Atra-Hasis

The tradition & historical record

Atra-Hasis (Akkadian: 𒀜𒊏𒄩𒋀, romanized: Atra-ḫasīs) is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise'). The narrative has its origins in Sumerian historiography and comprises four focal points: An organisation of allied upper and lower gods shaping Mesopotamia agriculturally; a political conflict between them, pacified by manufacturing of a first human couple to serve as their labour force; the human's mass reproduction within a few millennia; and a devastating deluge linked to the intention of the upper gods to destroy their imperfect artificial creatures. Atrahasis is a relatively late epic of the flood myth ubiquitous in Mesopotamia; its oldest known versions date from the Ur III period, followed by an almost unbroken chain of transmission comprising Akkadian, Babylonian, Biblical and Qur’anic accounts (cf. flood myth). Recent research suggests that the relatively rapid rise in sea levels at the end of the last Ice Age may have formed the actual backdrop to this narrative – such an event suggests that ‘it is likely to have made an impression on the emerging settled communities (…), particularly given that the population living in the affected areas had become fully literate within three millennia of the last flood.' (J. ¹

The epic of Atra-Hasis contains the myth of the creation of mankind by Enlil, Anu and Enki, also known as Anunnaki and Igigi, the superior and the inferior gods. They seem to have been united in an organization similar to that which existed in Greece between Zeus – as ‘pure spirit or air’ the leading party – and the groups round Poseidon (water) and Hades (earth). The Eridu Genesis resembles Atrahasis in some central aspects. It recounts the dawn of civilisation—how the gods brought their various inventions down from a sacred Mount to earth, even hinting that the groups of prehistoric man previously roamed Mesopotamia as free nomads. ¹

In the main, the epic reports on a conflict between some groups of Sumerian gods and draws on the myth of the separation of air and earth ‘above’ and ‘below’ in the midst of the cosmic freshwater primordial ocean to clarify their hierarchical relationship. (Cf. Enūma Eliš and The Seven Tablets of Creation). Enlil – "Lord Wind" – represents the leading party in the council of gods; the party of Anunnaki around Anu belongs more to the upper heaven, and that of Igigi around Enki more to that below the earth sphere. All three parties are bound by the Tablet of Destinies, which Enlil is the only one to possess. In the Sumerian myths, it was bestowed on him by the earth mother goddess Ninḫursag herself (cf. Anzu myth). His aptitude as the greatest warrior and chief strategist of the divine tribal alliance gives him power over the other parties of gods; only he has the ability to transform present circumstances back into their original state – redefining the course of fate. As a permanent legal document the tablet was provided with a seal, a sign mechanically applied by means of a special technique, which in ancient Mesopotamia was regarded as a symbol of a contract. Contracts have been directly related to tribute payments to be made: often to shares of the food produced (see the cattle to be divided equitably between Prometheus and Zeus), but generally to assistance in battle or labour, such as the construction of mighty irrigation channels as described in the epic discussed here. ¹

The epos taking place according to its incipit, "When the gods had to work like humans (inuma ilu awilum = when the gods were humans)", there was a quarrel between the upper Anunnaki and the Igigu, the lower gods. While the latter had the task of ensuring the supply of the land through construction of irrigation canals by digging out the beds of big rivers, the Anunnaki ruled from above, presumably watching over the implementation of their plans and dividing the fruits of this great civilising project as they saw fit. After 40 years, however, the lesser gods rebelled and refused to do strenuous labor. At night, they surrounded the dwelling place of Enlil, who was considered the main god of Sumerian civilisation, the separator of air and earth in the midst of the cosmic ocean. Enlil was surprised and called for Anu and Enki. Nusku, one of the sons and Enlil's ambassador here, tried to negotiate with the rebellious party, but had no success. Enlil, who also was the benevolent, wise leader of all the gods, didn't want a battle with the risk of serious injuries and deaths, and to avoid this he devised the plan to create easily controllable (obedient) humans to do the hard labour in place of the rebellious gods. He asked Mami – leader of the 7 goddess wombs – if she could help. Mami declared that she could only fulfil this request with Enki's assistance. Enki, agreeing, advised the assembly of all gods that they should first cleanse themselves for everything else. They do. On the fifteenth day of this project, he cut up Geshtu-E – 'ear', a partie of lesser gods who listened to the higher ones wisdom – into pieces (cf. Plato's dissection of the rebellious spherical people into weak single individuals) and began to create the first human being to the sound of drums. ¹

is about the unstoppable increase in overpopulation. After another 1200 years there were many more humans, they roamed around like roaring herds of cattle. Because the gods in upper part of heaven could no longer even sleep, Enlil sent Adad and, again 1200 years later, the fertility goddess Nisaba to devastate the land with storms and dry up the harvests. Enki – residing below the Earth's sphere in heaven (well protected from noise) – told his priest Atraḫasis what to do about it each time: Only Adad and Nisaba should be sacrificed to, the other gods should be left to starve. The pious priest acted according to this divine advice; Adad and Nisaba were so ashamed of this undeserved favour that they abandoned their endeavour. Enlil now completely enraged against Enki and decreed that a mighty flood should consume all of humanity. In addition, he made Enki swear before all Anunnaki that he will never speak another word to any human; he then began to consult with the assembled gods about the exact date and duration of the deluge to be unleashed. ¹

contains the flood myth. Well informed with all details, Enki went to his priest's reed hut, but waited until Atraḫasis began to lie down to sleep. Then, speaking cunningly to the hut's wall so as not to breach the contract, Enki told 'it' what to do: ‘Separate yourself from your house, build a ship, spurn your possessions, save your life.’ The ship should be cube-shaped and also be watertight from above with a roof "like Abzu" itself. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Atra-Hasis”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Atra-Hasis is Akadian creation myth, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 5 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²