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Sumer and Babylon · Enuma Elish VI

The Anunnaki split: three hundred above, three hundred below

EvidenceDocumentedThe text exists and is quoted from a published translation. What it describes is a separate question.What this means
ReferenceEnuma Elish VI
Writtenc. 1200–1100 BCE
SetAfter creation
Marduk divides the Anunnaki: three hundred to stand guard in heaven and three hundred on earth. In thanks, the Anunnaki build him Babylon and its temple Esagila, making bricks for a year.

Summary by the editors. Translation: Summary (King 1902 has the full text)

Read it literally

A garrison split between orbit and ground, and the gods themselves do construction.

What scholars say

The Anunnaki are the great gods, 'offspring of An'.

From the sky Council of gods
People and places hereBabylonEsagila

Quick answers about Enuma Elish VI

Where is Enuma Elish VI found?

Enuma Elish VI (Sumer and Babylon). Translation quoted: L. W. King, The Seven Tablets of Creation (1902).

When was Enuma Elish VI written?

c. 1200–1100 BCE.

What do scholars say about Enuma Elish VI?

The Anunnaki are the great gods, 'offspring of An'.

Rabbit holes in this passage

BeingAnunnakiIn one Sumerian poem, the gods who rule the cosmos sit as seven underworld judges who can turn a goddess into a corpse with a single look. The name probably means "offspring of An," yet modern writers made it famous as a name for astronauts. What do the real texts say about these gods?GodMardukWhen enemies captured Marduk's statue and carried it abroad, Babylonian writers explained the loss as the god choosing to go on a journey. He began as the minor god of a minor city; in the epic Enuma Elish he splits the sea-monster Tiamat in two and earns fifty names. How does a small-town god become king?

Sources

  1. L. W. King, The Seven Tablets of Creation (1902)Primary text
  2. Inana's Descent to the Nether World, ETCSL t.1.4.1, University of OxfordPrimary text
  3. Enuma Elish, Tablet IV, trans. L. W. King, The Seven Tablets of Creation (1902)Primary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

Updated