When the Igigi did the work instead of humans, carrying the loads, they did hard labor. The toil of the Igigi was indeed great, the work hard, the misery great: the great Anunnaki gods made the Igigi carry the load that was right for them sevenfold.
An (Anu), Enlil and Enki took a box of lots and drew them. This is how the gods made the division. An got the sky for himself, Enlil got the earth. The Abzu, the bar that holds back the water, was given to the far-sighted Enki. When An had ascended to heaven and the gods of the Apsu had descended, the Anunnaki let the Igigi carry the workload. An, the father, was their king in heaven, Enlil was their commander on earth. Their chamberlain was Ninurta, their channel supervisor Ennugi.
The Igigi dug out the canals and kept them clear, the lifelines of the country. The Igigi consolidated the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. They developed springs from the depths. They built wells. They piled up elevations [to protect against the floods]. These were years of toil.
They counted the years of strain. For 3,6oo years they endured the burden, hard work, day and night. They moaned and blamed their superiors, grumbled about the masses of excavated earth:
"Let's confront Enlil and get him to free us from our hard work! Come, let's remove Enlil, our leader, from his dwelling! Now, call for battle! Let us call for revolt, for war!"
The Igigi listened to the speech. They burned their tools, set their rooms on fire and their work baskets ablaze. They went together to Ekur, to the gate of Enlil's residence. When they reached the gate of Enlil's residence, it was night. Ekur's house was surrounded, but Enlil didn't notice!
But Kalkal was vigilant, and since it was closed, he kept the lock shut and guarded the gate. Kalkal woke Nusku. They listened to the noise of the Igigi. Then Nusku woke his master and let him get out of bed:
"My lord, your house is surrounded, a mob is running around outside your gate! Enlil, your house is surrounded, a mob is running around outside your gate!"
Enlil had weapons brought to his home. He spoke to his vizier Nusku:
"Nusku, lock the door. Take your weapons and stand in front of me."
Nusku locked the door, picked up his weapons and stood in front of Enlil. Nusku spoke to Enlil:
"My lord, your face is as pale as a tamarisk! Why do you fear your own sons? Let An descend to you, let Enki come to you."
Enlil had An and Enki come to him. An, the king of heaven, Enki, the king of the Apsu, Enlil, the commander of the Igigi, and Ninhursag (Mami), the creator of humanity, were present. They, the four great Anunnaki were present. Enlil stood up and the case was presented. Enlil spoke to the great gods:
"Is it against me that they have risen up? Should I fight? What did I see with my own eyes? A mob running around in front of my gate!"
An spoke to Enlil, the warrior:
"Let Nusku go out and report on the Igigi who have surrounded your gate."
Enlil gave Nusku this order:
"Nusku, take up your weapons, open the gate! In the assembly of the gods, bow down, then go out and tell the mob:
'Your father An, your commander Enlil, your chamberlain Ninurta and your channel supervisor Ennugi have sent me to ask you: Who is responsible for the mob? Who is responsible for the fighting? Who declared war? Who came to the gate of Enlil?'"
In the assembly of the gods, Nusku bowed. Then he went out and announced the message. The Igigi replied:
"Every single one of us Igigi has declared war! We have put an end to the digging. The burden was too great, it's killing us! Our work is too hard, the effort too great! Every single one of us Igigi has agreed to settle accounts with Enlil."
Nusku took his weapons, returned to Enlil and reported what the Igigi had told him. Enlil listened to the speech. His tears flowed. Enlil turned to An, the king of heaven:
"Noble An, take a decree to heaven, show your strength. In the presence of the Anunnaki, summon a god and let him destroy the Igigi!"
Enki raised his voice and spoke to the gods, his brothers:
"Why do we blame them? Their work is indeed too hard, their effort is too great. Every day the earth trembled. The warning signal was loud enough, we heard the noise all the time.
Ninhursag is present. Let her give intelligence to man so that he can bear the yoke, so that he will be able to do the work. Let man bear the burden of the Igigi! Let Ninhursag create offspring, and let man bear the burden of the Igigi!"
They called Ninhursag, the wise goddess, and asked her:
"You are the womb goddess who created mankind! Give man intelligence now, that he may bear the yoke! Let him bear the yoke of carrying out Enlil's orders. Let man bear the burden of the Igigi!"
Ninhursag answered the gods:
"It's not my job to give people intelligence, it's Enki's job. He has to make everything pure first! If he gives me pure clay, then I will do it."
Enki spoke to the gods:
"On the first, seventh and fifteenth of the month, I will perform a purification by ablution. Then an Igigi shall be sacrificed and the gods shall cleanse the clay by immersion. Ninhursag shall mix clay with the flesh and blood of the Igigi. Then mankind will be mixed with the Igigi in clay.
Let us make the event audible forever. Let the spirit of the Igigi arise from his flesh. Let Ninhursag create his spirit and proclaim it as a sign of his life. Let his spirit continue to exist and not forget it."
They answered "Yes!" in the assembly, the great Anunnaki who determine destinies.
On the first, seventh and fifteenth day of the month, Enki performed purification by ablution. Ilawela, who was intelligent, they sacrificed in their assembly. Ninhursag mixed the clay with his flesh and blood. Then they mixed mankind with the Igigi in clay. After that, she made the event audible forever: the spirit of the Igigi emerged from his flesh. Ninhursag created him and proclaimed him as a sign of his life. The spirit existed and did not forget it.
Ninhursag let her voice be heard and spoke to the Igigi:
"I did the job Enki told me to do perfectly. An Igigi was sacrificed along with his intelligence. I abolished the heavy forced labor of the Igigi. I forced the drudgery on mankind. Enki, you have given humanity its voice. I have lifted the yoke of the Igigi, I have made amends."
The Igigi listened to her speech, were freed from their fear and kissed her feet: "We used to call you Ninhursag, but now your name shall be 'Mistress of all (Igigi) Gods'.
Ninhursag made these rules for mankind:
"Ninhursag made a drawing out of flour and transferred it to a clay brick. Wherever a woman gives birth and cuts the umbilical cord, the mud brick should be laid down for nine days to honor Ninhursag. When the childbed is set up, the woman and her husband should choose each other. Inanna (Ishtar) shall rejoice in the marriage of wife and husband, in the house of the father-in-law. The festivities will last nine days and they will call Inanna (Ishtar) 'Ishhara'. (a few lines/rules are missing)"
The people made new hoes and spades and built large canals to feed mankind and support the gods.
6oo years, less than 6oo, passed, and the human population became too great, the people too numerous. The land was as noisy as a bellowing bull. Enlil became restless because of their noise. He had to listen to the noise all the time. He turned to the great gods:
"The noise of the people has become too much, I can no longer sleep because of their noise. Give the order for the Suruppu disease to break out. Let Namtar, the god of diseases, put an end to their noise! Let the disease come up upon them like a storm."
The gods gave the order and the Suruppu disease broke out. Namtar immediately put an end to their noise. The disease swept over them like a storm.
The thoughtful man Atrahasis kept his ear open for his master Enki. He would speak to his god, and his god Enki would speak to him. Atrahasis spoke to his master:
"O Lord, the people murmur! Your sickness consumes the land! O Lord Enki, the people are grumbling! The disease of the gods is consuming the land! Since you created us, you should help us. How long will the gods let us suffer? Will they let us suffer from disease forever?"
Enki spoke to his servant Atrahasis:
"Call the elders, the leading men, and give them this message: begin in your own house. Let the masters of ceremonies proclaim this, let it be proclaimed loudly in the land: Do not worship your gods, do not pray to your goddesses, but seek out the door of Namtar! Bring a baked loaf before his eyes! May the flour offering reach him, may he be ashamed of his deeds, may he put an end to them."
Atrahasis accepted the order and delivered the news to the elders. The elders listened to his speech. They built a temple for Namtar in the city. The masters of ceremonies proclaimed loudly in the land: 'Do not worship your god, do not pray to your goddess, but seek out the door of Namtar! Bring a baked loaf into his presence! The gift of flour reached him. He was ashamed of his deeds and ended them. The suruppu disease left the people. The people returned to their usual offerings.
A few hundred years later, Enlil organized another meeting. He turned to the gods and his sons:
"The noise of the people has become too much. I can no longer sleep because of their noise. It's not enough to burden them with an illness again. People haven't lost weight, they are more than before!
I have become restless because of their noise, sleep cannot overpower me! Cut off the people's food. Let the vegetation be too barren for their stomachs! Let Adad on high deprive them of rain. Let the springs below dry up and let no water gush from the wells! Let the wind blow, let it parch the soil! May the field reduce its yield, may Nissaba, the goddess of grain, close her womb. Let the green fields turn pale. Let the land expose the bare ground. May the earth close its womb so that no vegetation sprouts, no grain grows."
The gods cut off the food for the humans. The vegetation became too barren for their stomachs. Adad on high let his rain fall sparingly, blocking the way down. They allowed no water to flow from the springs. The yield of the field diminished. Nissaba closed her womb. The green fields turned pale. The vast land exposed the bare ground. The earth closed its womb: no vegetation sprouted, no grain grew.
When the second year came, the people had exhausted their supplies. When the third year came, hunger had changed the appearance of the people. When the fourth year came, their upright posture slouched. Their upright shoulders drooped. The people walked around bent over. As the fifth year dawned, a daughter would watch her mother come home, but a mother would not even open the door for her daughter. A daughter would look at the scales while selling her mother, a mother would look at the scales while selling her daughter. When the sixth year came, they served a deceased daughter for dinner, a deceased son for dinner. There were only a few households left. Their faces were covered with scabs like malt.
But there was one, Atrahasis, whose ear was open to his god Enki. Atrahasis, the wise man, wept every day. He carried a Massakku sacrifice along the river meadow, whose waters had almost dried up. In the middle of the night, he made an offering. He turned to the water:
"May the water receive it, may the river carry it, may the gift be placed before Enki, my Lord. May Enki see it and think of me! So may I see a dream in the night."
When he had sent the message by water, he sat down by the river and wept. The man cried facing the river while his plea went down to the Apsu. Then Enki heard his voice and came to him. Athrahasis spoke to him:
"Above, the rain doesn't fill the canals. Down below, the water does not flow high from the springs. The womb of the earth has not given birth, no vegetation has sprouted. The green pastureland has turned pale. The vast land exposed bare ground. Only a few households are left. How long will the gods let us suffer? Will they let us suffer from drought forever?"
Enki spoke to his servant Atrahasis:
"Call the elders, the leading men, and give them this message: Start in your own house. Let the masters of ceremonies proclaim, let them proclaim loudly: Do not worship your gods, do not pray to your goddesses, but seek out the door of Adad! Bring a baked loaf before his eyes! May the flour offering reach him, may he be ashamed of his deeds, may he put an end to them. Then he will create a mist in the morning, and at night he will steal away and let dew drip and rid the field of drought ninefold, like a repentant thief."
Atrahasis accepted the order and delivered the news to the elders. The elders listened to his speech. They built a temple for Adad in the city. The masters of ceremonies proclaimed loudly in the land: 'Do not worship your god, do not pray to your goddess, but seek out the door of Adad. Bring a baked loaf into his presence. The gift of flour reached him. Adad was ashamed of his deeds and put an end to them. In the morning he let fog arise, and in the night he stole out and let dew drip, let the field be freed from drought ninefold, like a repentant thief. The drought left the people. The people returned to their usual offerings.
A few hundred years later, there were as many people as before. Enlil was angry with Enki. He called Enki to him and said to him:
"We, the great Anunnaki gods, we agreed on a plan. An and Adad were to watch above, I was to guard the earth below. You were to break the chains of the Igigi and free them, you were to release the productivity of the humans, you were to exercise control over the humans by keeping the balance."
Enlil continued:
"Adad withheld the rain from the people, let the people starve, did not give the people Nissaba's grain to eat. [But now the people are as many as before. You did not prevent it.]"
Enki became restless as he sat. In the assembly of the gods, worry gnawed at him. They were angry with each other, Enki and Enlil. Enlil continued:
"You have placed burdens on mankind. You gave humanity a voice. You sacrificed an Igigi for his intelligence. You must now create a flood. It is indeed your power that is to be used against mankind! You agreed to the plan! [Now carry it out and restore the balance!] Let's swear an oath to the far-sighted Enki!"
Enki let his voice be heard and spoke to his brothers, the gods:
"Why should I swear an oath? Why should I use my power against my people? What is this flood you tell me about? I don't even know! Could I give birth to a flood? That's Enlil's kind of work! Let him choose: Let Schullat and Hanisch march ahead. Let Erakal pull out the mooring poles. Let Ninurta march, let him make the weirs overflow."
The gods agreed on this course of action. They gave an explicit command. Enlil will do evil to mankind. The wise man Atrahasis heard of approaching disaster in a dream and asked for another dream. He spoke to his god Enki::
"Show me the meaning of the dream, let me find out its omen."
Enki spoke to his servant Atrahasis:
"You said, 'I have to find out in the dream.' So pay attention to the message I'm going to say! Wall, listen to me! Reed hut, pay attention to my words! Man of Shuruppak, son of Ubara-Tutu, flee the house, build a ship. Give up your belongings, save your life and bring the living seed of every kind of living creature into the ship. As for the ship you are to build, let it be well measured: let its breadth and its length be in proportion to each other. Then launch it into the sea.
The ship you build, cover it like the apsu so that the sun can't see inside! Build upper decks and lower decks. The rigging must be very strong, the bitumen strong to give strength. I will let rain fall on you."
Enki opened the hourglass and filled it. He told him that the sand available for the Flood would last for seven days and nights. Atrahasis received the news. He gathered the elders at his door. Atrahasis let his voice be heard and spoke to the elders:
"My God has fallen out of favor with your God. Enki and Enlil have become angry with each other. They drove me out of my house. Since I always stand in awe of Enki, he told me about this matter. I can no longer stay in the city. I can no longer set foot in Enlil's territory. I have to go down to the beach and work for my God. This is what he has laid upon me."
The elders bade him farewell. The carpenter brought his axe, the reed worker brought his stone, a child brought bitumen. The poor fetched what they had. Atrahasis collected everything that was needed. On the fifth day, he drew the design. The sides were ten gar high in the middle. The deck was also ten gar wide. He added a canopy and finished it off. He built the boat in six storeys, making a total of seven storeys. He divided the interior of each floor into nine compartments. He cut out vessels for the water inside. He chose a mast and added everything he needed. He smeared three coats of pitch on the outside. He used three coats of asphalt for the inside. The men carried three pails of oil with them in containers. He kept one pail of oil outside and used it for sacrifices, while the other two pails were stowed away by the boatswain.
He slaughtered oxen for the temple of the gods. Day after day he slaughtered lambs. He poured out jugs of cider, oil and sweet wine, large bowls like flowing river water as libations. He made a feast for the gods like the New Year.
He added rigging above and below, and when everything was finished, the ship sank two thirds of its height into the water. He filled it with everything he had. He filled it with all the silver he had. He filled it with all the gold he had. With living creatures of all kinds he filled it. The birds that fly in the sky, the cattle and the wild animals of the open land, he brought on board. He also embarked his whole family and his relatives and his workers - he embarked them all.
He invited his workers to a feast. They ate, they drank. But Atrahasis paced up and down, unable to keep still and unable to rest. He waited to retch bile. The face of the weather changed. Adad roared from the clouds. When Atrahasis heard the noise, bitumen was brought in and he sealed the door. While he sealed the door, Adad continued to roar from the clouds. The winds raged as he climbed up, cut the rope and released the ship. He entrusted the boat's command to the boatswain, entrusting him with the great house and the contents within.
A black cloud rose on the horizon, in which Adad, the weather god, thundered. The throne bearers Schullat and Hanisch went ahead of him, over mountains and valleys. Errakal tore out the stakes that held back the water. Together with Ninurta, he let the weirs overflow. They caused the banks to overflow. The storm that the gods had conjured up swept up to the heavens and all light turned to darkness.
On the first day, the storm ravaged the land. Then the east wind brought the flood, which came upon the people with force like a slaughter. In one day it rose over the mountains. Like an onslaught in battle, it pounced on the people. The brother could not save the brother. Neither could see the other. The Flood roared like a bull, the winds howled like a wild donkey. The darkness was total, there was no sun. People filled the sea like fish.
The lips of Ninhursag, the great mistress, were encrusted with frost. The midwife of the gods, the wise Ninhursag pleaded:
"The daylight, let it return!
How could I have ordered such destruction in the assembly of the gods? Enlil was strong enough to enforce his order. Like Tiruru, he should have rescinded this evil order! I heard the cries of the drowning people directed at me, at myself, at my person.
Now my descendants have become like white sheep. As for me, how can I live in a house of loss? The noise has turned into silence. Could I go away, up to heaven, and live like in a monastery? What was An's intention as a decision-maker? It was his command, obeyed by the gods and his sons. He who did not think, but sent the Flood, He who led people to disaster."
Ninhursag whined:
"Would a true father have given birth to the surging sea that makes the corpses clog the river like dragonflies (?)? The corpses will be washed like rafts to a shore on open land! I have seen them and wept for them! Shall I ever stop weeping for them?"
Ninhursag cried, she gave free rein to her emotions. The gods wept with her for the land. She was saturated with grief, she longed in vain for beer. Where she sat and wept, the great gods also sat, but like sheep bleating, they could only fill their pipes.
The wind blew for six days and nights. Storms and thunderstorms covered the land. When the seventh day came, the storm and the tempest that the gods had led like a great army began to subside. The sea calmed down. The storm and the tempest ceased. Atrahasis looked out at the sea and raised his voice loudly, but all humanity had turned back to clay, just as the surrounding field had become the bed of the rivers. He had opened the ship's air hole and light fell on his cheek. Startled, he sank back and sat weeping as tears streamed down his cheeks. He looked in all directions, and lo and behold, everything was sea. Now, after twelve days, a strip of land rose out of the water. The ship drifted towards mount Nisir. On mount Nisir the ship remained fixed and did not slip away.
On the first day, on the second day, mount Nisir held the ship firmly and did not let it slip away. On the third day and on the fourth day it did not slip away. On the fifth day and the sixth day, mount Nisir still held the ship and did not let it slip away. When the seventh day came, Atrahasis sent out a dove and let it fly. The dove flew back and forth, but since there was no place for it to rest, it returned. Then he sent out a swallow and let it fly. The swallow flew back and forth, but as there was no place for it to rest, it too returned. Then he sent out a raven and let it fly. The raven flew away and saw that the water was receding. He flew away, settled down to eat and never came back.
Then Atrahasis let everyone out of the ship and made an offering. He poured out a libation on the top of the mountain. He set up the censers and poured in calamus, cedar wood and sweet incense. The gods smelled the scent and gathered like flies over the offerings. When they had eaten the offering, Ninhursag stood up and rebuked them all:
"What has come over An, who makes the decisions? Did Enlil dare to come to the smoke offering? The two who did not think, but sent the Flood, have driven the people to disaster. They decided on destruction. Now their white vests are stained, forever!"
The warrior Enlil discovered the ship and was furious.
"We, the great Anunna, all of us, have agreed on an oath! No life should escape! How could any human survive the catastrophe?"
An made himself heard and spoke to the warrior Enlil:
"Who else but Enki would do such a thing? He made sure that the reed hut betrayed the order."
Enki spoke to the great gods:
"I did it in spite of you! I have made sure that life is preserved."
[Enlil insisted that Enki now had to ensure that the balance is maintained. (?)] Enlil spoke to the far-sighted Enki:
"Come, summon the womb goddess Ninhursag! Discussit in the assembly."
Enki spoke to the womb goddess Ninhursag:
"You are the womb goddess who determines destinies. Decree this fate over people:
One third of women should give birth, another third of them should not give birth. Well then, there should be another third. The third woman shall give birth, but shall not give birth successfully. It shall be the Pasittu demon among people who tears the child from the womb of the mother. The high priestesses and priestesses are to be taboo. This is how births are to be controlled."
[Ninhursag addressed these words to Enki (?):]
"We gods sent the Flood, but man survived the catastrophe. You Enki are an advisor to the gods. When I gave man intelligence at your command, I triggered the conflict. Let the Igigi hear this song to praise you and let them record your greatness. I will tell all people about the Flood: Hear!"
There are various versions of this myth, which differ slightly from one another. This text has been compiled in such a way that the storyline is as coherent as possible. Some versions of the epic suggest that humans were created in it. This would be a logical contradiction to the beginning of the myth, which speaks of a time when the gods were human. Hence, humans already existed at that time. In this version of the myth, humans were already created and were only given intelligence.
The epic begins with the Igigi incarnating as humans and transforming the steppe into a fertile landscape by building irrigation systems. The Igigi did this on behalf of Enlil. The humans had not done this work because they were not intelligent enough.
As the work was too hard for the Igigi, they put it down and rebelled. As the Igigi were proved right, the humans were given intelligence so that they could do the work themselves. Enki was tasked with maintaining the balance, i.e. limiting the number of people.
As the humans were now intelligent, their numbers continued to increase until overpopulation occurred. Enki wanted to be a good god to the people and therefore did nothing to limit population growth.
However, when the number of humans became too large, the gods had no choice but to intervene and decimate the population. They did this first with a disease, then with a drought, and finally with the Flood.
Enki finally realized that he had to impose a burden on the people so that the gods would not have to keep conjuring up disasters. He did this by having Ninhursag decree that a third of woman should have children, a third of women should not have children and another third should give birth but not successfully. This was intended to stabilize the human population.
