The document provides an overview of the Atra-h̊asis epic from Mesopotamian tradition. It describes how in the epic, the gods created humans to take over harsh labor from the gods. However, humans became too numerous and disturbed the gods. Enlil used plagues, droughts, and famines to reduce the human population, but Atra-h̊asis was warned each time by Enki. Finally, the gods sent a flood, but Atra-h̊asis built an ark and survived with animals. After the flood, the gods introduced mortality to humans to control population growth.

1. Filename: Atra_hasis_doc.xml
1 Atra-h̊asis
Atra-h̊asis
Atra-h̊asis is a name of the flood hero in the Meso-
potamian tradition. The Epic of Atra-h̊asis that was
originally called according to its first line “when
the gods (were like) men,” is a mythological narra-
tive poem in Akkadian. The first copies of it date
to the Old Babylonian period (around 1600 BCE)
The poem was later reworked into different ver-
sions during the middle and late Babylonian and
Assyrian periods. A short Middle Babylonian ver-
sion of Atra-h̊asis story is also found in Ugarit on
the Syrian coast (see Foster 2005: 227–80). Because
of those different recensions, the texts offer a big
variability of different readings (see Shehata 2001).
The epic relates that before the creation of man-
kind, forced labor was imposed on a large group of
the gods who rebelled against Enlil. The ruling
gods Anu, Enlil and Enki decide to create the hu-
man race, who would take over the harsh work of
the gods. Enki and the mother goddess accomplish
the task by mixing the blood of rebellious gods’
leaders with clay. The humans accept the institu-
tions of birth, marriage and procreation, and are
sent to work instead of gods. Humankind, how-
ever, soon becomes too numerous and begins to
disturb Enlil and his sleep by their human clamor.
Enlil consecutively uses three divine measures to
diminish the number of humankind, each time
after a 1,200 year interval. First he sends a plague,
then causes a drought and thirdly introduces a fam-
ine. Atra-h̊asis is the favorite human being of Enki,
who teaches him in each case how to circumvent
the current disaster. Finally the gods in their as-
sembly decide to send a flood, but Atra-h̊asis is
warned by Enki in a dream. He builds an ark (cf.
Noah’s Ark) and survives the flood with his family,
craftsmen and every species of animal. The flood
story in the 11th tablet of Gilgamesh Epic derives
largely from the account in the Epic of Atra-h̊asis that
is earlier (Lambert/Millard 1969: 8–13). After the
flood, the gods understand the use and value of hu-
mankind for them, but the problem of human
noise remains unsolved. In the assembly of gods,
the mother goddess proposes to introduce into hu-
mankind the barrenness of women, taboos of mar-
riage, stillbirth and infant mortality. The greatest
redesign of human life involves an end to the natu-
ral lifespan. It is Enki who commands the mother
goddess: “[You,] O mother goddess, maker of des-
tiny, [assign death] to the people!” thus making
death an ineviteble fact of life (see Lambert 1980).
It is thus the flood that changes the potential for
the eternal life in man into inevitable fact of mor-
tality.
Bibliography: ■ B. R. Foster, Before the Muses (Bethesda, Md.
3
2005). ■ W. G. Lambert, “The Theology of Death”, in
Death in Mesopotamia (ed. B. Alster; Copenhagen 1980) 53–
66. ■ W. G. Lambert/A. R. Millard, Atra-h̊ası̄s (Oxford
1969). ■ D. Shehata, Annotierte Bibliographie zum altbabylo-
Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ist Reception (EBR) – Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
Created: 24-10-08 14:40:14
2
nischen Atramh̊asis-Mythos Inūma ilū awı̄lum (GAAL 3; Göttin-
gen 2001).
Amar Annus
See also /Flood; /Gilgamesh Epic; /Noah’s
Ark