Abzu, About Your Kids

[mythusmage]

If given the chance, would you change how you raised An and Ki?

And what's Enlil's problem. I mean, mortals get noisy and all, but aren't plagues of lions overdoing it a bit?

[luke]

If you think Enlil's bad, you should meet Kingu. Worse than his mother!

:twisted:

[mythusmage]

That raises a question. Why do all chthonic creation deities raise such lousy kids? Tiamat, Leviathan, Python, all the rest. Think you were all based on crocodilians or something.

I mean, you loved them, you protected them. But you have to admit they're not exactly paragons of goodness and light, now are they?

BTW, could you have a talk in Innanna? I think it's about time she dealt with losing the Death domain to Nereshkigal. After all, she wasn't really doing anything with it, what with Love, Marital Strife, and Childbirth to handle and all that.

Thanks for writing

[luke]

Frankly, I'm offended.

You fail to mention the WORST of the WORST. The punk upstart of all punk upstart kids: Marduk.

This little asshole. Not only is he my grandkid (I think), but he kills me! And he's considered one of the good guys!

I'm just minding my business, hanging out with my lady, and he busts in the door and starts whacking me with a stick!

My kids never did anything like that.

Sorry about Ereshkigal. But I like her; I dote on her.

-L

[mythusmage]

I think you're getting yourself confused with Tiamat. I know, the Babylonians did too, but it don't mean you're exactly the same thing.

'Sides, Marduk's an East Semite deity from a bunch of one time sheep stealing nomads with pretentions. I'm not inclined to put much credence on any claim Marduk makes.

[Enlil]

Weell, you really have to blame the whole Tiamat slaying thing on Enlil, too. Stupid Babylonians - you'd think they would at least have the grace to write in some sort of solar powers for the sun-goddy Marduk! What a hack job. :?

Still, I guess it worked pretty well . . .

Christian

[mythusmage]

Enlil,

Actually Marduk's more an exemplar of the culture hero/ruling authority/golden boy than a sun god. 'Sides which, you're supposed to be a storm god. Son of Earth and Sky. The lashing rain, burning lightning, and battering wind.

Far as I know, the Sumerian sun god is this nebbish who goes around talking to cracks in walls.

[Enlil]

Ah, but he isn't Sumerian - he is Babylonian. All the powers he uses in the creation epic are actually Enlil's - the Babylonians merely replaced Enlil's name with Marduk's when they came to power. At least that was how I was taught in History of the Ancient Near East.

I believe he was the Babylonian's main god, and bull of the sun (I think?)

Christian

[mythusmage]

Asl I understand it, Marduk was the Golden Boy. The chap who slays primal chaos and creates the world we know. Enlil can best be described as the grumpy old dad. The clan patriarch who's word is (officially) law, but who has to put up with tons of crap from the kids.

Then you have younger brother, Enki, who acts as a corrupting influence on his neices and nephews. As is the role of most any uncle. :lol:

Sumerian myth can be very illustrative of Sumerian family dynamics. Indeed, of family dynamics in most any culture.