Foreword:
This article mainly describes Sumerian creation myth: What important developments did the Sumerians have? What is the origin of Sumerian? Most Sumerians believed in nature gods, and most of their gods came from the combination of nature worship and ancestor worship. Compared with Egyptian and Greek mythology, Sumerian mythology prefers to write stories about the moon god. This article lists the stories about Innanna, the daughter of the moon god Sin, and Dumuzi, the god of harvest. In addition to the stories of gods, Sumerian mythology also has a heroic legend about Gilgamesh. In Sumerian mythology, there is also a story about the legend of the flood.
People in the ancient Mesopotamia worshiped the god of nature very early.
Most of the early Sumerian creation myth of god were nature gods
The early Sumerians believed in polytheism. Because they could not explain many questions about the natural world, they entrusted these questions to the gods in the sky.
Anqi, the origin of the water god
In Sumer, people worshiped the gods of heaven, earth, water, and plants, especially when there was a great flood here. Sumerians were afraid that the flood would drown life and all creatures. Sumerians even believe that water created everything on earth. And life originated from water, so Anqi, the water god, is the god of creation. When the people in the Mesopotamia invented hydraulic irrigation and controlled the flood, they regarded the water god as the god of wisdom who taught human skills. Because water created all things, the water god gradually became the god of heaven and earth.
The moon god and the sun god
As people observed the sun, moon and stars, they found that the galaxies in the sky had a great impact on agricultural production and people’s lives, and played a decisive role in agricultural harvests, so they created stories about the moon god and the sun god.
The gods for Nature worship and ancestor worship
People can edit out more legends about gods for Nature worship and ancestor worship. At this time, Anqi, the god of water and heaven and earth, became the king of the gods, and he gave birth to Enlil, the god of air. Enlil gave birth to the moon god Sinjinan, who in turn gave birth to the sun god Otu and the harvest goddess Innanna. Later, Innanna combined with Dumuzi, the son of Anqi and the god of agriculture, and became a pair of important gods of agriculture.
Sumer did not yet have a complete mythology system
In Sumerian mythology, creation myths are the main content by later generations from some surviving epic poems and Assyrian clay tablets. It shows that Sumer did not yet have a complete mythology system. The main gods are water, heaven, earth, sun, moon and stars. Worship of them reflects the early human’s understanding of the universe and the origin of human beings, as well as their views on nature, agricultural production, human life and death, the prosperity of all things and the changing seasons.
In Sumer, many cities still have their own religious beliefs. For example, the people of Uruk worship Anu, the god of heaven, the people of Eridu worship Anqi, the god of heaven and earth, and the people of Nippur worship Enlil, the god of atmosphere.
Differences between Sumerian creation myth and Egyptian and Greek mythology
Different from Egyptian and Greek mythology, the Sumerians worshiped the moon god before the worship of the sun god. They did not regard the sun god as the highest god, nor did they regard the sun god as the god of agricultural protection. Therefore, there are few myths and legends about the sun god, but more stories about the moon god.
In addition, most of the Sumerian gods are natural gods with strong human nature, but less animal nature, or half-human and half-beast gods, which shows that the Sumerians have got rid of totem worship and transitioned to the stage of animism earlier. For example, the more vivid “love story about Innanna and Dumuzi” in Sumerian mythology, the hero legend about Gilgamesh, the story about the flood legend, and so on.
The love story between Innanna and Dumuzi in Sumerian creation myth
According to legend, Innanna is the daughter of the moon god Sin and the younger sister of the sun god Otu. She is the protector of Uruk and the savior of Uruk’s happiness and prosperity. Therefore, her name makes Uruk people feel honored.
Uruk used to be an ordinary city, and later Innanna became the patron saint of the city. In order to make Uruk an immortal ancient capital of civilization, she personally went to the residence of Anqi, the god of heaven and earth. She used her beauty and wisdom to steal Anqi’s sacred royal gift and brought it back to Uruk, making Uruk a famous civilized city ever since.
In Sumer, Inanna later became the queen of the sky, and she was the concentrated representation of the mother goddess, the god of love, the god of harvest, and the god of war. Dumuzi is the son of Anqi, the famous god of harvest, and later became the god of agriculture, god of animal husbandry, god of plants, and god of harvest. He fell in love with Innanna and wanted to marry her, but at first Innanna loved Enkimdu (an early god of agriculture), under the mediation of Anqi (also said that the sun god said the matchmaker), Innanna finally agreed to marry Dumuzi, and their combination made Mesopotamia a pair of important agricultural gods.
There is another important story about Inanna and Dumuzi: Yin Nana’s trip to hell
In the 1930s, people deciphered and sorted out this mythical narrative poem. People published it in 1940, it attracted the attention of the world. It not only made a major breakthrough in the study of later Babylonian literature, but also gave people a new understanding of the achievements of Mesopotamia culture. There are still different opinions about the reasons for Inanna’s trip to hell. But there are two main ones. One is that she went to save her lover Dumuzi, and the other is that she is fighting for power with her sister, the queen of the underground, Elishkigal.
Inanna arrives in the Underworld, where she comes into conflict with the gods of Hades. Inanna will pass through the Queen of the Underground set seven heavy gates. Every time Inanna passed through a gate, heavy gates will reduce her important ornaments. When she finished the seven gates, she was completely naked.
A few days later, Inanna’s announcer had a premonition of her master’s misfortune. And immediately notified the main gods Enlil and Anqi, so the main god Enlil rescued her from hell to the world.
Later, Babylonians adapted this story of Inanna to create a moving mythical story: “Ishtar (namely Inanna) Descends into the Underworld”.
In addition to the stories of gods, the Sumerians also left a heroic legend about Gilgamesh
According to legend, Gilgamesh was the fifth king of the first dynasty of Uruk, and he may be a real historical figure. The myths and stories related to him passed down from the Mesopotamia are related to his extraordinary achievements.
According to Sumerian creation myth, He was born in poverty. Although he was tall and strong, he was brave and tenacious, but after he became a king, he was fierce and cruel, and he did whatever he wanted, sending people’s opinions and exercising lustful power indiscriminately.
According to epic records: He never kept sons for fathers, nor daughters for mothers, and his cruelty never stopped day and night. (Quoted from the epic poem “Ode to Gilgamesh”）
Later, Gilgamesh’s character changed. He began to be jealous of evil and eliminate harm for the people. He became a well-known king in the Mesopotamia. Maybe he proclaimed himself a god, or the people regarded him as a god.
There are many stories about Gilgamesh and the gods in Sumer. According to Sumerian creation myth, he and Enkidu, the warrior of the goddess Aluru, became brothers. He once helped the harvest goddess Inanna to kill flower snakes and vulture demons, etc. In addition, it is an ode to Gilgamesh.
The flood legend left in Sumerian creation myth
A damaged clay tablet recorded the original poem. This fragment of poem may be the earliest record reflecting the legend of the great flood in the Mesopotamia. The story says that the gods Anu, Enlil, Anqi, and Nahrsak created humans, animals, and plants, and stipulated the life span of humans, and built five large cities.
Later, for unknown reasons, human beings offended the gods, and the gods decided to bring disasters to human beings and exterminate human beings. But Anqi, the god of heaven, sympathized with human beings. He thought it was difficult for the gods to create things, so he went to report to Jiyu Sudra, the ruler of the city of Shulupak who worshiped the gods, and taught him to build an ark to avoid disasters.
When the flood came, it submerged the city and engulfed all living beings, only Jiyu Sudra and his boat survived.
The flood stayed for seven days and seven nights.
When the flood passed, Jiyu Sudra opened the window of the cabin and saw that the weather was fine, and the sun was shining outside. He stepped out of the ark and released the animals, avoiding the extinction of all living beings, and he also became an immortal.
