Enuma Elish

One of the most famous accounts of the creation of the universe from the ancient Near East was the Babylonian creation epic known as the Enuma elish.

The name comes form the first three words of the first two lines of the poem:

When on high the heavens were not yet named.
And below, the earth was not called by a name.

The Enuma elish tells how the good Marduk was endowed with absolute power by the other gods to do battle with Tiamat, a primordial goddess who personified the forces of watery chaos.

Marduk defeats Tiamat in battle and proceeds to create the universe by dividing Tiamat in two, one part becoming the heavens and the other the earth with her breasts as mountains.

From her eyes came the Tigris and Euphrates river. The Enuma elish was cited during the New Year Festival celebrated in honor of Marduk in the city of Babylon, which the all-powerful god founded as an earthy residence for the gods after his creation of the universe.

The Mesopotamians viewed their city states as earthy copies of a divine model and order. Each city state was scared because it was linked to a god or goddess.

Hence Nippur , the earliest center of Sumerian religion, was dedicated to Elil, the god of wind. Moreover, located at the heart of each major city state was a temple complex.

Occupying several acres their sacred area consisted of a ziggurat with a temple at the top dedicated to the god or goddess who owned the city.

The temple complex was the true center of the community. The maim god a or goddess dwelt there symbolically in the form of a statue and the ceremony of dedication included a ritual that linked the statue to the god or goddess and thus supposedly harnessed the power of the deity for city’s benefit.
Enuma Elish