Exam 1: Project - Babylon Flashcards
1
Q
Enuma Elish
A
- Akkadian for “when on high”
- creation myth
2
Q
Gods and Goddesses
A
- Primeval Gods
- Apsu: father/ fresh water
- Tiamat: mother/ salt water
- Ea: father of Marduk, creates human, kills Apsu
- Marduk: killed Tiamat, gods gave him kingship
- Marduk
- Shamash
- Ishtar
3
Q
Marduk
A
- most important
- powerful
- lord of the gods
- compassionate (against evil)
- Babylonian king
- Ea’s son, more powerful than Ea
- Rips Tiamat’s corpose in half, earth and skies
- Creates calendar, organizes planets, sun, moon, and weather
- Lordship of heaven and netherworld
4
Q
Shamash
A
- god of sun
- powerful, willing to help humans
- rays of sun from shoulders
5
Q
Ishtar
A
- goddess of sun
- easily spurned
- motivated by her interests
6
Q
Relationship of human and gods
A
- gods have flaws (Apsu and Tiamat said humans and gods were too loud)
- humans created to serve/ praise gods
- gods bless humans in return
7
Q
The Creation - World
A
The World:
- before anything existed in world: Mother Ocean, Tiamat, Fresh Water, Apsu mingled to produce first pairs of gods
- no dividers in waters
- the gods enter battle against Apsu
- Marduk killed Tiamat and forms world out of her corpse
- establishes 1st city: Babylon (heaven of great gods)
- place for gods to stay atop Apsu
8
Q
Purpose of Mankind
A
- gods “impose burdens of gods on them”
- “service of the gods…shrines may be built”
9
Q
Babylonian thinkers - Gilgamesh
A
- Gods = flawed, imperfect, expect obedience from man
10
Q
Compare w/ Bible
A
Similar: identical sequence of creation, divine speech
Different: Christian = peaceful vs. Babylonian: godly conflict
11
Q
Apsu
A
- father figure
- fresh water
- “mingled water” with Tiamat
12
Q
Tiamat
A
- salt water
- mother figure
- “mingled water” with Apsu
- killed by Marduk, body used to create world
13
Q
Ea
A
- god of water
- Marduk’s father
- most powerful of gods
- creates humans from blood of Qingu
14
Q
Qingu
A
- one of the rebellious gods
- offered as a sacrifice for the group as a whole b/c he was the leader
- mankind made from his blood
15
Q
The Creation - Humans
A
- Qingu led battle against god: punished
- Qingu = Tiamat’s consort and general in order to claim their pardon
- Marduk convinces his father Ea to create mankind
- Qingu is sacrificed and his blood is used to make mankind
- mankind bears gods’ burden that those may rest
