Topic Research: Babylonia

For this step in my research, I decided to read a few stories from the ancient Babylonian religious tradition. As a note, the names in the different resources do not always have the same spelling, since they are transcribed from cuneiform.

Marduk vs. Tiamat: The first story tells of a battle between Marduk and Tiamat. Tiamat , who appears as water, a woman, or a dragon, is the personification of the sea, and she rose up in battle against the gods. They sent Marduk, who defeated her with his Evil Wind and an arrow, then formed the earth, particularly Mesopotamia, from her body. This story forms the basis of Babylonian cosmogony.


The Battle. Web Source: Mesopotamian Gods.

Ludlul bel nemeqi (aka The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer or I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom):
The second story is a poem that tells the story of Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan, a noblemen who fell from grace in the eyes of the king and lost all of his property, friends, and health thanks to some conniving courtiers. On his deathbed, Marduk sends a priest to save him.

Inanna's Descent into the Netherworld - Inanna, a goddess who goes to visit her sister Ereshkigal in the netherworld. Her sister forces her to strip off her jewelry and fine clothes and keeps her prisoner as a corpse. Her servant, Ninshubur, sends two demons, called gallas, to rescue her. However, a substitute is necessary. Inanna convinces the demons not to take her servant, sons, or beautician, who are all in mourning for her, but her husband is not in mourning, so she becomes angry and gives him to the gallas as her substitute.


Inanna and Dumuzi. Web Source: Ancient History Encyclopedia.

Another interesting character, who I have not found a story about but who might be useful in framing the project, is Nabu, Marduk's scribe and sometimes son. He is the god of scribes and writing, and writes the fate of the land each year after Marduk judges it.