Sacred Texts Ancient Near East Index Previous Next
1. O, thou River, who didst create all things,
2. When the great gods dug thee out,
3. They set prosperity upon thy banks,
4. Within thee Ea, the King of the Deep, created his dwelling,
5. The deluge they sent not before thou wert!
6. Fire, and wrath, and splendour, and terror
7. Have Ea and Marduk presented unto thee!
8. Thou judgest the cause of mankind!
9. O, River, thou art mighty! O River, thou art supreme! O River, thou art righteous!
129:1 This mystical river of creation was evidently suggested by the Euphrates, on the waters of which the fertility of Babylonia so largely depended; for a comparison of similar conceptions of a river of creation both in Egyptian and in Hebrew mythology, see the Introduction. The text forms the opening words of an incantation...