Thank you for visiting. This article is the third installment in a series explaining the original texts of Mesopotamian mythology.
This time, we look in detail at the story of “Atrahasis,” which depicts how humankind was made and why the great flood occurred.
For an overview map of Mesopotamian mythology’s original texts as a whole, please see this summary article.
What Is Atrahasis — the Story of Human Creation and the Great Flood
“Atrahasis” is an epic named after its hero (the name means “exceedingly wise”), depicting in one continuous flow from the creation of humankind to the great flood. Compiled on three clay tablets in the Old Babylonian period, it is the more detailed prototype of the “great flood” story that appeared in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Article 2).
Interesting is that the Mesopotamian “human who survived the great flood” appears under different names depending on the version of the tradition. The same single figure is thought to change his name by document.
| Original text | The figure who survived the flood |
|---|---|
| The Sumerian flood myth | Ziusudra |
| Atrahasis | Atrahasis |
| Epic of Gilgamesh | Utnapishtim |
In other words, “Utnapishtim,” who told Gilgamesh the flood in Article 2, and this “Atrahasis” are originally the same “flood hero.” And all of these are thought to have become the prototype of the later biblical “Noah.”
Why Was Humankind Made?
At the story’s beginning, humans did not yet exist, and the lower gods were made to bear all the heavy labor of digging canals and tilling the earth.
Unable to bear the harsh labor, the lower gods finally burned their tools and raised a strike (rebellion). At the troubled gods’ council, the wisdom god “Enki (Ea)” proposed a solution.
It was to “make a being to bear the labor in the gods’ place = humans.” Humans were made by mixing into clay the blood and flesh of a god killed to take responsibility for the rebellion. Because the blood of a god was mixed in, humans were said to be endowed with intelligence. Thus humans were born and came to bear the earthly labor in the gods’ place.
The Great Flood — the Prototype of Noah’s Ark
But humans eventually multiplied, and their “noise (din)” reached even heaven. The chief god “Enlil,” his sleep disturbed, grew angry that humans had grown too numerous and tried to reduce them. What Atrahasis depicts are those disasters in three stages.
Enlil first sent plague, then drought, and further famine upon the earth, each after a set span of years. But each time, the sage Atrahasis consulted the wisdom god Enki and, by intensively worshipping only the god in charge of that disaster to win his favor, the people were saved. No matter how often he tried to destroy them, humankind survived by Enki’s wisdom — and the exasperated Enlil finally resorts to the ultimate measure.
That was the eradication of humankind by a great flood. To make sure Enki could not help humans this time, Enlil makes all the other gods firmly swear “not to leak the flood to humans.”
But the wisdom god Enki, sympathetic to humans, secretly warned the devout sage “Atrahasis” through a wall (in a form that did not break his oath): “Tear down your house, build a boat. Abandon your possessions, save your life.”
Following that teaching, Atrahasis built a giant boat and put his family and all the animals aboard. Soon a terrible great flood lasting seven days and seven nights struck the earth, and humankind perished. But only Atrahasis’s boat survived.
After the waters receded, when Atrahasis came out of the boat and offered sacrifices to the gods, the gods, who had regretted raising the flood, gathered, drawn by the scent. In the end the gods promised never again to annihilate humankind, and instead, it is said, established mechanisms to curb the population (such as some women not bearing children).
“A great flood by the gods’ wrath,” “one righteous man, having been warned, surviving in a boat,” “putting animals aboard,” “offering sacrifices after the flood” — these elements astonishingly resemble the later “Noah’s Ark of the Bible,” telling of the great influence Mesopotamian mythology had on later ages.
World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon →
An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon →
Other Stories of “Humans and the Gods”
Mesopotamia hands down, besides Atrahasis, other stories depicting the relationship of humans and the gods. “Adapa” is the story of a sage who, though urged by a god to take immortality, misunderstood the advice and lost eternal life. “Etana” is the story of a king who, seeking an heir, rode the back of an eagle and ascended to heaven. Both are variations on the great theme of Mesopotamian literature — immortality and the limits of humankind (connecting also to Gilgamesh in Article 2).
And another peak of Sumerian literature is the myth cycle of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar). Its stories, beginning with the Descent of Inanna, in which she dies in the underworld stripped of her power at seven gates and is revived by the water of life, form a large independent body of original texts, so I explain them in full detail in the next article (Article 4).
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Myths and LegendsView on Amazon →
An Anatomical Illustrated Guide to Story-Making MythsView on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I explained the Mesopotamian “Atrahasis” story in detail. How was it?
The distinctive view of humanity that humans were “made to take over the gods’ labor,” the “great flood” that may be called the prototype of Noah’s Ark, and the “descent to the underworld” symbolizing death and rebirth and the cycle of seasons — these were content that may be called the wellspring of mythology, connecting to the later Bible and Greek mythology.
In the next article (Article 4, the finale), I will explain the myth cycle of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar) — the descent to the underworld, the powers of civilization “me,” and the proposal to Gilgamesh.
For the big picture of Mesopotamian mythology’s original texts and links to the other articles, please see the summary article below.
For the strength of the gods of Mesopotamian mythology, please use this ranking article as a reference too.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Mesopotamian Mythology (4/5)
