"The Enuma Elish: The Epic of Creation" (link to reading)
Author: Unknown
Date: c. 1900–1600 BCE
Location: Mesopotamia
Course Unit: Origins
Context:
"The Enuma Elish (also known as The Seven Tablets of Creation) is the Mesopotamian creation myth whose title is derived from the opening lines of the piece, 'When on High.' The myth tells the story of the great god Marduk's victory over the forces of chaos and his establishment of order at the creation of the world.
All of the tablets containing the myth, found at Ashur, Kish, Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh, Sultantepe, and other excavated sites, date to c. 1200 BCE but their colophons indicate that these are all copies of a much older version of the myth dating from long before the fall of Sumer in c. 1750 BCE." (Mark)
Mark, Joshua J. "Enuma Elish - The Babylonian Epic of Creation - Full Text." World History Encyclopedia, 4 May 2018, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/225/enuma-elish---the-babylonian-epic-of-creation---fu/.
Topics/Questions to Consider While Reading:
How is the creation of the world described?
How do human beings fit into the creation of the world?
How many gods are there?
What is the relationship between the gods and human beings?
What is the relationship between nature and human beings?