The Olympian Gods
Primordial State: The universe began with the primordial waters, represented by Tiamat (saltwater) and Apsu (freshwater).
Transition: The younger gods, led by Marduk, fought and defeated Tiamat and Apsu, who represented chaos.
The Great Flood(s)
Roof it over like the Apsu.
Who is Enki?
Sumerian Mythology: In Sumerian mythology, the Abzu (or Apsu) is the primeval sea below the void space of the underworld (Kur) and the earth (Ma).
Atrahasis
When Anu had gone up to the sky,(And the gods of] the Apsu had gone below,The Anunnaki of the sky
And then dug out the Euphrates.[ ] in the deep[ ] they set up[ ] the Apsu[ ] of the land[ ] inside it[ ] raised its top[ ] of all the mountainsThey were counting the years of loads;[ ] the great marsh,They were counting the years of loads.For 3,6oo years they bore the excess,Hard work, night and day.They groaned and blamed each other,Grumbled over the masses of excavated soil: 'Let us confront our [ ] the chamberlain,And get him to relieve us of our hard work!Come, let us carry [the Lord (?)],The counsellor of gods, the warrior, from hisdwelling.Come, let us carry [Ellil],The counsellor of gods, the warrior, from hisdwelling.'Then Alia made his voice heardAnd spoke to the gods his brothers, (gap of about 8 lines)
And spoke to the warrior Ellil,'0 my lord, your face is (sallow as) tamarisk!HWhy do you fear your own sons?0 Ellil, your face is (sallow as) tamarisk!Why do you fear your own sons?Send for Anu to be brought down to you,Have Enki fetched into your presence.'He sent for Anu to be brought down to him,Enki was fetched into his presence,Anu king of the sky was present,Enki king of the Apsu attended.The great Anunnaki were present.Ellil got up and the case was put.Ellil made his voice heardAnd spoke to the great gods,'Is it against me that they have risen?Shall I do battle … ?What did I see with my own eyes?A rabble was running around my door!'Anu made his voice heardAnd spoke to the warrior Ellil,
As for the bolt that bars the sea,Ea with his lahmu-creatures shall keep it locked'He ordered, and Anu and Adad kept the (air) above(earth) locked,Sin and Nergal kept the middle earth locked.As for the bolt that bars the sea,Ea with his lahmu-creatures kept it locked.Then the very wise man Atra-hasisWept daily.He would carry a massakku-offering along theriverside pasture,Although the irrigation-water was silent.Half-way through the night he offered a sacrifice.As sleep began to overtake him (?)He addressed the irrigation-water:'May the irrigation-water take it, may the rivercarry it,May the gift be placed in front of Ea my lord.May Ea see it and think of me!So may I see a dream in the night.'When he had sent the message by water,He sat facing the river, he wept (?),The man wept (?) facing the riverAs his plea went down to the Apsu.Then Ea heard his voice.[He summoned his Lahmu-creaturesl and addressedthem.(jar the next 36/ines see Supplement 1.
Reject possessions, and save living things.The boat that you build[[Roof it like the ApsuSo that the Sun cannot see inside it!Make upper decks and lower decks.The tackle must be very strong,The bitumen strong, to give strength.I shall make rain fall on you here,A wealth of birds, a hamper ( ?) of fish.'He opened the sand clock and filled it,He told him the sand (needed) for the Flood wasSeven nights' worth.Atrahasis received the message.He gathered the elders at his door.Atrahasis made his voice heardAnd spoke to the elders,'My god is out of favour with your god.Enki and [Ellil (?)] have become angry with eachother.They have driven me out of [my house].Since I always stand in awe of Enki,He told (me) of this matter.I can no longer stay in [ JI cannot set my foot on Ellil's territory (again).[I must go down to the Apsu and stay] with (my)god(?).This is what he told me.'(gap of 4 or 5 lines to end of column)n (gap of about 9 lines)The elders [The carpenter [brought his axe,]The reed worker [brought his stone,][A child brought] bitumen.The poor [fetched what was needed.]
Anunnaki gods list
"When the heights above were not named, Nor the earth below pronounced by name, Apsu, the first one, their begetter, And maker Tiamat, who bore them all, Had mixed their waters together, But had not formed pastures, nor discovered reed-beds; When yet no gods were manifest, Nor names pronounced, nor destinies decreed, Then gods were born within them."
"When in the height heaven was not named, And the primeval Apsu, who begat them, And chaos, Tiamat, the mother of them both, Their waters were mingled together, And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen; When of the gods none had been called into being, And none bore a name, and no destinies were ordained; Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven, Lahmu and Lahamu were called into being.
"Out of the Deep was Apsu engendered, And Tiamat, she who bore them all, who formed all things, Made in addition weapons invincible; she spawned monster-serpents, Sharp of tooth and merciless of fang; With poison, instead of blood, she filled their bodies.