Newsgroup: it.discussioni.misteri
Titolo: Miti della Creazione

creazione? Sarebbe interessante compararlo a quello egizio.
Tra i testi scoperti da Henry Layard fra le rovine della Bibliotteca
di Assurbanipal a Ninive, ve ne era uno che raccontava la Creazione
in maniera non dissimile da come la raccontava il Libro della Genesi.
I frammenti  di tavolette , rimessi insieme e pubblicati per la prima volta
da George Smith nel 1876 "La genesi dei Caldei", dimostrarono che 
esisteva un testo scritto in babilonese che narrava di come una certa
divinita' creo' il Cielo e la Terra, e tutto cio' che stava sulla Terra,
compreso l'uomo.
C'e' una vasta letteratura che mette a confronto il testo mesopotamico
con il racconto biblico.
L.W.King intitolo' il suo autorevole testo "Le sette tavolette della 
Creazione".
Chiamato oggi "Epica della Creazione"il testo babilonese era 
identificato con le sue prime parole "Enuma elish=quando nell'alto".
Il testo mesopotamico e' una vera cosmogonia.
[da "Il pianeta degli Dei" di Z.Sitchen ]
Sarebbe lunghissimo raccontarvi tutto , ma in sintesi e' una 
spiegazione della nascita del nostro sistema solare,
in cui a ogni pianeta e satellite corrisponde un dio .
Da notare che verrebbero spiegati fenomeni complessi 
come le comete e la fascia degli asteroidi ( il cosd.
"bracciale martellato"tradotto con firmamento, ovvero
 il cielo) nata dallo smembramento dal pianeta Tiamat
 "Vergine che da' la vita"chiamato anche "mostro d'acqua",
 insieme  alla Terra, da cui nella Bibbia si rassume col 
concetto "creo' il cielo e la terra".
Smembramento avvenuto per la collisione con  dodicesimo 
pianeta, Marduk
generatosi dal profondo dell'universo, che ha un'orbita 
ellittica , la "piu' elevata" e la "piu' estesa" di qualunque 
altro pianeta.
Secondo i testi questo pianeta va da AN.UR (base del cielo)
a E.NUN(dimora del sovrano).
Nella Bibbia si ritrova in diversi passi  "da solo egli si allunga
nei cieli e cammina nelle piu' remote profondita';arriva fino
alla Grande orsa, Orione e Sirio e le costellazioni del sud"
Viene raffigurato come un globo alato, che si ritrova ovunque
sulla faccia di templi e palazzi, in incisioni rupestri; accompagnava
sacerdoti e re, sovrastava il trono,adornava ogni genere di oggetto.
Adoravano questo simbolo tutti coloro che governavano Sumer
e Akkad, babilonia e Assiria, Elam e Urartu, Mari e Nuzi,
Mitanni e Canaan.
Il simbolo veniva veniva definito "supremo", sia da re ittiti,
che dai faraoni egizi.Il segno pittografico era una croce,
il segno cuneiforme  significava  Anu  e divino, divenne
nelle lingue semitiche  la lettera tav, che significa "il segno".
-<--<<-@  Rossella  @->>-->-
<
ross...@email.com
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proprio pensiero con la parola, lo scritto e ogni altro
mezzo di diffusione".


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Si trova qualcosa anche su Internet.
Attendo delucidazioni a riguardo.
Grazie
@
-<--<<-@  Rossella  @->>-->-
<
ross...@email.com
 > 
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"Quella che il bruco chiama fine del mondo
il resto del mondo chiama farfalla"
Lao Tze

 Attendo delucidazioni a riguardo.
Purtroppo ho perso il bookmark, ma se cerchi Sumer o Abzu su Metacrawler 
trovi sicuramente qualcosa. Se interessa, posso postare un estratto dei 
uno di questi siti che riporta proprio i miti della creazione sumeri e 
babilonesi.
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uno di questi siti che riporta proprio i miti della creazione sumeri e babilonesi.
Mi interessa.
Cosi' confrontiamo.
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...
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>Cosi' confrontiamo.
Riporto un ciclopico testo di Adapa (Adam Sullivan: l'indirizzo della sua 
pagina era 
http://webusers.anet-dfw.com/~adapa/Index.html
, ma dubito sia 
rimasto lo stesso) preso dal Web, molto esaustivo e ben referenziato.
Se volete, posso riportare anche qualcosa in Italiano, tratto da "I 
Sumeri" di G. Pettinato: i concetti, comunque, sono gli stessi.
                          In Primeval Days . . .
Creation mythology is generally divisible into two types: Cosmogony - 
relating to the creation of the 'Cosmos', and Anthropogony - relating to 
the creation of humanity. The distinction is important because while 
specific texts exist relating to Sumerian anthropogony, no direct texts 
exist relating to Cosmogony. Rather, what we do know of their beliefs on 
the matter must often be gleaned from wholly unrelated texts. Though the 
cosmogonies presented in these texts are subject to some variation, 
distinct patterns can be grasped which give important insight into the 
Sumerian beliefs regarding the creation of the cosmos. Two fairly 
dissimilar approaches can be seen in Sumerian texts. The first, called the 
Eridu Model, relates to the beliefs of those situated in the southern 
regions of the country. The realm of the primal divine here is neither 
heaven, nor earth, but water. This realm is defined by the term Engur. 
This term is synonymous with Abzu, the "sweet waters of the deep," and is 
defined as the subterranean source of the waters which emerge from beneath 
the ground. This water was believed to be the source of the fertile 
marshes which gave life to this region of the country. The sign used for 
Engur can also be used for Nammu, the Mother Goddess prevalent in early 
Mesopotamian theology. Texts describe Engur/Nammu as 'the mother, first 
one, who gave birth to the gods of the universe.' "She is a goddess 
without a spouse, the self-procreating womb, the primal matter, the 
inherently female and fertilizing waters of the abzu."{1} The Northern 
Model substitutes the primacy of water with the duality of earth and sky. 
"Heaven and Earth here are both regarded as prima materia and generators 
of life; this is made explicit by the fact that they are both equated with 
the symbol Engur"{2} Sometimes one or the other is considered to have 
existed first. In the god-list, for example, An is said to be born of 
Earth, i.e. Uras (the masculine earth), and Ninuras (the feminine earth). 
A genealogy of Enlil also describes the eart as having appeared first, but 
focuses solely on its feminine, agricultural aspect. The text concerning 
the origin of the "toothworm" (thought to be the source of toothaches) 
lists the sky as being first, "After Anu{3} had created heaven, heaven had 
created earth, Earth had created rivers, rivers created canals, canals 
created the marsh, the marsh created the worm."{4} The most 
widely-accepted cosmology, however, is to be found in the text "Gilgamesh, 
Enkidu, and the Netherworld", wherein we are told:
  In primeval days, in distant primeval days, In primeval nights, in 
  far-off primeval nights, In primeval years, in distant primeval years - 
  In ancient days when everything vital had been brought into existence, In 
  ancient days when everything vital had been nurtured, When bread had been 
  tasted in the shrines of the land, When bread had been baked in the ovens 
  of the land - When heaven had been moved away from earth, When earth had 
  been separated from heaven, When the name of man had been fixed - When An 
  had carried off heaven, When Enlil had carried off earth {5}
Cosmic creation was thus born of the separation of the Primal Unformed 
mass of Heaven/Earth. This mass, it appears, was given birth to by 
Nammu/Engur. What we have no Sumerian source for, unfortunately, is an 
explanation of how Nammu/Engur was engendered, or whether on the contrary 
she was a preexistent force. It may well be here that the Babylonian 
Creation myth was seen as helpful by the semites, for there the 
'Preexisting Primordial Waters' are said to have first engendered Mummu 
(Nammu). In a Tablet which lists the Sumerian Gods, Nammu is described as 
"the mother who gave birth to heaven and earth."{6} Thereafter, It was the 
Union of An with Ki, 'heaven' with 'earth', which produced the 'great 
gods', the Annunaki, as we are told in the "Myth of Cattle and Grain."{7} 
Enlil thus engendered, it was He who separated the two cosmic forces, "The 
Lord, that which is appropriate verily caused to appear, the lord whose 
decisions are unalterable, Enlil who brings up the seed of the land from 
the earth, took care to move away earth from heaven, took care to move 
away heaven from earth."{8} This Heaven/Earth mass must be viewed not as 
comprised of otherwise separable pieces, but as being an Essential Unity 
which encompasses this duad, "For the Mesopotamian, earth and the heavens 
above were not separate domains but were two parts of the one realm. Earth 
and heaven were complimentary, one depended upon the other and both were 
equally important."{9} In this way, the initial creative force, as viewed 
by the Sumerians, was very É3;atomicÉ2; in nature: creation issued forth 
from a perceived whole which, nevertheless, was comprised of constituent 
forces; and it was the separation of these forces - "splitting the atom", 
so the speak - which fueled this creation. It is for this reason that such 
attention is paid to this act of separation itself in the creative scheme. 
This power, which the Ancient Sumerians saw as inherent in this seperation 
of united forces, would continue to be important in the religious context; 
where inc ntations were generally gounded in conjuration 'by Heaven and 
Earth'.
The creation and propagation of plant life thereafter was seen, in 
contrast, to have resulted from the union, rather than the seperation, of 
the primal Earth and Sky; the same union which had given birth to the 
Great Gods:
  The Great Earth made herself glorious, her body flourished with 
  greenery. Wide Earth put on silver metal and lapis lazuli ornaments, 
  adorned herself with diorite, calcedony, carnelian, and diamonds. Sky 
  covered the pastures with irresistible sexual attraction, presented 
  himself in majesty, The pure young woman showed herself to the pure Sky, 
  the vast Sky copulated with the wide Earth, the seed of the heroes Wood 
  and Reed he ejaculated into her womb, the Earth, the good cow, received 
  the good seed of Sky in her womb. The Earth, for the happy birth of the 
  Plants of Life, presented herself{10}
Thus we see how the creative energies have been transformed from atomic 
(energy from seperation) to sexual (energy from union) as the process of 
universal conception proceeded. Movement to this form of sexual imagery 
would continue in Sumerian accounts of the creation of man. The Etana myth 
gives us some insight into the shape of this created universe. Therein, 
the hero Etana was carried up into the heavens by his companion, the 
Eagle. Etana was thereby able to describe the shape of the world from his 
lofty perspective. This shape would resemble an overturned boat adrift 
upon the sea.{11} The great mountain which constituted the Earth was 
thought to be hemispherical in shape. This hemisphere floated upon the 
earthly sea, resting above the Deep Waters of the Apsu which supported it 
all. At some distance above the Earth was stretched out the Heavens, which 
were in the shape of a hemisphere, as well. Further:
  Above the dome of Heaven was another mass of water, a heavenly ocean, 
  which the solid dome of Heaven supported and kept in its place, so that 
  it might not break through and flood the Earth. On the under side of the 
  dome the stars had their courses and the Moon god his path. In the dome, 
  moreover, were two gates, one in the east and the other in the west, for 
  the use of...the Sun god {12}
Utu would thus step out upon the earth from the mountains of sunset, 
located at the eastern edge of the Earthly hemisphere; and step back down 
to the Great Below from the mountains of sunset, located at the western 
edge. Located in this underworld was the realm of the dead, Arallu. We 
know from the myth of Inanna's Descent that this realm was girdled by 
'seven walls pierced by seven gates', the first gate being known as 
Ganzir. At the center of these walls stood Egalkurzagin, the "lustrous 
mountain palace" which housed the denizens of the Underworld. Between the 
heavens and the Earth (though classified as a part of the "Earth") was a 
region in which earthly atmospheric activity took place.The foundation of 
the Heavens, though, rested upon the extremities of the Earth.{13} Above 
this foundation was the lower zone of Heaven, "Ul-gana", where the 
periodical motions of the planets was thought to occur. Above this region 
was the e-sara, where the fixed stars resided. The heavenly firmament, in 
turn, supported the ocean of the celestial waters, the Ziku.{14}
The source of a Sumerian Anthropogony is more direct than that which we 
have for Cosmogony. It is to be found in the text known as "The Birth of 
Man". The lesser gods, we are told, bore the lot of hard labor to support 
themselves and the 'great gods'.
  When the gods acted like men, they did the work and labored. Their labor 
  was enormous, the corvée too hard, the work too long because the great 
  Anunaki made the Igiggi carry the workload sevenfold{15}
But this life of toil soon brought dissension, and the lesser gods 
threatened revolt. Namma (Nammu), mother of Enki, brings word of this 
threat to her son. Enki resolves to create a substitute for the gods' 
harsh labors. From Enki came forth the Foetus of future mankind:
  Enki, at his mother Namma's word, rose from his bed, in Halankug, his 
  room for pondering, he smote the thigh, the ingenious and wise one, 
  skillful custodian of heaven and earth, creator and constructor of 
  everything, had Imma-en and Imma-shar come out. Enki reached out his arm 
  towards them, and a foetus was getting big there, and for Enki it was 
  awakening to consciousness in the heart{16}
Enki then calls on Namma (Nammu) to 'drench the core of the Apsu clay' 
from whence the Gods were born. Therein Enki places the Foetus, and thus 
in Namma was the Embryo of mankind brought to fruition.{17} This legend is 
further elaborated on in the Atrahasis myth. Here again, man's creation is 
again necessitated by the toil's the gods are forced to endure. In 
response, Enki is called on to bring man forth man with the help of Nintu 
(Mami). Enki replies:
  On the first, seventh and fifteenth of the month I shall make a 
  purification by washing.{18} Then one God should be slaughtered. And the 
  gods can be purified by immersion. Nintu shall mix the clay with his 
  flesh and blood. Then a god and a man will be mixed together in clay. 
  Let us hear the drumbeat forever after, let a ghost come into existence 
  from the God's flesh, let her proclaim it as her living sign. Let her 
  inform him while alive of his token. And so that there be no forgetting, 
  the ghost shall remain{19}
This is one of the most amazing passages, in my mind, in Sumerian 
literature. To even begin to pierce its depths is a difficult task. I 
first make note of the "ghost" which is born of Enki's ritual here 
described. Modern scholars generally hold this term to be a play on words 
between etemmu, "ghost"; and temu, "intelligence". This ignores the fact 
that "etemmu" is also the term used to describe the disembodied spirit of 
a man which survives after death: the Soul. Thus, it is important to 
realize that from the body of the slain god a Soul itself was engendered, 
not just some earthly creature born of transformed apsu-clay. In addition, 
this Soul was to serve a greater purpose than that elaborated in "The 
Birth of Man". While man was still destined to fulfill the labors once 
required of the gods in toiling upon the Earth, the Soul which was created 
was to serve as the living sign of the slain god. So that this sacrifice 
was never forgotten, the Soul would ever remain, "let us hear the drumbeat 
forever after..". Thus man was created as both a physical creature, born 
of the fertile clay of the apsu; and a spiritual creature, endowed with 
the blood of the gods, and granted an imperishable soul that he might ever 
serve as the living sign of this sacrifice.
                                  FOOTNOTES
{1} Gwendolyn Leick, Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, p. 13-14
{2} Id at 16
{3} the term "Anu" here should not be confused with the deity An (or Anu). 
The term, rather, refers generically to the heavens or 'sky', much the 
same way as Enki is used to denote the deity of the earth in the Enlil 
genealogy though this Enki is differentiated from the Deity "Enki".
{4} A. Heidel, A Babylonian Genesis, p. 51
{5} S.N. Kramer, From the Poetry of Sumer : Creation, Glorification, 
Adoration, p. 23
{6} S. N. Kramer, Sumerian Mythology, p. 39
{7} Ibid
{8} Id at 40
{9} Michael Baigent, From The Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient 
Mesopotamia, p. 41
{10} J. Van Dijk, "The Birth of Wood and Reed", Acta Orientaliia 28 I, p.45
{11} L.W. King, Babylonian Religion and Mythology, p.28
{12} Id at 31
{13} François Lenerment, Chaldean Magic and Sorcery, p. 153
{14} Ibid.
{15} Jean Bottéro, Mesopotamia: Witing, Reasoning, and The Gods, p. 222
{16} T. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once...Sumerian poetry in Translation, 
p.155-156
{17} Id at p.156-157
{18} for an explanation of the significance of the 1st, 7th, and 15th of 
the month, see the section entitled 'The Signs of Heaven and Earth'
{19} Stephanie Dalley, Myths From Mesopotamia, p.15, note however that I 
have altered the last three lines, substituting the 1970 Moran 
translation, as I feel it protects the integrity of the meaning of this 
portion of the passage to a greater extent. {20} Jean Bottéro, 
Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and The Gods, p. 217
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