Sixth Tablet

When Marduk heard the gods speak, something stirred in him, and his mind turned to making, as a skilled craftsman might. He spoke to Ea and shared what he had been planning. He said he would set blood firm, shape bone, and bring forth humankind, and that “Man” would be their name. With humanity made, the service owed to the gods would be established, and the gods themselves would be set free. Marduk also declared he would order the ways of the gods anew, making them twofold, and he would divide them, for though they were gathered in one place, they would be set apart.

Ea answered him, offering counsel meant to settle the gods. Let one god be given up, Ea said, and let him be destroyed, so that human beings might be fashioned. Let the great gods be called together, and let the chosen one be handed over, so the rest might endure.

So Marduk assembled the great gods and approached them with calm authority. He spoke to them directly, saying that what he had told them before was true, and that he spoke the truth again now. Someone, he said, had opposed him. Who was it that created the strife? Who made Tiamat rise in revolt and come to battle? Let the one who caused the strife be given up, and his guilt would be cut away.

The great gods answered, naming Kingu as the one who had made the trouble, the one who drove Tiamat to rebellion and war. They seized him, bound him, and brought him before Ea. They punished him and let his blood. From that blood Ea fashioned mankind to take up the work of the gods, and by placing that burden on human shoulders, he set the gods free. And once humanity had been shaped, service was laid upon them.

Then Marduk ordered the divine ranks. He divided the gods, and set the Anunnaki on high. He established decrees, appointed protections, and made the ordering of heaven and earth firm. The gods spoke to Marduk and called on him to let them build a shrine with a renowned name, a place of festival and rest. Marduk agreed, and his face shone with resolve. He declared that he would build Babylon, and in it he would raise a splendid sanctuary.

The Anunnaki set to work, shaping bricks and building with purpose. In time the sanctuary rose, and the height of E-sagila reached up towards the heavenly waters. They made a towering temple, and assigned shrines to the great gods. When the work was finished, they gathered, and Marduk seated the elder gods. He declared Babylon to be their dwelling place, a home where the great gods would abide.

Afterwards, praise rose like a hymn. The gods proclaimed what Marduk had done and declared that they would not forget him. They spoke of brightening the holy places and making shrines. They affirmed that the decision concerning humankind belonged to the gods, and they honoured Marduk as most holy. They praised the brightness of his presence and the strength of his work. They recalled that Anu had proclaimed his name from birth, and they credited him with binding fierce winds and delivering the elder gods in their hour of trouble. The gods declared his sonship and said that in his light they would walk always.

They spoke of humanity as the work of his hands, and they repeated that he had placed on humankind the service of the gods, while setting the gods themselves free. They called him far-seeing, the one who gladdened the hearts of the Anunnaki, the one his land could trust. They urged that people should praise him, and they exalted his kingship over all the gods of heaven and earth. They said they would look to him in the night, when the dwelling of the gods lay in darkness, and they credited him with assigning stations and homes to the divine ranks in times of trouble. They declared that the gods were magnified by his name, and that he would guide their sanctuaries. They honoured one of his great names and called him the light of the gods, the mighty one, the saviour who won safety by combat and made life possible.

Then, in the place of council, Marduk appointed an assembly for them. The gods answered as one, calling him their hero and avenger, and saying they would exalt his name in their speech. They sat together and proclaimed his rank, and each of them spoke his name within the sanctuary.