Fertile Crescent myth series
Mesopotamian
Levantine
Arabian
Mesopotamia
Primordial beings
7 gods who decree
The great gods
Demigods & heroes
Spirits & monsters
Tales from Babylon
Enûma Eliš Atra-Hasis Marduk & Sarpanit Nabu, Nintu Agasaya, Bel Qingu

Marduk (Sumerian spelling in Akkadian: AMAR. Ancient Semitic religion spans the Polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian Akkadian Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris In the Levantine pantheon the Elohim are the sons of El the ancient of days (olam assembled on the divine holy place Mount Zephon ( Jebel This is a sub-article to Pre-Islamic Arabia Arabian mythology comprises the ancient Pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs Prior to the Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians Anu (also An; (from Sumerian *An = sky heaven was a sky-god The Anunna are the fifty great gods of Sumerian mythology. Some of them are associated with specific cities while others bear a strong resemblance to the functions of patron The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. In Sumerian mythology, the utukku were a type of Spirit or Demon that could be either benevolent or evil Babylonian mythology is a set of stories depicting the activities of Babylonian deities, Heroes and Mythological creatures While these stories The akk Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian Creation myth (named for its Incipit) The 18th century BCE Akkadian Atra-Hasis epic, named after its human hero In Babylonian mythology, Sarpanit (alternately Zarpanit, Zarpandit, Zerpanitum, Zerbanitu, or Zirbanit) is a Nabu is the Babylonian god of Wisdom and Writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort Sarpanitum, Mami is a Goddess in the Babylonian epic Atra-Hasis and in other creation legends Agasaya, "The Shrieker" was a Semitic war goddess who was merged into Ishtar in her identity as warrior of the sky Bel (beɪl from Akkadian bēlu) signifying "lord" or "master" is a Title rather than a genuine name applied to various gods Kingu, also spelled Qingu meaning unskilled laborer was a god in Babylonian mythology and — after the murder of his father — the consort of the goddess Tiamat Sumerian ( " native tongue " was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC UTU 𒀫𒌓 "solar calf"; perhaps from MERI. This article refers to the Sumerian Deity. For other uses see Utu (disambiguation. DUG; Biblical Hebrew מְרֹדַךְ Merodach; Greek Μαρδοχαῖος^[1], Mardochaios) was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon permanently became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi (18th century BC), started to slowly rise to the position of the head of the Babylonian pantheon, a position he fully acquired by the second half of the second millennium BC. Biblical Hebrew, also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Bible and various Israelite inscriptions Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding A tutelary spirit or patron deity serves as the guardian of or an entity to watch over and protect a particular site person culture or nation Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi The 18th century BC was the Century which lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC

Nibiru, to the Babylonians, was the celestial body or region sometimes associated with the god Marduk.

History

Marduk and his dragon, from a Babylonian cylinder seal

Marduk's original character is obscure but he was later on connected with water, vegetation, judgment, and magic. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital ^[2] He was also regarded as the son of Ea (Sumerian Enki) and Damkina and the heir of Anu, but whatever special traits Marduk may have had were overshadowed by the political development through which the Euphrates valley passed and which led to imbuing him with traits belonging to gods who at an earlier period were recognized as the heads of the pantheon. Enki ( Sumerian: dENKI(G 𒂗𒆠 was a Deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology Enki ( Sumerian: dENKI(G 𒂗𒆠 was a Deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology Damgalnuna was a mother goddess in Mesopotamian mythology She first appears as a consort of Enlil in Sumerian times and as Mesopotamian traditions progress becomes In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians Anu (also An; (from Sumerian *An = sky heaven was a sky-god There are particularly two gods—Ea and Enlil—whose powers and attributes pass over to Marduk. Enlil ( EN = Lord + LIL = Loft "Lord of the Open" or "Lord of the Wind" was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in ancient Sumerian In the case of Ea, the transfer proceeded pacifically and without effacing the older god. Marduk took over the identity of Asarluhi, the son of Ea and god of magic, so that Marduk was integrated in the pantheon of Eridu where both Ea and Asarluhi original came from. Eridu (URUNUNKI; Sumerian:eridug Akkadian: ?) from the Sumerian for 'mighty place' is modern Tell Abu Shahrain, Iraq Father Ea voluntarily recognized the superiority of the son and hands over to him the control of humanity. This association of Marduk and Ea, while indicating primarily the passing of the supremacy once enjoyed by Eridu to Babylon as a religious and political centre, may also reflect an early dependence of Babylon upon Eridu, not necessarily of a political character but, in view of the spread of culture in the Euphrates valley from the south to the north, the recognition of Eridu as the older centre on the part of the younger one.

While the relationship between Ea and Marduk is marked by harmony and an amicable abdication on the part of the father in favour of his son, Marduk's absorption of the power and prerogatives of Enlil of Nippur was at the expense of the latter's prestige. Nippur (URUENLIL; Sumerian: Nibru Akkadian: Nibbur) from the Sumerian for 'lord wind' (Enlil is modern ? in Afak Al Qadisyah After the days of Hammurabi, the cult of Marduk eclipsed that of Enlil; although Nippur and the cult of Enlil enjoyed a period of renaissance during the four centuries of Kassite control in Babylonia (c. Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi The Kassites were an Ancient Near Eastern tribe who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca 1570 BC–1157 BC), the definite and permanent triumph of Marduk over Enlil became felt within the Babylonian empire. The only serious rival to Marduk after ca. 1000 BC was Aššur in Assyria. Aššur (also Ashur, Assur; written A-šur, also Aš-šùr, in Neo-Assyrian often shortened to Aš) was the head of the Assyrian Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture In the south, Marduk reigned supreme. He is normally referred to as Bel "Lord", also bel rabim "great lord", bêl bêlim "lord of lords", ab-kal ilâni bêl terêti "leader of the gods", aklu bêl terieti "the wise, lord of oracles", muballit mîte "reviver of the dead", etc. Bel (beɪl from Akkadian bēlu) signifying "lord" or "master" is a Title rather than a genuine name applied to various gods

When Babylon became the capital of Mesopotamia, the patron deity of Babylon was elevated to the level of supreme god. In order to explain how Marduk seized power, Enûma Elish was written, which tells the story of Marduk's birth, heroic deeds and becoming the ruler of the gods. The akk Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian Creation myth (named for its Incipit) This can be viewed as a form of Mesopotamian apologetics. Also included in this document are the fifty names of Marduk.

In Enûma Elish, a civil war between the gods was growing to a climactic battle. The Anunnaki gods gathered together to find one god who could defeat the gods rising against them. The Anunnaki (also transcribed as Anunnaku, Ananaki) are a group of Sumerian and Akkadian deities related to and in some cases Marduk, a very young god, answered the call and was promised the position of head god.

When he killed his enemy, he "wrested from him the Tablets of Destiny, wrongfully his" and assumed his new position. In Mesopotamian Mythology, the Tablet of Destinies (not as frequently misquoted in general works the 'Tablets of Destiny' was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed Under his reign humans were created to bear the burdens of life so the gods could be at leisure.

Marduk was depicted as a human, often with his symbol the snake-dragon which he had taken over from the god Tishpak. Tishpak ( Tispak) is an Akkadian god the tutelary deity of the city of Esnumma ( Eshnunna) Another symbol that stood for Marduk was the spade.

People were named after Marduk. For example, some scholars speculate that the Biblical character of Mordechai (Book of Esther) used this Persian name to replace his original Hebrew name, Bilshan. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Mordecai or Mordechai ( - the son of Jair, of the Tribe of Benjamin, is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox Mordecai or Mordechai ( - the son of Jair, of the Tribe of Benjamin, is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the

Babylonian texts talk of the creation of Eridu by the god Marduk as the first city, "the holy city, the dwelling of their [the other gods] delight".

Nabu, god of wisdom, is a son of Marduk. Nabu is the Babylonian god of Wisdom and Writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort Sarpanitum,

Astrology

In late Babylonian astrology, Marduk was connected to the planet Jupiter. In Babylonia as well as in Assyria as a direct offshoot of Babylonian culture (or as we might also term it "Euphratean" culture Astrology takes its As the ruler of the late Babylonian pantheon, he was equated with the Greek god Zeus (Latin Jupiter). Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder.

See also

• Assyro-Babylonian religion
• Ashur (god)
• Bull of Heaven
• Chaldean mythology
• Etemenanki

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

External links

• The Mystica (article about Marduk)