Homework #1

29   “Qingu is the one who instigated warfare,

30   Who made Tia-mat rebel and set battle in motion.”

31   They bound him, holding him before Ea,

32   They inflicted the penalty on him and severed his blood-vessels.

33   From his blood he (Ea) created mankind,

This text is from Enuma Elish following the events of Tia-mat being killed by Marduk. What is interesting about this section of the text is the similarities between this and the Bible. In Christianity, it is believed that everyone is born sinners and no one is without original sin. Qingu- someone who convinced Tia-mat to wage war with the younger Gods, is being used to make mankind. This relates to the famed Adam and Eve story where a serpent convinces Eve to do the only thing she was instructed not to do, eat an apple, but instead Qingu is the serpent who convinces Tia-mat to do his bidding and mankind is the one to pay for it.