Enki - Sumerian god of water, knowledge, crafts and creation. #god #enki #sumerian
Channel: Mythology
Date: 2022-11-20

Enki is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge, crafts
and creation.


He was later known as Ea or Ae in the Akkadian religion and is identified by some scholars with Ia in the Canaanite religion. 
The name was rendered Aos in Greek sources.




A wise god and destiny determiner, Enki was the Mesopotamian god of subterranean freshwaters, called Abzu in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. 




A deity of magic and incantations, Enki is sometimes described as the son of An, the sky god.




 According to some myths, he was the offspring of Enlil, the god of the wind and wisdom. Other times, he was the son of Nammu, the goddess of the sea. In the southern Mesopotamian city of Eridu, Enki's main cult center, called E-Abzu (Abzu House), was the oldest shrine in Mesopotamia, according to Sumerian tradition. 




Enki’s Journey to Nippur describes the shrine as being made of precious metals and lapis lazuli. In an early Sumerian story from the second millennium, Enki and Ninhursag describe a sacred land called Dilmun in which a raven had not yet cawed, a partridge had not yet cackled. Lions didn't kill, wolves didn't take lambs, dogs didn't curl kids up, and pigs didn't learn that grains were to be consumed.”




 It was a virgin, pristine land where disease, death, and old age did not exist. In the later part of the story, the story revolves around Enki and Ninhursanga, their offspring and descendants, all of whom Enki impregnated. Ninhursanga removed Enki's semen from one descendant, the spider goddess Uttu. 




As a result, Enki devoured eight plants, causing him a lot of pain. Ninhursag then healed Enki and gave birth to eight divinities. In the composition, Enki assigns destinies to each of the offspring. Enki and Ninmah and Enki and the World Order are other Sumerian compositions about creation and creation. He was depicted in art as a water god, friendly to humanity, with streams of fresh water flowing from his shoulders to the ground.




 In the myth of Atra-hasis, Enki helped the mortal hero Atra-hasis escape the plague, famine, and flood. In the epic story of Gilgamesh, Enki helped Uta-napishti escape the flood and become immortal. 




A Sumerian myth, Enki and Inanna, tells of the attempt by Inanna, the goddess of sex and love and daughter of Enki, to visit her father in his temple at Eridu. Obtaining the me (pronounced may) that underlies human civilization, her goal was to gain greater powers. Inanna's father gave her the me while he was drunk. She brought them back to Uruk in spite of Enki's attempts to stop her. It is unknown whether Enki ever retrieved me back to her city.