Posted: January 24th, 2022

Why Babylonians Saw Humans as Slaves of The Gods

Why Babylonians Saw Humans as Slaves of The Gods
Why Did the Babylonians Consider Humans to Be Slaves of the Gods?
In accordance with the definition provided by the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, a myth is an ancient storey or collection of stories, particularly one that explains in a literary way the early history of a group of people or natural events and facts. Mythology does not have an author and is considered to be a collective effort.

be considered the collective memory of a group of individuals The oral transmission of myths was entrusted to priests and poets who passed them down through the generations before they were recorded in writing. This essay will be about myths from Mesopotamia, which was a country that existed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq at the time of the creation of the world. Mesopotamia was a prosperous country that prospered through agriculture, pastoralism, and extensive trade with the rest of the world. The purpose of this essay will be to demonstrate that the Babylonians considered humans to be workers and slaves of the gods, who were created to serve them and perform their will.
Using an excerpt from the Epic of Creation as a guide:

He incited Tiamat and gathered an army, so it was Quingu who initiated the conflict!”
In front of Ea, they tied him up and cut off his blood. They then imposed the penalty on him and drew blood from him.
Using his blood, he created mankind, imposed the toil of the gods (on man), and then released the gods from their toil.”
(From the Epic of Creation IV.)

In this passage, primaeval man is created by the god Ea from the blood of the warrior Quingu, who had been chosen by Tiamat, the primaeval goddess who is the mother of the first generation of gods in this epic, to lead her battle against the gods of the sky. Quingu is the embodiment of Tiamat’s vengeance after she failed to avenge the death of her husband Apsu. Quingu is also a representation of humanity in the sense that man is a creation of Quingu. The “mother” of humanity can be thought of as akin to Tiamat, who is the mother of the first generation of gods in this myth’s telling.

In light of the fact that humanity emerged from the death and blood of Quingu, it is only natural that primaeval man would share some characteristics with him. Quingu, the warrior, is a natural leader; you could say it was bred into him. The same bloodline was passed down to man through the ages. The fact that the Babylonians considered men to be leaders is demonstrated in this way. The same time, Quingu was singled out for criticism because he was the one who instigate the conflict. Additionally, it demonstrates the darker side of humanity, in which people can cause conflicts, lose their cool, and be difficult to deal with, as has been demonstrated time and time again throughout history’s wars and conflicts in the social world over the course of thousands of years. As Quingu demonstrated in the Epic of Creation, humans are capable of losing their cool and standing up for what they believe in.

Yet another reason for the creation of mankind was to bear the burden of the gods, allowing them to fully realise their potential as gods by living a life of leisure and having no real responsibilities. In a sense, man is being punished for Quingu’s war because, through him, they are being created to serve as gods’ slaves and carry out their responsibilities on the planet. That humans were considered slaves of the gods and that they were put on this earth for only one purpose, namely, to serve them, is demonstrated by this passage.

I believe that the Epic of Gilgamesh demonstrates how the Babylonians perceived mankind in a manner that is comparable to, if not superior to, that revealed in the Epic of Creation. While he is not completely human, Gilgamesh serves as an excellent example of the average man, not in the sense that he is a hero, because there are very few true heroes in today’s world, but rather in the sense that he is flawed in the same way that everyone else is. He is lustful, and he is constantly on the lookout for a young girl to court. He is also self-assured, which can be a flaw if it is manifested to an excessive degree. When Gilgamesh discovers his companion and brother Endiku, who was created by the mother goddess Aruru from a piece of clay, he becomes easily influenced, just as we all are at times. Endiku was intended to be a rival for Gilgamesh, someone with whom he could compete for female attention and someone who would eventually become a rival for him. Endiku, on the other hand, became a brother, soul mate, and best friend to Gilgamesh, demonstrating the unpredictable nature of human nature. As soon as the wild Endiku has had sexual relations with a woman, the harlot Shamhat, he has been transformed into a human being, and the wild no longer accepts him. Soon after a quarrel between Endiku and Gilgamesh, each of them expresses his or her feelings, demonstrating that they are but mortals, and forming a bond that can never be severed. This scene from the Epic of Gilgamesh demonstrates that all humans have weak moments and are affected by their emotions in some way. The most important lesson we can take away from this duo, I believe, is that people can sometimes bring out the worst in one another’s personalities. Endiku is able to easily persuade Gilgamesh to perform feats that he would never normally do, such as hunting the Humbaba, the forest’s keeper, which he would never do otherwise. This act is intended to demonstrate their strength and power, in the hopes that others will remember and respect them, which is a common characteristic of humans. We would all like to be remembered long after we have passed away, to be considered legends, and to have accomplished something no one else has.

Despite the fact that Gilgamesh is not entirely mortal, he possesses all of the characteristics that distinguish humans. We are promiscuous, we cry, we are proud, and we are adamant in our beliefs. We plot against one another and strive to achieve greatness as a result of our plotting. Moreover, we are physically and emotionally scarred, just as Gilgamesh was after the death of his beloved Endiku. However, the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Epic of Creation both depict how the early Babylonians viewed mankind, albeit in slightly different ways. The Epic of Gilgamesh depicts the gentler side of humans, whereas the Epic of Creation depicts the more primitive and primal side of man.

Bibliography:
Kim, Eun Kyu Micah. “Daoist, Buddhist, and Christian Readings on.” The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Korea (2022): 123.
Myths from Mesopotamia, edited and translated by Stephanie Dalley. Oxford University Press, New York, 2000. Revised edition.

Mythology, edited by C. S. Littleton. Duncan Baird published the book in 2002.
Hezser, C. (2022). What Was Jewish about Jewish Slavery in Late Antiquity?. Slavery in the Late Antique World, 150–700 CE, 129.

Diogo, R., 2022. Death and Cosmic Purpose of Life. In Meaning of Life, Human Nature, and Delusions (pp. 27-95). Springer, Cham.

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