IconographyĮnki is depicted on several Mesopotamian seals with two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, flowing over his shoulders. This was a design that all Sumerian temples followed henceforth, showing Eridu’s place as a leader of Sumerian civilization. The temple was believed to have a pool of fresh water at its entrance and carp bones suggest the existence of fish in the pool. Enki was known as the possessor of meh, the gifts of civilization.Įxcavations show that Enki’s temple, built several times over on the same location, was known as E-abzu, which translates to ‘House of Abzu’, or E-engur-ra, a more poetic name meaning ‘House of the Subterranean Waters’. It is significant then that the god of wisdom and intelligence was the patron god of this holy city. It later came to be known as the ‘city of the first kings’ and remained an important religious site for thousands of years for the Mesopotamians. It was where, at the beginning of the world, law and order was first conferred on human beings. The Sumerians believed that Eridu was the first city created by the gods. READ MORE: Water Gods and Gods of the Sea Patron God of Eridu ‘Ab’ also means ‘water,’ thus giving credence to the god Enki as the god of fresh water, healing and fertility, the latter two also being associated with water. In Sumerian, the two syllables E-A put together mean ‘Lord of Water.’ It is also possible that the original deity at Eridu was named Abzu and not Enki. However, the meaning of ‘kig’ is unknown. Thus, the commonly accepted meaning of his name is ‘Lord of the Earth.’ But this might not be the exact meaning. The Sumerian ‘En’ translates roughly into ‘lord’ and ‘ki’ means ‘earth’. According to myth, Enki is a co-conspirator in this and thus comes to be known as a co-creator of life and the world. Her body is then used to create the earth and her tears the rivers. The younger gods are driven back and lose one battle after another to the older gods, until Enki’s son Marduk defeats Quingu in single combat and kills Tiamat. This act horrifies Tiamat, who raises an army of demons alongside her lover, Quingu, to defeat the younger gods. Finally, he sends his father into a deep sleep and murders him. The story goes that Tiamat warns Enki of this and Enki realizes that the only way to prevent this catastrophe is to end Apsu. Apsu and Tiamat gave birth to all the younger gods, but their constant noise disturbed Apsu’s peace and he made up his mind to kill them. As per this epic, Enki was the son of Tiamat and Apsu, even though Sumerian myth names him the son of An, the sky god, and the goddess Nammu, the ancient mother goddess. The origins of Enki can be found in the Babylonian epic of creation, Enuma Elish. Enki’s waters are considered life-giving and his symbols are the goat and the fish, both of which symbolize fertility. According to myth, Enki gave birth to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the streams of water flowing off his body. Originally, he was worshiped as the patron god of Eridu, which the Sumerians considered to be the first city created when the world began. EnkiĮnki, later known as Ea by the Akkadians and Babylonians, was the Sumerian deity of wisdom, intelligence, tricks and magic, fresh water, healing, creation, and fertility. They were also very powerful in their own right and were the patrons of their own individual cities. Together, they ruled the universe, the sky and the earth. In fact, the Sumerian poem Enki and the World Order depicts the rest of the Annunaki paying homage to Enki and singing hymns in his honor.Įnlil and Enki, along with their father An, the god of the heavens, were a trinity within the Mesopotamian religion. But it is universally acknowledged that Enlil and Enki, the two brothers, were an integral part of this Mesopotamian pantheon. Sumerian myth is inconsistent in the naming of these gods. Among the many other gods worshiped by the Mesopotamians, some of the most important were the Annunaki, the seven gods who were the most powerful: Enki, Enlil, Ninhursag, An, Inanna, Utu and Nanna.
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