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by A. Sutherland
May 09,
2017
from
AncientPages Website
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EN.KI ("Lord of Earth"), was the Sumerian water god of Eridu,
located in the southern wetlands of what is today Iraq.
He was also the god of wisdom, creator, protector of humanity and
the patron of craftsmen and artisans.
Enki was known under other names, such as the Akkadian-Babylonian,
Ea ("Whose House Is Water") or NU.DIM.MUD (Nudimmud),
"He Who Fashions Things".
He was wise and skillful
at all crafts; he was a brilliant scientist, geneticist and
engineer.
Enki with two streams of water
erupting from his shoulders
from a cylinder seal.
Emerging from the mountain's depths
is the Sumerian sun-god Utu (Akkadian Shamash)
holding his saw-sword.
Above in the air hovers
Inanna (Akkadian
Ishtar)
the lady of heaven
(p. 19. John Gray. Near Eastern Mythology
London, Hamlyn House Ltd. 1969).
Adda
Seal (c. 2300 BC)
Image
credit: British Museum
Along with Anu, the god of heaven, his brother Enlil,
the god of air, and Ninhursag, the earth mother, Enki was one
of the most powerful gods of the Sumerian pantheon.
In myths found on Sumerian texts, Lord Enki is described as,
"he of exceptional
knowledge, who knows the divine powers in heaven and earth, who
from his own dwelling already knows the intentions of the gods…"
Enki is associated with
the
city of Eridu in the southern
Mesopotamia.
In Sumerian mythology,
Eridu (E.RI.DU - 'Home in the Faraway Built') was one of the
earliest and most sacred cities of the Sumerians. Enki was worshiped
at Eridu and there he had his his temple, E-abzu ('house of the abzu'),
which was also known as E-engur-ra ('house of the subterranean
water').
In Mesopotamian art Enki is represented as a seated god with long
beard, who wears a cap with horns and a long robe.
Streams of water flow
from his arms to the ground, sometimes with fish swimming along the
flow, which symbolizes the subterranean waters of the abzu.
Ea (seated) and attendant deities,
Sumerian cylinder seal, c. 2300 BC.
Image credit: Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
According to the Babylonian creation epic, the 'Enûma
Elish', taken from the library of Assurbanipal (c 630
BC), Enki lived in abzu (Akkadian apsû) with mythical creatures,
such as the seven meditators who were created to teach
humanity and Isimud (Ismus), a messenger god with two faces looking
in opposite directions, who was the servant of Enki.
The abzu, which was a
magic place full of divine powers, was frequently visited by gods
who wanted to steal some of Enki's powers.
The great god Enki was not a ruler himself but gave rulers what they
needed most - knowledge and intelligence and he divided the speech
to humans.
And so the ancient Sumerian texts say:
"Enki, the Lord of
abundance, of trustworthy commands,
The Lord of wisdom, who understands the land,
The leader of the gods,
Endowed with wisdom,
the Lord of Eridu
Changed the speech in their mouths,
[brought] contention
into it,
Into the speech of man,
that had previously
been one…"
Enki created fertile
lands and cities of Mesopotamia.
He created fish in rivers
and wild animals in the steppes. He provided seeds of wheat, bean,
and barley and raised corn on the fields. He created sheep and
cowsheds, brought civilization to humankind and taught humans how to
construct canals and plan temples,
'putting their
foundation pegs in the right places.'
Enki sitting in the Abzu.
Enki is mentioned in a great number of ancient myths that originate
from Southern Iraq to the Levantine coast; we mention only a few of
them.
In the myth "Adapa and
the South Wind" (or 'Adapa
and the South Wind - Language Has the Power of Life and Death'), Enki (Ea) helps humanity keep the gift of
magic and
incantations and according to the Sumerian epic poem entitled "Inanna and Enki",
he was the one who dedicated the art of writing to the people of
earth and he was the keeper of the divine powers called "Me", the
gifts of civilization and he controlled them.
In the Sumerian myth "Enki and The World Order,"
Enki is said to have fixed national boundaries and assigned gods
their roles.
It is also mentioned that
the Anunnaki several times, they,
'do homage' to the
god Enki and sing his praise, they 'take up their dwellings' in
the midst of the people of Sumer, in the cities and in the
countryside and twice it is said that they 'decree the fates of
mankind…'
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