The Intent Behind the Enuma Elish (Creation Epic) Essay -- Enuma Elish

The Intent Behind the Enuma Elish The Enuma Elish, often known as The man Epic, is often considered the primary source of Mesopotamian cosmology. However, to view the Enuma Elish as a cosmogonic myth obscures the true intent of the epics author. The cosmological elements of the Enuma Elish atomic number 18 secondary to the authors effort to explain the supremacy of Marduk, to give up absolute oriental monarchy, and to defend Babylon as the axis mundi. The Enuma Elish was composed in Babylonin the early second millennium B.C.E. The decay of Sumerian civilization allowed the Old-Babylonian conglomerate to become the cultural and political center of Mesopotamia. Babylon was governed by absolute and unequivocal kings capable of wielding enough power to ensure the continued existence of coarse building projects and large-scale irrigation. The harsh environment of Mesopotamia often necessitated the absolute overshadow by a king powerful enough to command the resources infallibl e to maintain civilization. The poet behind the Enuma Elish sought to justify the position and government of Ba...