er copies of the poem have been
discovered in other localities, and it has been found possible to piece
together satisfactorily a considerable section, so that a fair idea of
the general scope of the poem has been given to us.

It opens with the introduction of a being, Tiamtu--the Tavthe of the
account of Damascius,--who is regarded as the primeval mother of all
things.

"When on high the heavens were unnamed,
Beneath the earth bore not a name:
The primeval ocean was their producer;
Mummu Tiamtu was she who begot the whole of them.
Their waters in one united themselves, and
The plains were not outlined, marshes were not to be seen.
When none of the gods had come forth,
They bore no name, the fates (had not been determined)
There were produced the gods (all of them)."[27:1]

The genealogy of the gods follows, and after a gap in the story, Tiamat,
or Tiamtu, is represented as preparing for battle, "She who created
everything . . . produced giant serpents." She chose one of the gods,
Kingu, to be her husband and the general of her forces, and delivered to
him the tablets of fate.

The second tablet shows the god An[vs]ar, angered at the threatening
attitude of Tiamat, and sending his son Anu to speak soothingly to her
and calm her rage. But first Anu and then another god turned back
baffled, and finally Merodach, the son of Ea, was asked to become the
champion of the gods. Merodach gladly consented, but made good terms for
himself. The gods were to assist him in every possible way by entrusting
all their powers to him, and were to acknowledge him as first and chief
of all. The gods in their extremity were nothing loth. They feasted
Merodach and, when swollen with wine, endued him with all magical
powers, and hailed him--

"Merodach, thou art he who is our avenger,
(Over) the whole universe have we given thee the kingdom."[28:1]

At first the sight of his terrible enemy caused even Merodach to falter,
but plucking up courage he advanced to meet her, caught her in his net,
and, forcing an evil wind into her open mouth--

"He made the evil wind enter so that she could not close her lips.
The violence of the winds tortured her stomach, and
her heart was prostrated and her mouth was twisted.
He swung the club, he shattered her stomach;
he cut out her entrails; he over-mastered (her) heart;
he bound her and ended her li