After Marduk creates the cosmos, he organises time: “He founded the station of Nēberu [= Jupiter] to determine their bounds [= the year]; That none might err or go astray, He set the station of Enlil and Ea with it.
Enki (Ea) creates humans from clay and a slain god's blood to perform labor and offer sacrifices, relieving the gods.
Hea, also known as Ea, is a central figure in Mesopotamian mythology and is prominently featured in the Nineveh tablets, part of the vast library of cuneiform texts discovered at the site of the ancient Assyrian capital, Nineveh.
Hea/Ea was the Sumerian god Enki, a name meaning "Lord of the Earth" or "Lord of the Below."
Associated with water, wisdom, creation, and magic, Hea was believed to reside in the Apsu, a freshwater subterranean ocean that symbolized life-giving waters.
Creation and Order:Hea played a role in organizing the cosmos and creating humanity.
Protector of Humanity:In the Epic of Atrahasis, Hea warns Atrahasis (a Noah-like figure) about the impending flood sent by the gods and instructs him to build an ark, saving humanity and animals.
Wisdom and Magic:Hea is often portrayed as a god of wisdom, possessing vast knowledge.
Mediator:As a wise and compassionate deity, Hea frequently acts as a mediator in conflicts among gods, balancing their often harsh decrees with his concern for humanity.
The Nineveh tablets, part of Ashurbanipal's library, contain many myths, hymns, and rituals where Hea plays a central role:
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Hea advises Utnapishtim (another flood survivor) and shows concern for human welfare.
The Descent of Inanna: Hea’s wisdom is referenced as pivotal in helping gods and humans navigate challenges.
Incantations and Rituals: Many prayers and magical texts invoke Hea for protection and blessings, reflecting his association with purification and healing.
Hea/Ea embodies the Mesopotamian understanding of the dual nature of water—both as a life-giving and potentially destructive force.
The legacy of Hea/Ea lives on through the insights provided by the Nineveh tablets, shedding light on ancient Mesopotamian spirituality and their view of the universe.
Hea (or Ea) is depicted in Mesopotamian art and texts with a range of symbolic elements that emphasize his divine attributes and domain over water, wisdom, and creation.
Human Form: Hea is typically depicted as a bearded man, a common way to portray male deities in Mesopotamian art.
Horned Crown: Like other major gods, Hea is often shown wearing a horned crown, a symbol of divine authority.
The Goat-Fish (Capricorn): Hea's symbol is the goat-fish, a creature blending a goat's body and a fish's tail.
The Abzu (Apsu): Often symbolized in depictions, the Abzu is the primordial sea beneath the earth where Hea resides.
It is represented as a watery expanse or as waves emanating from Hea’s figure.
Hea frequently appears in reliefs or cylinder seals, small engraved stones used to imprint designs on clay.
In the texts from Ashurbanipal’s library, while visual depictions aren't present, Hea is vividly described through his attributes:
The imagery of Hea as a water deity influenced later depictions of gods in other cultures:
Hea’s visual symbolism in Mesopotamian art and his literary descriptions together convey a god deeply connected to water’s life-sustaining and transformative power, emphasizing his role as a benefactor and protector of humanity.
Hea or Ea, the god of the Nineveh tablets, was a fish-god: he was represented in the Chaldean monuments as half man and half fish; he was described as the god, not of the rivers and seas, but of “the abyss”–to wit, the ocean.
I perceived and said to Hea my lord,29.
"Hea my lord this that thou commandest me30.
Hea opened his mouth and spake, and said to me his servant,33.
'who then will be saved,' Hea the words understood,166.
and Hea knew all things,167.
Hea his mouth opened and spake, and said to the warrior Bel,168.
The gods having resolved on the Deluge, the deity whom we have hitherto provisionally called Hea announces the coming event to Sisit.
Ea'yo, from below forever, from upward forever (Panic).
THIS BOOK TREATETH FULLY OF THE FOUR GREAT PERSONS CHOSEN BY GOD, NAMELY: PO, OF JAFFET'H, INSPIRED BY THE GOD YIMA; BRAHMA, OF VIND’YU, INSPIRED BY THE GOD DIV; ABRAM, OF PAR'SI’E, AND AFTERWARD OF ARABIN'YA, INSPIRED BY THE GOD VISHNU; AND EA-WAH-TAH, OF NORTH GUATAMA, INSPIRED BY THE GOD OS.
BEING GOD’S LABORS IN ATMOSPHEREA (HADA), FOR A PERIOD OF THREE THOUSAND AND ONE HUNDRED YEARS, DURING THE PASSAGE OF THE EARTH FROM THE ARC OF LOO TO THE ARC OF SPE’TA, IN ETHEREA; AND ON THE EARTH, FROM THE TIME OF ZARATHUSTRA TO THE TIME OF ABRAHAM AND BRAHMA AND PO AND EA-WHA-TAH.
Covers the administration of lower heavens and earth, focusing on four great leaders: Po, Brahma, Abram, and Ea-Wah-Tah.
Assyrian:The gods, led by Enlil, agreed to cleanse the earth of an overpopulated humanity, but Utnapishtim was warned by the god Ea in a dream.
In the Chaldean legends the god Ea ordered Khasisatra to inscribe the divine learning, and the principles of all sciences, on tables of terra-cotta, and bury them, before the Deluge, "in the City of the Sun at Sippara."
And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his heart, 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake.'" In the Chaldean legend we are told that Khasisatra also offered a sacrifice, a burnt offering, "and the gods assembled like flies above the master of the sacrifice." But Bel came in a high state of indignation, just as the Aztec god did, and was about to finish the work of the Deluge, when the great god Ea took ''pity in his heart and interfered to save the remnant of mankind.
Gods: Ishtar, Shamash, Ea
It was under him that the Great Deluge took place, the history of which is told in the sacred documents as follows: Cronos (Ea) appeared to him in his sleep, and announced that on the fifteenth of the month of Daisios (the Assyrian month Sivan--a little before the summer solstice) all men should perish by a flood.
"'And the god [Ea], the immutable lord, repeated this command in a dream.--I listened to the decree of fate that he announced, and he said to me:--" Man of Shurippak, son of Ubaratutu--thou, build a vessel and finish it [quickly].--[By a deluge] I will destroy substance and life.--Cause thou to go up into the vessel the substance of all that has life.--The vessel thou shall build-600 cubits shall be the measure of its length--and 60 cubits the amount of its breadth and of its height.
[Launch if] thus on the ocean, and cover it with a roof."--I understood, and I said to Ea, my lord:--"The vessel] that thou commandest me to build thus--[when] I shall do it,--young and old [shall laugh at me.]"--[Ea opened his mouth and] spoke.--He said to me, his servant:--"[If they laugh at thee] thou shalt say to them:--[shall be punished] he who has insulted me, [for the protection of the gods] is over me.-- .
At a given moment that I shall cause thee to know,--enter into it, and draw the door of the ship toward thee.--Within it, thy grains, thy furniture, thy provisions, thy riches, thy men-servants, and thy maid-servants, and thy young people--the cattle of the field, and the wild beasts of the plain that I will assemble-and that I will send thee, shall be kept behind thy door."--Khasisatra opened his mouth and spoke;--he said to Ea, his lord:--"No one has made [such a] ship.--On the prow I will fix .
No man shall be preserved from the abyss!"--Adar opened his mouth and said; he said to the warrior Bel:--"What other than Ea should have formed this resolution?--for Ea possesses knowledge, and [he foresees] all."--Ea opened his mouth and spake; he said to the warrior Bel:--"O thou, herald of the gods, warrior,--as thou didst not master thyself, thou hast made the water-spout of the Deluge.--Let the sinner carry the weight of his sins, the blasphemer the weight of his blasphemy.--Please thyself with this good pleasure, and it shall never be infringed; faith in it never [shall be violated].--Instead of thy making a new deluge, let lions appear and reduce the number of men;--instead of thy making a new deluge, let hyenas appear and reduce the number of men;--instead of thy making a new deluge, let there be famine, and let the earth be [devastated];--instead of thy making a new deluge, let Dibbara appear, and let men be [mown down].
Hea or Ea, the god of the Nineveh tablets, was a fish-god: he was represented in the Chaldean monuments as half man and half fish; he was described as the god, not of the rivers and seas, but of "the abyss"--to wit, the ocean.
Hea or Ea, the god of the Nineveh tablets, was a fish-god: he was represented in the Chaldean monuments as half man and half fish; he was described as the god, not of the rivers and seas, but of “the abyss”–to wit, the ocean.
Oannes was probably the emissary of Ea, god of the freshwater deep and of wisdom.
This tree appears frequently in Assyrian iconography and is associated with the deity Ea.
Babylonians: Their trinity included Hea, Anu, and Bel, with Bel representing the sun.
Chaldean Legend: Xisuthros (Khasisatra) is warned by the god Cronos (Ea) of a flood.
The shorter, ancient version by Berosus describes how Xisuthros (Khasisatra) was warned by the god Cronos (Ea) of a coming flood and instructed to build a vessel to save his family, friends, and animals.
The narrative includes precise instructions from the god Ea on building a large vessel, loading it with provisions and animals, and surviving a cataclysm involving rain, thunder, and earthquakes.
Ea: The fish-god who brought civilization from the ocean, indicating a maritime culture similar to the Atlanteans.