The Eridu Genesis
The Eridu Genesis, also known as the Sumerian creation myth, is one of the earliest known narratives of its kind. Discovered on a single fragmentary tablet excavated in Nippur in 1893 and recognized in 1912, it dates back to around 1600 BCE. This myth forms part of a group of Sumerian creation myths found at the same site, including the Barton Cylinder and the Debate between sheep and grain, and the Debate between Winter and Summer.
The surviving text of the Eridu Genesis begins with the gods An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursanga creating the Sumerians and establishing comfortable living conditions for animals. It recounts the establishment of kingship and the founding of the first cities, including Eridu, Bad-tibira, Larak, Sippar, and Shuruppak. A key element of the Eridu Genesis is the story of a great flood, a narrative shared with many ancient cultures. In this myth, the gods decide not to save humanity from a catastrophic flood. Ziusudra, the king and priest of Shuruppak, learns about the impending disaster. The Sumerian fragment does not include details of the construction of an ark, as found in the later Akkadian Atra-Hasis Epic, but hints that Enki (the Sumerian equivalent of Akkadian Ea) may have provided similar instructions.
The tablet describes a severe storm lasting seven days and nights, during which Ziusudra’s boat is tossed on the great waters. After the flood, Ziusudra prostrates himself before the gods An and Enlil, who grant him eternal life for preserving animals and mankind. An interesting aspect of the Eridu Genesis is its post-flood narrative, where Ziusudra is caused to dwell in the land of Dilmun, after his boat floats down the Euphrates river into the Persian Gulf. This contrasts with other flood stories where the ark lands on a mountain or upstream.
Modern scholars speculate that the Sumerian deluge story might reflect localized river flooding in ancient cities like Shuruppak, supported by archaeological evidence of a flood layer dating to around 2900 BCE. Additionally, the figure of Ziusudra appears in the Sumerian Instructions of Shuruppak, dating to about 2600 BCE, indicating his prominence in Sumerian literature by the 3rd millennium BCE.
See also
- Wiki › Comparative Mythology
- Resources › Barton Cylinder
- Resources › Debate between sheep and grain
- Resources › Debate between Winter and Summer
- Resources › The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature