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The Role Of Enki In The Mesopotamian Flood Myth

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Enki is the most prominent God mentioned in Mesopotamian mythological text (Galter, Hannes. 2015). He appears in many Mesopotamian texts that date to as early as 3000 BCE (Espak 2006, pp. 49–52). Some myths Enki is featured in include the Epic Creation, Atrahasis, the Birth of Man and more. Interestingly, these myths appear to depict Enki as having both good and bad characteristics. Myths such as The Birth Of Man and Atrahasis frame him in a positive light, whereas myths such as Enki and Ninhursag and Adapa frame him in a contrasting negative light. However interpretations of Enki’s goodness are subjective due to gaps in mythological text and imperfect translation. This has led to the question of whether Enki is ultimately a good or bad God. This essay will interpret ancient Mesopotamian myths in a way that proves that Enki is a hero to mankind. …show more content…

Enki displays these attributes in the Mesopotamian flood myth Atrahasis and the Birth of Mankind. In the myth Atrahasis, Enki helped save mankind when the Anunnaki planned to whip out humans on multiple occasions. Each time the Anunnaki planned to kill off mankind Enki told the human Atrahasis of the Gods plans and how to avoid them (Jacobsen, 1987). Enki is a hero in this story because he preformed the admirable act of saving an innocent species of mankind from extinction. Moreover, Enki’s actions to save mankind were behind the back of all the other Gods. This rebellious act by Enki shows a selflessness that can be categorized under the qualities of a

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