not grown up
The deep also had not broken up its boundaries
Chaos (or water) Tiamat (the sea or abyss) was the producing mother
of them all
These waters at the beginning were ordained
But a tree had not grown a flower had not unfolded
When the gods had not sprung up any one of them
A plant had not grown and order did not exist
Were made also the great gods
The gods Lahma and Lahamu they caused to come * * *
And they grew * * *
The gods Sar and Kisar were made
A course of days and a long time passed
The god Anu * * *
The gods Sar and * * *"

Here the first existences are Chaos (Mummu, or confusion) and Tiamat,
which is the Thalatth of Berosus, representing the sea or primitive
abyss, but also recognized as a female deity or first mother. Then we
have Lahma and Lahamu, which represent power or motion in nature, and
are the equivalents of the Divine Spirit moving on the face of the
waters in our Genesis. Next we have the production of Sar or Iloar and
Kisar, representing the expanse or firmament. Sar is supposed to be
the god Assur of the Assyrians, a great weather god, and after whom
their nation and its founder were named. The next process is the
creation of the heaven and the earth, represented by Anu and Anatu.
Anu was always one of the greater gods, and was identified with the
higher or starry heavens. In succeeding tablets to this we find Bel or
Belus introduced, as the agent in the creation of animals and of men;
and he is the true Demiurgus or Mediator of the Assyrian system. Next
we have the introduction of Hea or Saturn, who is the equivalent of
the Biblical Adam, and of Ishtar, mother of men, who is the Isba or
Eve of Genesis. The rest of this legend evidently relates to deified
men, among whom are Merodach, Nebo, and other heroes.

The first remark that we may make on this Assyrian Genesis is that,
while it resembles generally the Mosaic account of creation, it also
strongly resembles the old cosmogonies of the Egyptians and Persians,
and those of the widely scattered Turanians of Northern Asia and of
America. As an extreme illustration of this, and to obviate the
necessity of digression at this point of our inquiry, I introduce here
some extracts from the Popul Vuh, or sacred book of the Quiche Indians
of Central America, an undoubted product of prehistoric religion in
the western continent.[5]

"And the heaven was formed, and all the signs thereof set in
their