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Tiamat... Dagon? |
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Faustopheles |
Dec 21 2006, 03:38 AM
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Greetings,
Yeah, it appears that Enlil was originally the slayer of Tiamat (called Kur in the earlier versions) and was replaced by Marduk later (8th C. BCE) in the Enuma Elish. This evidence comes from incomplete cuneiform tablets uncovered at Nippur that are several centuries older than the tablets of the Enuma Elish. Ashnook, you speak the truth, as with all other cultures names of deities were often interchangeable to fit political agendas. It should be noted that Enlil was the major deity of Nippur, thus his role as principle deity is to be expected.
Interestingly, in the Enuma Elish you can still find traces of the earlier myth.
As the fierce winds charged her belly, Her body was distended and her mouth was wide open. He released the arrow, it tore her belly, It cut through her insides, splitting the heart. Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life. He cast down her carcass to stand upon it...
Here is a slightly different version of the above passage:
And the evil wind that was behind him he let loose in her face. As Tiamat opened her mouth to its full extent, He drove in the evil wind, while as yet she had not shut her lips. The terrible winds filled her belly, And her courage was taken from her, and her mouth she opened wide. He seized the spear and burst her belly, He severed her inward parts, he pierced her heart. He overcame her and cut off her life;
In both these passages Marduk kills Tiamat with the help of the winds. Among Enlil's epiphets is "Lord of the Wind”. So while Enlil was replaced by Marduk, his role is still present (albeit in a more symbolic sense) in the slaying of Tiamat.
Additional Note:
In some versions it is Enki who slays Kur in revenge for Kur swallowing Ereshkigal. Clearly the archetypal "slaying of the dragon" was a common theme in Mesopotamian mythology centuries before the Enuma Elish.
This post has been edited by Faustopheles: Dec 21 2006, 04:06 AM
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Ashnook |
Dec 21 2006, 04:24 AM
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simoniconist
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AncientOne |
Dec 21 2006, 06:02 AM
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The most ancient Sumerian myths say that man was created from clay,not from the blood of Kingu.
In Sumerian myth, Enki lay asleep in the depths of the primeval ocean, unable to hear the lament of the gods as they complained about the difficulty of cultivating wheat and making bread. Eventually the primeval sea, Nammu brought the gods' tears to Enki. Enki, as the god of wisdom, was expected to devise a solution, so he solicited Nammu and the birth-goddess Ninmah to use clay to form the first men, who would toil and farm so that the gods could relax.
This post has been edited by Enkidu: Dec 21 2006, 06:07 AM
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distillate |
Dec 21 2006, 04:29 PM
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My bag of tricks will always make you happy :)
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Tiamat is described as a monster, and is considered the embodiment of chaos. Marduk, on the other hand, is destined to become the creator of the world, of order, and is charged with the task of vanquishing Tiamat. After driving the Evil Wind” into her body, he released the arrow, it tore her belly, cut through her insides, splitting the heart. Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life /and/ cast down her carcass to stand upon it. Then the lord paused to view her dead body, that he might divide the monster and do artful works. He split her like a shellfish into two parts.Marduk then proceeded to create the world from pieces of her body.
I always seen marduk as the archetype in our collective unconsious that creates order from chaos.
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"We have wandered into a state of prolonged neurosis because of the absence of a direct pipeline to the unconscious and we have then fallen victim to priestcraft of every conceivable sort. "
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DarK |
Dec 21 2006, 04:40 PM
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QUOTE(distillate @ Dec 21 2006, 02:29 PM) Tiamat is described as a monster, and is considered the embodiment of chaos. Marduk, on the other hand, is destined to become the creator of the world, of order, and is charged with the task of vanquishing Tiamat. After driving the Evil Wind” into her body, he released the arrow, it tore her belly, cut through her insides, splitting the heart. Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life /and/ cast down her carcass to stand upon it. Then the lord paused to view her dead body, that he might divide the monster and do artful works. He split her like a shellfish into two parts.Marduk then proceeded to create the world from pieces of her body.
I always seen marduk as the archetype in our collective unconsious that creates order from chaos. Evil has always been associated with chaos, whilst good has been associated with order. Those "gods" who were associated with Chaos were usually not looked upon as "the Gods" but as other kinds of monsters. A good example of this is how Loki, Hel, and the other chaos "giants" of Ancient Norse Mythology are looked upon, as opposed to the Gods of Thor (Marduk) who slayed Loki, and Odin (Enlil) who is the father of all Gods. I may have misinterpreted some of the names, but we are at accord with the meaning of chaos and order. This post has been edited by DeathStalker: Dec 21 2006, 05:41 PM
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DarK |
Dec 21 2006, 04:59 PM
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QUOTE(distillate @ Dec 21 2006, 02:47 PM) When talkiing about the ancient gods and the elders simon says on pg 163 (of gates) I was talking about ancient mythology in general, from Norse, to Greek, to Mesopatamian (Sumerian). The "monsters" were ascribed as such because they were against the gods (who were associated with order). I'm taking most of the information from Norse Mythology, and some things may be discrepant with the Necronomicon, but the the "Gods" and the "Good" are always those who are trying to keep intact the order of which exists. whilst the monsters, associated with the "giants", were those who were inducing choas and dis-order. Thor is an exception to the term "giant" as he was known moreso as a God and a defeater of the "evil Giant" Loki. This post has been edited by DeathStalker: Dec 21 2006, 05:02 PM
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