Revolt of the Gods and the Creation of Humans in Babylon

The Gods Revolt Against Labor

The Babylonian account of the creation of man begins with the uprising of the lesser gods. Tired of the burdens placed upon them by the greater deities, they demanded relief—specifically, that a being be created to serve the gods and take over their labor. In this passage, several Babylonian myths regarding the creation of humanity have been woven together, including the tradition of anthropogony (the birth of man) in Babylonian cosmogony. Although there are various methods of creation—such as forming man from clay and the blood of the gods, or through the word— the most popular myth describes man’s formation by mixing the blood of the deities of labor with clay. Notably, the god Enlil does not play a role in this myth; instead, it is Marduk who clearly assumes the task of outlining how man should be created. The rebellious movement of the gods seems to mirror human insurrection, reflecting one of the Babylonians’ defining traits: the portrayal of their gods with human characteristics.

“After forty years of labor, the gods groaned… they wept, they screamed. In desperation, those among them declared rebellion. They marched in protest to Enlil’s dwelling…”

Gods do the work

The Rebellion: A Divine Conspiracy Unfolds

When the gods reached Enlil’s abode, they announced their terror by setting fire to their tools—hammers, axes, and baskets—carrying these burning implements to the temple’s gate. That night, as Enlil’s tools were consumed by flame before his gate, and as the temple (Ekur) became surrounded unbeknownst to him, the guardian god (Kalkal) watched in panic. He flung open the door and kept vigil. Soon after, he roused Nisku, Enlil’s minister, and together they listened to the clamor. Nisku awoke from his slumber and called upon Enlil:

“Your temple is besieged, my lord, and war has reached your door!”

“Hurry, Nisku, shut the doors and come forth with your weapon. Fear not—these are your children. Let us summon the assembly of the Anunnaki to deliberate upon this matter.”

When the assembly gathered, Enlil declared, “I see that one among the Anunnaki is behind this revolt.” Nisku then went out, witnessing the gods inflaming their wrath and taking up arms. Realizing that Enlil intended to exact retribution on one of them to quench the fires of rebellion, the gods cried out in unison, “We all long to engage in battle; we are exhausted by our ceaseless toil.” Nisku returned to the divine council and reported what he had seen and heard. Moved by the suffering of the gods, they aligned themselves with the rebellious deities and urged Enlil to acknowledge that their labor was indeed arduous—the sound of their weeping resembled the distant beating of Enlil’s own heart. Compassionately, he conceded: “Let us devise a solution for our progeny.”

Enlil's home

Ea’s Intervention and the Decision to Create Man

Then, a senior god proposed, “Why do you not consult Ea, the wise, the ingenious mastermind?” Ea decided to create a servant for the gods. Here, the issue of man’s creation raises a significant debate: on one side is Ea and the mother goddess—whom we suggest might be Ninmah (or Ninhursag, known among the Sumerians as Nintu)—and on the other side is the relationship between Ea and Marduk. When the gods depicted Ea’s vision for creating man—envisioning his form and structure—they did so through the assistance of the mother goddess and the goddesses of birth, rather than by a solitary act of creation. Thus, man is fashioned by Ea’s word yet born of the mother goddess. Notably, Ea’s account does not include the idea of sacrificing a minor god or a working deity; instead, the mother goddess (Ninmah/Ninhursag) radiates maternal and creative attributes, preparing the clay from which man will be formed.

“The rebellious Anunnaki and insurgent gods marched to Ea—venturing even into the sacred vessel of flowing water, a place forbidden to the gods. Finding Ea lost in deep slumber in his bedchamber as the gods lamented, they could not rouse him until they informed his great mother, the progenitor of countless deities…”

The Sacred Ritual of Creation in Ozomua

According to the myth, the Anunnaki and the rebellious gods approached Ea, also referred to as Ainkur—the vessel from which water flows and the place that even the gods cannot enter. With Ea deep in slumber and the gods mourning, they appealed to his great mother—the supreme maternal deity who had given birth to many gods. Alarmed, she awakened Ea and urged him:
“Awaken, my son! The great gods are striking at the bodies of the lesser deities. Arise from your slumber and consider the matter. Your wisdom encompasses every art—create a being who will carry the basket of labor on behalf of the gods.”

Thus, Ea rose and entered the sacred hall. Striking his thigh in contemplation, the wise, all-seeing Ea devised a plan. He reflected on how the gods had created cities, tools, crops, animals, and rain—why not fashion a being in their own image, one that could labor for them by tilling the earth and carrying the basket and the axe to provide food and drink? Joyfully, he resolved, “I will create man. But what wisdom shall I employ? What form will he take? And by what means shall he be made?”
He then summoned his mother to the sacred hall and declared:
“My mother, bind within this creation the work of the gods. Mix the clay we have taken from the waters of Absu, dye its body, and may the goddesses—Mami, Ninnakh, Urur, Nandama, Iqzena, Ninamada, Ninbara, Nirmark, and Sarsardu, the daughters of the deities—aid you in this work.”
The process proceeded with the invocation of the goddess of procreation, Mami—entrusted with creation and birth, the great matron of titles, and the lady of childbirth (Nintu). The gods proclaimed her as “the womb that begets man” and charged her with creating the first human, so that he might serve as Enlil’s laborer, carrying the basket of divine tasks.

The Creation Process: Forming Man from Clay and Divine Blood

In Ozomua—a sacred region where the earth and sky remain bound together, once seen as the “navel of the world” by the Sumerians—the human was created. Although the Akkadian traditions preserved this heritage, the Babylonian tradition designated Babylon as the place where man was born, with Marduk orchestrating the creation plan while Ea executed it. In this segment, a playful intermingling of the early Akkadian narrative and the Babylonian creation epic is evident.

The myth continues in Ozomua—the bond between heaven and earth, where on the first, seventh, and fifteenth day of the month, in the region of Dur Anki, Ea declared:
“I will perform the cleansing rituals; I will prepare the bath—and the god among you must be sacrificed. For the clay requires a spirit, and the body of the earth must have a divine spark.”
The gods followed Ea and Mami wherever they went, keenly awaiting their decisions. Like bees drawn to honey, they observed and quickly adapted, until Marduk spoke to Ea:
“Your decision is grand, Ea; your counsel is exalted. But tell me, oh great gods, who instigated the discord in the divine decrees? Who caused the strife and the insurrection that left the lower world unsettled—forcing you to bear the basket and wield the axe? Who stirred Tiamat to revolt and prepare for battle?”

Thus, from the blood of a minor deity and clay, man was fashioned—a philosophy suggesting that a human’s spirit or blood is of divine origin, destined to encounter punishment after death (as if to atone for a sin committed by a god). In contrast, death itself appears to result from the human body, composed of clay, which ultimately decays back into the earth. The process of creation is depicted as a blend of manual crafting and divine birth from the mother goddess, implying that man is indeed the offspring of the gods—but doomed to mortal labor and inevitable demise.

At the first sounds of human voice—like a child uttering its earliest words—the creation of man was deemed complete. Each time, the goddess Mami would pronounce an eternal decree regarding the manner of birth, as though determining a primordial destiny.

“In vain, the gods puzzled over who was to be blamed. ‘Have you forgotten Kingu? Have you forgotten Tiamat’s consort who spurred her to battle?’ they cried… ‘Let Kingu be sacrificed so that his blood may give rise to the being who shall bear the burden of labor—the one destined to carry the basket and the axe forever.’”

They freed Kingu from his prison, chained him, and presented him before Ea, subjecting him to divine retribution. After ritual cleansing in the bath, they sacrificed Kingu. From the blood that flowed from his veins, the goddess Mami mixed a quantity of clay in the House of Fate. As she chanted the creation incantation—with Ea seated beside her, periodically instructing her in the spells—she arranged seven clods of clay to the right, seven to the left, separated by a measure of milk. Spitting on a clod from the first group, she named it “Ulikar” (the Man of Good), and spitting on a clod from the second group, she called it “Zalakar” (the Woman of Good). Together they formed the duo “Lulu,” which would come to be known as man. Then the creature stirred, opened its eyes, and uttered its first sounds:

“A… Agha… Agho… B… Na… Baa… Naaya… D… D… Za…”

“A… Amama… Amama… Ma… Ma… Mama…
Ada… Ama… Ooo… Mala… Mama… Baba… Aa… Agho… Iza…
Iza… Mama… Baa…”

The gods opened their mouths to listen in amazement. They rejoiced, and the goddess Mami received counsel from the goddesses of lineage regarding the duration of pregnancy—nine months after union. Then, as the womb exhaled, the gods emerged with radiant faces and heads prepared for birth. With arms outstretched and blessings chanted to mark the newborn’s imprint in flour, Mami declared, “I have created him with my own hands. Let man be destined to labor.”

Ninhursag-the-birth-mother-unidentified-assistants

The great gods then proclaimed: “Let us hear the drumbeat for the fate of the coming days!” For it was decreed that because of the flesh of the god, the specter of death would inhabit the human body, a constant reminder of mortality. Soon after, the goddess Mami addressed the assembly of the great gods:

“You entrusted me with a task, and I have completed it. As long as you persist in sacrificing even the most sacred of deities, I have relieved you of your onerous labors. Behold, your cries have been transferred to humanity—I have freed you from the burden of the flame.”

In response, the gods raised their voices and hands in reverence to Mami, exclaiming: “We once called you Mami; now, henceforth, you shall be known as the Lady of the Gods and the Guardian of Creation. By your grace, the gods are liberated from the axe and toil, and humanity—our servants—has been established.”

Sources and Further Reading

1-The British Museum – Mesopotamian Art and Culture
Explore detailed background on Babylonian creation myths and ancient Mesopotamian culture.
British Museum: Mesopotamia