synonymBabylonian mythology (Babylonian mythology) generally refers to the ancient Babylonian mythology
The myth of ancient Babylon refers toBabylon, CubaMyth of the times, including the world's first long narrative poem is the Epic of Gilgamesh,Mythological figureThere are Ishutan, the goddess Ishkantar, etc.There are alsobig floodThe emergence of legends.
BabylonCultural multi inheritanceSumer - Akkadian culture, especially mythology (also inheritanceSumerian Mythology ）。becauseTwo river basinNational unity,religious beliefAnd gradually become consistent.stayAkkad Kingdom When, the god Anqi was renamedAnu , Dumz was renamed Tamz, and E'a shared it with Anqi.Kingdom of BabylonReligion is represented byPolytheismAnd monotheistic worship.The god of heaven, Anu, the god of earth, E'a, and the god of atmosphere, Enlil, are still the main gods. In addition, the moon god XinHeliosShamash , the god of agriculture Tamz andIshtar(i.e. Indona), the other gods are called Anunnaki.However, because the Kingdom of Babylon unified the two river basins,BabylonAs the capital of the kingdom, in order to express the unity of the kingdom, there appeared many songs to express the Babylonian patron god Malduk and reflect the achievements of the emperor, whose main representative works are《Enouma Elish 》And Ode to Gilgamesh.
Famous epic《Enouma Elish 》(Also known as "Singing the Creation of the World") mainly gathers the creation thoughts of Sumerian people, focusing on the praise of the son of the earth god AaMain GodThe deeds of Marduk.This poem is about a thousand lines,be published in book formIn about the 15th and 14th century BC, scholars later learned fromironing boardIt is also called "seven pieces of creation mud board" because it is based on Chinese textual researchCreation Myth One of the themes of.
Myth Story
Enouma Elish
It is said that at the beginning of ancient times, the world was in chaos. There was no sky, no land, only a vast ocean.There is a stream of salt water in the sea called Tiamath, and there is another streamSweet water, called Apsu, they represent yin and yang respectively, and they constantly meet in the ocean, giving birth to several gods. When they arrive at Ansar and Kisar, they give birth to godsAnu And the earth god Aa, so the universe appeared the first few generations of gods.As the number of gods gradually increased, the gods had disputes. Tiamat and Apsu increasingly felt that their power was shrinking, so they decided to punish the gods.However, Apsu was not satisfied with Tiamat's plan and decided to kill all the gods.When the gods learned this secret news, they killed Apsu under the leadership of God E'a, and God E'a became the head of the gods.Soon, the god of E'a gave birth to his son Marduk. He was born with distinctive features, thick eyebrows, big eyes and strong body. The god of E'a gave him all wisdom and strength.Later, in order to avenge his father, Apsu's son began to challenge the gods of heaven and earth, and Tiamate also went to help.The god of heaven lost his first battle with him and decided to let Marduk show his prestige.Malduk readily agreed and became the ruler of the gods. He did not disappoint the expectations of the people. He fought bravely and annihilated the invaders at one stroke. He cut off Tiamate's waist, built a sky with her upper body, and created the earth with her lower body.And then he killedTiamatAs an assistant god, he created human beings with his blood and stipulated that man's duty is to serve the gods.suchMardukFinally establishedKingdom of BabylonHe became the Lord of the Kingdom of Heaven,Jupiter。
The epic was originally written byBritisherFrom 1848 to 1876NinevehThe ruins of Ashur Banipa Library (located atIraqMosul ）Excavated in.In 1902-1904, the German archaeological teamAssyrian EmpireThe Assyrian version of the epic has been excavated in Ashur, the capital city ofAshurThis change is most obvious in the first, sixth and seventh mud boards.After that,Harvard UniversityAnd the Chicago Museum in 1924-1925KishThe first and sixth mud slabs of the complete new Assyrian version were excavated from the site.From 1928 to 1929, the German archaeological teamUrukThe site has been excavatedNeo-Assyrian Period The seventh mud board of the version.Through the above archaeological discoveries and the purchase of fragments from the antiques market, this epic was largely restored, and only the fifth clay board was seriously damaged.
Atrahassis was first discovered in SulubakRuinsOfSumerian King List This is one of the three mud tablets of flood myth found in Babylon.The myth has several versions, and the oldest known version can be traced back toBabylon, CubakingAmisadukaDuring the reign (1646-1626 BC), this version spread for nearly 1000 years.Also found in Ashur Banipa Library are some fragmentaryAssyria Human version.Because the myth is carved on the broken clay board, the translation work is extremely difficult.In 1876British MuseumGeorge Smith, the assistant of the Department of Oriental Archaeology, took advantage of the advantages of being close to the water and his rich knowledge to publish the book Genesis of the Chaldeans, which contains manyBabylonian literatureAmong them, the work entitled "The Story of Atarpi" is the famous Babylonian flood myth - Atrahassis.Although Smith only restored the three broken mud boards, and even studied the front side of the mud board as the reverse side, his work still took a pioneering first step in the study of the myth.In 1876, after Smith's death, the three mud tablets were separated again. Until 1899, two of them were lumped together, Latinized, translated and published.In 1899, French scholar Heinrich Zimmern, with his ability to understand the Babylonian and Sumerian literature, Latinized and translated two of the three mud tablets arranged by Smith, and corrected the name of the hero in the myth from "Atar pi" translated by Smith to "", which laid a milestone foundation for the study of the Babylonian flood myth.In 1956,DenmarkThe scholar Eugene Lesser finally proved the order of the myth content, and connected it into a detailed and vivid story. The story began to tell the creation of human beings.Later, a number of small mud slab fragments were found in the ancient Babylon period and the late Assyrian period. Therefore, Lambert and Millard collected all the materials and published Atra Hasis: The Babylonian Flood Myth in 1969. The book was republished in 1999. The Sumerian flood myth of Migler was also included in the book, which can better compare the flood myths of two different periods,At the same time, it provides inspiration for the restoration of the flood myth in the Sumerian period.[1]
The Connotation of Myth
This myth isBabylonian literatureModerateRepresentativenessThe works ofBabyloniansFor GenesisHuman originConcern about problems and worship of nature also reflect the political unity of countries in the two river basinsPolytheismtowardsMonotheismThe transformation of the Babylonian society fromMatriarchytowardsPatriarchyTransition of, andPrimitive societytowardsSlaveryThe historical process of transformation.In the poem, Tiamate represents the feminine world. She is dissatisfied with the power of the gods and wants to punish them. On behalf of the masculine world, the god E'a, fearing the power of his ancestors, kills first and reports later to seize the throne.Malduk, the son of E'a, inherited his father's career and became the leader of the masculine world. He was brave, tenacious and indomitable. After a desperate struggle, he finally defeated the god mother Tiamate, which reflected the masculine strength and greatness.This story and the ancientMYTHOSMedusaGaiaandLord of GodsZeusThe story of the Babylonian Empire is somewhat similar. It shows the process of history moving forward, and reflects that the Babylonian EmpireTwo river basinThe reality of continuous strengthening and unification, as well as centralizedPolitical systemAnd the religious concept of kingship.
