The Cataclysm. The Great Deluge There are many ancient myths from many different cultures over the world concerning a great flood. However, this does not have to mean that every myth was talking about the same disaster. In the Mesopotamiam myths; The gods either created or foresaw the coming flood. The Lord Enlil saw this happening as an opportunity to undo their creation, which they thought was huge failure because of the corruption and lawlessnes of the people which started with the interference of the fallen angels and the birth of the giants. The god Enki (Ea), regarded as a co-creator and protector of mankind, didnt want to destroy his creation so, despite the agreement of the gods to let mankind perish, he told a pius man known as Ziusudra (Sumerian), Utna-pishtim (Old Babylonian), and Noah (both Babylonian and Hebrew Book of Genesis) about the coming flood and instructed him to build a giant wooden ark to save him and his family. Quoting from Wikipedia: Noahs Ark According to Sumerian mythology, Enki also assisted humanity to survive the Deluge designed to kill them. In the Legend of Atrahasis, Enlil, the king of the gods, sets out to eliminate humanity, the noise of whose mating is offensive to his ears. He successively sends drought, famine and plague to eliminate humanity, but Enki thwarts his half-brothers plans by teaching Atrahasis about irrigation, granaries and medicine. Humans again proliferate a fourth time. Enraged, Enlil convenes a Council of Deities and gets them to promise not to tell humankind that he plans their total annihilation. Enki does not tell Atrahasis, but instead tells the walls of Atrahasis (a.k.a. Utnapishtim, Ziusudra, Noah) reed hut of Enlils plan, thus covertly rescuing Atrahasis by either instructing him to build some kind of a boat for his family, or by bringing him into the heavens in a magic boat. After the seven day Deluge, the flood hero frees a swallow, a raven and a dove in an effort to find if the flood waters have receded. On the boat landing, a sacrifice is organised to the gods. Enlil is angry his will has been thwarted yet again, and Enki is named as the culprit. As the god of what we would call ecology, Enki explains that Enlil is unfair to punish the guiltless Atrahasis for the sins of his fellows, and secures a promise that the gods will not eliminate humankind if they practice birth control and live within the means of the natural world. The threat is made, however, that if humans do not honor their side of the coventant the gods will be free to wreak havoc once again. This is apparently the oldest of the surviving Middle Eastern Deluge myths.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 03:04:23 +0000
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