Parallel Myths by J.F. Bierlein Page B

needs of the first humans. The people, however, forgot Con’s goodness to them and rebelled. So he punished them by stopping the rainfall. The miserable people were forced to work hard, drawing what little water they could find from stinking, drying riverbeds. Then a new god, Pachachamac, came and drove Con out, changing his people into monkeys. Pachachamac then took earth and made the ancestors of human beings.

THE BABYLONIAN CREATION MYTH
     
     
    NOTE : In the account of Creation in Genesis, God makes the world for humankind; in the Babylonian story, the gods make humankind to work for them.
    I n the beginning there was Apsu, the sky god, and Tiamat, the chaos goddess. From their union came all gods. These younger gods grew restless and chose Marduk as their champion. It is he who finished the work of creation by slaying Tiamat, his mother, and Kingu, her lover.
    Then joined issue Tiamat and Marduk, wisest of gods
  They strove in single combat, locked in battle.
The lord spread out his net to enfold her
  The Evil Wind, which followed behind, he let loose in her face.
When Tiamat opened her mouth to consume him,
  He drove in the Evil Wind that she close not her lips.
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 her heart.
Having thus subdued her, he extinguished her life.
  He cast down her carcass to stand upon it.
After he had slain Tiamat the leader,
  Her band was shattered, her troupe broken up;
And the gods, her helpers who marched at her side,
  Trembling with terror turned their backs about,
In order to save their lives.
  Tightly encircled, they could not escape;
He made them captives and he smashed their weapons.
  Thrown into the net, they found themselves ensnared;
Placed in cells, they were filled with wailing;
  Bearing his wrath, they were held imprisoned….
    The lord trod on the legs of Tiamat,
  With his unsparing mace he crushed her skull.
When the arteries of her blood he had severed,
  The north wind bore it to places undisclosed.
They brought him gifts of homage, they to him.
  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:
Half of her he set up and ceiled as sky,
  Pulled down the bar and posted guards,
He bade them to allow not her waters to escape.
    … He constructed stations for the great gods,
  Fixing their astral likenesses as constellations.
He determined the year by designating the zones:
  He set up three constellations for each of the twelve months.
    … When Marduk hears the words of the gods,
  His heart prompts him to do artful works.
Opening his mouth, he addresses Ea, god of waters,
  “Blood I will mass and cause bones to be.
I will establish a savage, ‘man’ shall be his name;
  Truly savage man I will create.
He shall be charged with the service of the gods
  That they might be at ease!”
    … It was Kingu who contrived the uprising,
  And made Tiamat rebel, and joined battle.
They bound him [Kingu], holding him before Ea.
They imposed on him his guilt and severed his blood vessels.
    Out of his blood they fashioned mankind.
  He [Ea] imposed the service and let free the gods.
After Ea, the wise had created mankind,
  Had imposed upon it the service of the gods.
     

THE BIBLICAL CREATION STORIES
     
    NOTE : The first Creation story is referred to as the “Elohist” version of the Creation, as God is referred to as Elohim (a plural form) in the original Hebrew. The second story is referred to as the “Yahwist” version, as God is referred to by the sacred name YHVH, transliterated as “Yahweh.” It is believed by some Bible scholars that the two versions were integrated into the Torah at the time of its compilation. The authorship of Genesis, and the whole Torah, is traditionally attributed to