A SUMERIAN ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION FROM THE CITY OF ERIDU

The glorious temple, the temple of the gods, in the holy place (of Eridu) had not yet been made;

no reed had been brought forth, no tree had been created;

no brick had been made, no roof had been formed;

no house had been built, no city had been constructed;

no city had been made, no dwelling-place prepared.

Nippur had not been built, E-kur (the temple of Nippur) had not been constructed.

Erech had not been built, E-Ana (the temple of Erech) had not been constructed.

The deep had not been created, Eridu had not been constructed.

The glorious temple, the temple of the gods, its seat had not been made.

All lands were sea.

When within the sea there arose a movement,

on that day Eridu was built, E-Sagila was constructed,

E-Sagila where the god Lugal-du-azaga dwells within the deep.

Babylon was built, E-Sagila was completed.

The gods and the spirits of the earth were created all together.

The holy city (Eridu), the seat of the joy of their hearts, they proclaimed supreme.

Merodach bound together a reed-bed on the waters;

dust he made, and he poured it out on the reed-bed.

That the gods might dwell in a seat of the joy of their hearts,

he formed mankind.

The goddess Aruru created the seed of mankind along with him.

He made the beasts of the field and the living creatures of the desert

He made the Tigris and Euphrates and set them in their place;

he declared their names to be good.

The ussu-plant, the dittu-plant of the marshland, the reed and the forest he created.

He created the verdure of the plain,

the lands, the marshes, and the greensward also,

oxen, and calves, the wild ox and its young, the sheep and the lamb,

meadows and forests also.

The he-goat and the gazelle brought forth (?) to him.

Then Merodach heaped up an embankment at the edge of the sea;

... as it had not before been made,

... he caused it to exist.

[Bricks] he made in their place,

... roofs he constructed;

[houses he built], cities he constructed;

[cities he made], dwelling-places he prepared;

[Nippur he built], E-kur he constructed;

[Erech he built], E-Ana he constructed.