n historical, religious and
astronomical texts and in classical writers, we can furthermore fill out
some of the gaps.

Taking up the longer version, which must for the present serve as our
chief source for the cosmology of the Babylonians, it is important to
note at the outset that the series constitutes, in reality, a grand hymn
in honor of Marduk. The account of the beginning of things and of the
order of creation is but incidental to an episode which is intended to
illustrate the greatness of Marduk, the head of the Babylonian pantheon.
This episode is the conquest of a great monster known as Tiamat,--a
personification, as we shall see, of primaeval chaos. What follows upon
this episode, likewise turns upon the overshadowing personality of
Marduk. This prominence given to Marduk points of course to Babylon as
the place where the early traditions received their literary form.
Instead of designating the series as a 'Creation Epic' it would be quite
as appropriate to call it 'The Epic of Marduk.'

The god of Babylon is the hero of the story. To him the creation of the
heavenly bodies is ascribed. It is he who brings order and light into
the world. He supplants the roles originally belonging to other gods.
Bel and Ea give way to him. Anu and the other great gods cheerfully
acknowledge Marduk's power. The early traditions have all been colored
by the endeavor to glorify Marduk; and since Marduk is one of the latest
of the gods to come into prominence, we must descend some centuries
below Hammurabi before reaching a period when Marduk's position was so
generally recognized as to lead to a transformation of popular
traditions at the hands of the theologians.

The evident purpose of the 'epic' to glorify Marduk also accounts for
the imperfect manner in which the creation of the universe is recounted.
Only the general points are touched upon. Many details are omitted which
in a cosmological epic, composed for the specific purpose of setting
forth the order of creation, would hardly have been wanting. In this
respect, the Babylonian version again resembles the Biblical account of
creation, which is similarly marked by its brevity, and is as
significant for its omissions as for what it contains.

It but remains before passing on to an analysis of the 'epic' to note
the great care bestowed upon its literary form. This is evidenced not
only by the poetic diction, but by its metrical form,--a point to which
Budge was the firs