05 What do we know about Sumerian Cosmology?
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This article is from the Sumerian Mythology FAQ, by Christopher Siren cbsiren@cisunix.unh.edu with numerous contributions by others.
05 What do we know about Sumerian Cosmology?
From verses scattered throughout hymns and myths, one can compile a
picture of the universe's (anki) creation according to the Sumerians. The
primeval sea (abzu) existed before anything else and within that, the
heaven (an) and the earth (ki) were formed. The boundary between heaven
and earth was a solid (perhaps tin) vault, and the earth was a flat
disk. Within the vault lay the gas-like 'lil', or atmosphere, the
brighter portions therein formed the stars, planets, sun, and
moon. (Kramer, The Sumerians 1963: pp. 112-113) Each of the four major
Sumerian deities is associated with one of these regions. An, god of
heaven, may have been the main god of the pantheon prior to 2500 BC.,
although his importance gradually waned. (Kramer 1963 p. 118) Ki is
likely to be the original name of the earth goddess, whose name more
often appears as Ninhursag (queen of the mountains), Ninmah (the exalted
lady), or Nintu (the lady who gave birth). It seems likely that these two
were the progenitors of most of the gods.
According to "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld", in the first days
all needed things were created. Heaven and earth were separated. An took
Heaven, Enlil took the earth, Ereshkigal was carried off to the
netherworld as a prize, and Enki sailed off after her.
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