teleology of the poem, which attempts to explain the origins of certain customs (marriage, birth) through this myth, and the mythopoeism of attributing disease to the gods.
• Men are ultimately tasked with laboring for the gods - it is their sole purpose.
• The round numbers are base 60: 3600 = 60*60; 600 = 60*10.
  

It presents several intriguing parallels to the Biblical tradition:

• The beginning of creation is described as a division of heaven and earth. (Gen 1:6-10)
  
• There is a Council in Heaven, followed by a War in Heaven. (Abraham 3:21-28)
  
• Ellil cries tears, just as God weeped in the Enoch tradition. (Moses 7:29)
  
• The notion of a god being sacrificed for humans. (Moses 6:62)
  
• Specific days set aside for purification, like a sabbath. (Lev 23:3)
  
• Purification through immersion. (Moses 6:59, 64)
  
• Forms of existence seem to include fleshly bodies, spirits and intelligences. (Abraham 3:22)
  
• Men are made of clay, which is simply a form of earth, the main component of man in the Bible. (Gen 2:7)
  
• A token of remembrance is used to remember the sacrificed god - his spirit remains.
• The 7 males and 7 females, paired off 2 by 2 sounds a lot like Noah loading his ark. (Gen 7:2)
  
• Men and women are to choose each other (cleave unto each other). (Gen 2:24)
  
• Atrahasis is described as a prophet - he speaks to his god and receives instruction from him for all mankind. (Amos 3:7)
  
• The disease that plagues man seems to act like a curse (for sin?), which can only be stopped through specific temple rituals (a return to righteousness). Namtara could be viewed as a Satan figure who will end the plague when appeased.
  

I also observed other echoes:

• Ellil is described as both a warrior and a counselor, recalling the ancient Greek principle of aretê so important to the Iliad and Odyssey, for example.
• The names of the gods Alla and Ellil seem to echo Allah and El - semitic names for God.
• The idea of the Anunnaki and the Igigi, and the rising up of the sons of Ellil against him seems to echo other mythical traditions where the younger generation of gods rises up against the elder (Zeus vs. Kronos, Kronos vs. Ouranos, etc.).
• The gods are sometimes grouped together, as the Anunnaki, Igigi, and Apsu, echoing such groupings as the Titans, Aesir, Vanir, or Jötunn.
• Humans are a combination of animal (they are flesh and blood creatures) and god (they are rational).
• The days set aside for purification are the first, seventh and fifteenth of the month, which sounds a lot like the Kalends, Nones, and Ides in the Roman calendar.