Mythologies from around the world have a surprising number of similarities, from trickster characters to malevolent water demons and from sun gods riding through the skies to creatures ferrying the souls of the dead to the underworld. Two mythologies with obvious, though often ignored, parallels are Babylonian myth and Biblical myth. Though the two have their differences, as evidenced by their disparate creation myths, they have strong correlations with one another in several other major legends, especially through their flood myths and through their God resurrection cycles. These three myths- the creation story, the flood myth, and the resurrection of the God figure- form a trinity of mythological similarity and possible one of continuity, as the Babylonian version of these tales predate Biblical records by approximately a millennium and a half (Gilgamesh 99). Other mythical traditions from across the globe have their own varieties of these three stories, but rarely are the parallels as predominant as they are in the Babylonian and Biblical accounts.
The Creation
The creation story of the Babylonians starts out using very similar language as what would eventually be used in the Biblical version. Sandars’ translation states that “when there was no heaven, no earth, no height, no depth, no name…” the gods existed in an empty void with no humans to worship them, and proposes that the entire story reads more like a hymn than a work of literature or even a fairy tale, with no main character or plot tension (11, 16-17). The tale goes on to describe how the Babylonian gods battled one another to establish dominance over primordial forces- which they also created- and each other. Mostly at this stage, the gods are not concerned with intentionally creating the universe or mankind, but are far more concerned with establishing a sort of hierarchy between themselves and with carving out a niche of influence within the new world they will create. It isn’t until the end of the tale that one of the gods, Marduk, having achieved his victory over the goddess Tiamat, takes her remains and splits her body in half, using one half to create a roof for the sky and one half to make the earth to keep the subterranean waters below. He uses her saliva to make clouds and rain, her ‘poison’ to make fog, and her slit eyes to form the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (McCall 52-59). Having built the world on the body of the defeated goddess, Marduk calls for the creation of followers and worshippers to revere him and his compatriots in their victory. He also wants these followers to do the mundane daily work that is beneath the status of a god or goddess, such as growing crops and herding animals. Of course, these new creations are human beings, formed out of clay by the gods to act as servants (Sproul 114-116). Though a foreign idea to most people living with religious thought today, to the ancient Babylonians the idea of being created for the sole purpose of serving the gods was not only generally accepted by the Babylonian people, but was in fact the principle theology of the day (King 65).
The Biblical myth is very different in many ways. Springing from a monotheistic religion, the Judeo-Christian God did not have other deities to battle against in a primordial war for control. There were certainly other religions, and therefore other gods and goddesses, to contend with on the mortal plain, but as far as the Judeo-Christian tradition went their God was the only God with any real power over the world. Still, the language used to describe the Biblical creation of the world closely parallels the Babylonian tradition. Bierlien’s account of the Genesis story reads “[in] the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water” (73). This water may possibly be a throwback to the subterranean waters covered by the body of Tiamat, or it may be a reference to the primordial forces that the Judeo-Christian God was meant to rule alone. The reference to water as part of the creative process is not an uncommon one in mythology. Neither is the reference to clay- like Marduk, God creates mankind out of earth, first molding a bit of clay into the form of man then breathing life into the figurine (Gabel 114). Again, earth is a recurring element in creation stories from around the world, and in this case may be a bit of a stand in for the goddess figure- being the only deity in the Judeo-Christian tradition, God has no feminine force to correspond to his masculine principle, and most earth deities are regarded as female in nature. This includes the goddess Marduk killed in order to form the earth.
Though the stories themselves are very different, the presence of these creation myths is a powerful indicator of a universal truth- all complete mythologies have a creation legend. It stems from a worldwide need to explain the origins of humanity and the world itself, which is the strongest correlation between mythologies of any source. Often these stories share common threads, such as the presence of certain elemental or primordial forces influencing the formation of the world. These elemental forces can be men made of earth, rivers made of tears- the most human source of water- or the battle for order and civilization to emerge from chaos and wilderness (Stewart 11, 13). In any instance, the creation story is itself a sign of similarity between cultures which may have never been in contact with one another. In fact, it is a worldwide testament to human curiosity and the need to name and explore the unknown.
The Flood
Unlike the creation story, which varies in its explicit content, the flood stories shared by Babylonian and Biblical tradition have such direct, obvious parallels in the way they are structured and in the events that transpire within the tales that when the first tablets containing the Babylonian flood myth were discovered and then translated in the early years of the last century, interest in comparing the Old Testament story to the ancient Babylonian tale surged (King 58). The Babylonian story can be found today in the epic poem documenting the adventures of the ancient hero Gilgamesh. In one tablet describing his journey though the Underworld in search for a way to achieve immortality, Gilgamesh seeks out his ancestor, Utnapishtim, who received warning from the god Ea that the world would soon be flooded and destroyed due to the capricious whim of the gods. Utnapishtim, with the help of his family and a few friends, built a boat and filled it with all of the known animals of the world, then sought refuge within the boat themselves when the gods sent massive storms to drown the world (Gilgamesh 79-80). The floods were so severe that the gods themselves were frightened- Ishtar, or Inanna, whose complaints had convinced the other gods to allow the flood, was so appalled to see her ‘children’ killed she wept with grief and shame (Bierlein 126). Seven days and nights passed for Utnapishtim and his family in their boat before they came to rest on a mountain peak. Utnapishtim sent out a dove, a swallow, and a raven in succession over the next few days to see if there was enough land for his passengers to leave the boat and begin their lives again. The dove and the swallow came back, signifying that the floods hadn’t abated enough to leave, but the raven never returned and Utnapishtim allowed his family to leave the boat (Gilgamesh 79).
The Biblical story covers much of the same territory. Noah, who alone of the men of his day had ‘found favor’ with God, received warning from his God that a flood was on its way to wipe out the corruption, violence, and evil in mankind. God directs Noah to build an ark and fill it with all the animals in the world, and to take on board his family as well. Like in the Babylonian account, for seven days and nights it rains in a torrential downfall that wipes out all life on land, and when Noah’s ark finally lands it comes to rest on a mountaintop. This time, Noah sends out the raven first. The bird does not return, not because it found land but because it flies back and forth across the sky until eventually the land dried enough for the bird to find a roost. Noah then sends out a dove, which returns the first time it is released but not the second, showing that there is finally enough dry ground to live on (Bierlein 121-124). The reversal of the crow and dove’s roles in the Biblical account, if the writers of the Old Testament story were aware of the Babylonian account, could have been an intentional way to subvert the older myth. The dove is a popular symbol among Christians, while the crow is often viewed as a negative harbinger of death or at the very least an unattractive animal.
The similarities between the Babylonian story and the Biblical account of Noah’s ark are startling. Both are warned in advance by a god that tragedy is imminent, both build a boat to save their loved ones and the animals of the world from destruction, both are stranded on a mountaintop at the end of the flood, and both release birds to determine if it is safe to leave their haven. The greatest difference between the two stories lies in the reason behind the flooding- in the Judeo-Christian tradition, God sent the flood to wipe out evil men and corruption, while in the Babylonian tale the gods send the flood essentially because a goddess complained about having a bad day with the mortal servants. Though in both cases it is the folly and sin of mankind that causes the flood, it is only in the Biblical story that the sin is named and the punishment is sent for a specific reason. The Babylonian account also claims that the floods were sent as a result of mankind’s offenses, though what those offences are remain abstract (Heidel 225).
The Resurrection of God
Most of the world’s most exciting and enduring literature revolves around a hero or god descending into the Realm of the Dead and rising again, forever changed. Though it is impossible to tell if the story is the first of its kind, one of the oldest surviving stories of such a journey is the account of Inanna’s voyage into the Great Below. The Babylonian goddess, also referred to as Ishtar, sets out for the underworld to console her sister Ereshkigal, the ruler of the Great Below, over the death of Ereshkigal’s husband. Before she leaves, she instructs her servant to wait for three days and, if Inanna doesn’t return from her unpredictable and dangerous sister’s realm, her servant is to go to the gods Enlil, Nanna, and Enki to beg for help so Inanna does not die. As Inanna enters the kingdom of her sister she must pass through the seven gates of the underworld. As she enters each gate, another symbol of her office is stripped from her. Her crown, her lapis beads, a double strand of beads, her royal robe, her breastplate, her gold ring, and her lapis rod and line, all of her accoutrements signifying her rank and divinity, are taken from her before she is allowed into her sister’s presence. Ereshkigal rises from her throne upon seeing Inanna and “[fastens] on Inanna the eye of death. She [speaks] against her the word of wrath. She [utters] against her the cry of guilt. She [strikes] her” (Wolkstein 60). Struck dead where she stands in her sister’s throne room, Inanna collapses and is hung on a hook on a wall like a butchered sacrificial animal. When three days have gone by, Inanna’s servant goes to the three gods specified by Inanna. Enlil and Nanna refuse to help, claiming that by setting foot in the Underworld Inanna doomed herself to die and she deserves to get what she set herself up for. Only Enki takes mercy on Inanna’s plight and forms a plan to revive the goddess. He creates two creatures, the galatur and the kurgarra, who are neither male nor female. He sends them to the Underworld after Inanna with the water of life and the food of life, and with instructions on how to please Ereshkigal so they will be able to retrieve Inanna’s body. When they enter Ereshkigal’s throne room, they sympathize with her various pains and ailments, offering her their complete support and understanding for everything she wants to complain about. Pleased that these two strangers empathize with her so much, she offers them any gift of their choice. They ask for Inanna’s body hanging on the hook, and insist that it is all they will take. She complies, and the galatur and the kurgarra feed Inanna’s body the food of life and the water of life. When she rises, restored to life, the Annuna, or the judges of the afterlife, proclaim that if Inanna wishes to rise from the Underworld she must find someone to take her place. She is chased through and out of the Underworld by demons who scream out at her the names of people, all beloved to her, who could take her place in death. She refuses to surrender her closest friend and her sons, but when the demons turn to her husband, Dumuzi, she relents, and the demons snatch her husband and beat him mercilessly. Dumuzi escapes, but only by turning to Inanna’s brother, Utu, the God of Justice, and begging for help. Utu turns Dumuzi’s hands and feet into snakes, making it impossible for the demons to keep hold of him, and Dumuzi runs for his life (Wolkstein 52-73).
The Biblical story of resurrection differs from that of Inanna in a variety of ways, most notably in that Jesus’ story does not include a true voyage through the Realm of Death in the sense that the Realm of Death is a physical place, as in Inanna’s tale. Like Inanna’s Jesus’ body is left on display for all of his enemies to see his apparent defeat, and like Inanna, his loyal followers and companions anticipate his return. Jesus knows in advance that he will die and that some of his most trusted companions will turn on him or deny their connection to him. He tells Peter, one of his disciples, that before the rooster crows on day of Jesus’ arrest that Peter will deny three times being acquainted with Jesus. Jesus is arrested, Peter denies knowing him, and Jesus faces trial before Pontius Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish leaders of the day who demand his execution. Convicted of inciting rebellion, Jesus is condemned to die by crucifixion. After nine hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus dies and is placed in a tomb. When three days pass, the women who followed Jesus to Galilee enter the tomb with spices and perfumes to adorn the body of their Messiah only top find that his body is no longer in the tomb and only a few strips of linen remain. Excited about Jesus’ apparent resurrection, they spread the word to his disciples. Jesus himself then appeared to his disciples and instructed them one last time on the meaning of the Scriptures before ascending into the heavens (Holy Bible 584-586).
Though different in content and in purpose, both of these stories exhibit striking similarities in structure. In Jesus’ resurrection in the New Testament of the Bible, the act of dying is a metaphor. In Christian doctrine, bodily resurrection isn’t the same thing as immortality. Immortality is achieved by the soul, which goes on living even after the body has been killed (Gabel 179). Inanna’s death was meant a bit more literally. When Ereshkigal killed her, it was a complete physical death as well as the termination of her soul, and Inanna needed the help of a living god to rescue her from death’s grip. Jesus also relied on the power of living divinity to return from death in order to spread his final teachings before leaving the land of mortal humanity behind. Just as her journey through the Realm of the Dead forced the goddess Inanna to determine what the price of life really is, Jesus’ death was the final chapter in his own voyage through mortality and human suffering. Another interesting parallel between these two stories is the re-occurrence of the number three. Inanna’s servant is to wait three days for the goddess’ return, then she is to go to three different gods in search of help. When Jesus speaks of Peter’s upcoming denial, he predicts that his disciple will deny Jesus a total of three times. Then, after dying on the cross, Jesus returns to the world of the living after three days in the tomb. The number three is a popular, powerful number in myth and spiritual teachings, and its appearance in these stories lends a feeling of completion.
Babylonian and Biblical Myth
Though it is impossible to determine how much influence the ancient Babylonians ultimately had on the stories written into the Bible, it is obvious that despite contrary belief systems and religious origins, the two traditions have an astounding number of parallels in their teachings and stories. Naturally they have their differences, as do any two systems of belief and mythology, but, as according to Leonard W. King, a British classical scholar at the turn of the last century, the striking similarities between the two traditions “…leave no doubt that the Hebrew cosmogony…[is] derived ultimately from the same original as the Babylonian narratives…” (7). Other mythologies have stories revolving around the creation of the world, tales about floods that wipe out entire civilizations, and epics about heroes and gods who rise from the dead and return to the land of more ordinary mortals. These stories even take shape in modern literature and entertainment, such as in fantasy novels and disaster movies. Tales like these capture the human imagination, ensuring that they will be passed on from generation to generation and across cultural barriers. No matter what forms they take, some element of these myths will live on in the world’s mythology.
Works Cited
Bierlein, J.F. Parallel Myths. New York: Ballantine, 1994.
Gabel, John B. et al. The Bible as Literature: An Introduction. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University, 1996.
Gilgamesh. Trans. Herbert Mason. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,2003.
Heidel, Alexander. The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1949.
The Holy Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2001.
King, Leonard W. Legends of Babylon and Egypt in Relation to Hebrew Tradition. Forgotten Books, 2007.
McCall, Henrietta. Mesopotamian Myths. Austin: University of Texas, 1990.
Sandars, N.K. Poems of Heaven and Hell from Ancient Mesopotamia. London: Penguin, 1971.
Sproul, Barbara C. Primal Myths: Creating the World. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1979.
Stewart, R.J. The Elements of Creation Myth. Dorset: Element Books, 1989.
Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. New York: Harper & Row,1983.
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