The 9 parts of the human soul according to Ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, a person’s soul was thought to consist of nine separate parts which were integrated into a whole individual but had very distinct aspects.

In many ancient cultures such as those found in Asian, African, and even America, we find a Soul concept analogously similar to the concept developed by the religions of the Judeo-Christian group (including Islam) and European philosophy.

The soul, from the Vedic or Veda point of view, is the being, which by nature is eternal (without birth or death or without beginning or end) of a substance different from that of the physical body and which has its own consciousness.

From this point of view, material science or that which studies physical or material phenomena is limited because it cannot study spiritual phenomena since its nature is different from physics.

This chapter of Bhagavad Gita deals with the nature of the soul.

But just as those ancient cultures explain in detail the concept of the human soul, the ancient Egyptians, known to have been one of the most advanced ancient civilization to ever exist on Earth developed an extremely interesting concept that explains the human soul.

THE SOUL WAS NOT ONLY ONE’S CHARACTER BUT A COMPOSITE BEING OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES, EACH OF WHICH HAD ITS OWN ROLE TO PLAY IN THE JOURNEY OF LIFE AND AFTERLIFE.

The ancient Egyptians were convinced that the human soul was composed of NINE main parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Shuyet, and the Jb, the Akh, the Sahu, the Khat and the Sechem.

(Note) In some eras, the soul was thought to be comprised of fiveparts and in others seven, but, generally, it was nine. Here we take a look at the NINE parts.

In addition to the components of the human soul, there was the human body referred to as the Ha—Haw—which was interpreted as the sum of bodily parts.

Jb (The heart) was an extremely important part of the Egyptian soul. It was believed to form from one drop of blood from the child’s mother’s heart, taken at conception. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the heart was the key to the afterlife.

Shuyet (The Shadow) is always present. The ancient Egyptians believed the shadow summarized what a person represents.

Ren (The name) was another crucial part of the soul. A person’s Ren was given to them at birth and the Egyptians believed that it would live for as long as that name was spoken.

Bâ (The personality) Resumed, the ancient Egyptians believed that Bâ was everything that makes a person unique.

Ka (The vital spark) According to the Ancient Egyptians the Ka was a vital concept in the soul as it distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person.

Khat (The Body) the Khat was referred to by the Ancient Egyptian as the physical body which when deceased, provided the ling between the soul and one’s earthly life.

Akh (The Immortal Self) according to ancient Egyptians, the Akh was the transformed immortal self which offered a magical union of the Ba and Ka.

Sahu (The Judge) The Sahu was the aspect of Akh which would come to a person as a ghost or while asleep in dreams. Sahu was differentiated from all other aspects of the soul once the person was ‘justified’ by the God Osiris and judged worthy of eternal existence.

Sechem (Another aspect of Akh) The Sechem was another aspect of the Akh which allowed it mastery of circumstances. It was considered the vital life energy of the person which manifested itself as the power that had the ability to control one’s surroundings and outcomes.

Furthermore, according to the ancient Egyptians the human being, has eight degrees in personality:

“Ren“, or “he name, being able to keep existing according to the care of a correct embalming.

“Sejem” is the energy, the power, the light of the deceased.

“Aj” is the unification of “Ka” and “Ba”, in view of a return to existence.

“Ba“, which makes of an individual being what it is; it also applies to inanimate things. It is the closest concept to the Western “Soul”.

“Ka,” the life force. Sustained by food offerings to the deceased.

“Sheut or Shuyet” is the shadow of the person, represented by a completely black human figure.

“Seju” means the physical remains of the person.

“Jat” is the carnal part of the person.

Lecture: Caresiell and his 12 dukes

1.Carnesiell - ("radiant fire") is ranked as an emperor and king of the East.

He is also said in various other Christian demonologies to be one of the thirty-six Elemental World Rulers as well as one of the seventy-two Spirits of Solomon.

An Aerial Devil and demon of the east, Carnesiel commands 1,000 great dukes, 100 lesser dukes, 12 chief dukes, and 50,000,000,000,000 other demonic spirits.

When summoned, he will appear with 60,000,000,000,000 servitors of varying ranks, and when you call any of the dukes, their entourage is sometimes 10 spirits, but never exceeds 300.

Carnesial can appear day or night.

His 12 most important demonic dukes are

Myrezyn, ranked as a duke and is listed as one of the twelve named Servitors of Carnesiel.

Omich, duke and is one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel

Zabriel, duke and is one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel. 

Zabriel commands no less than ten but no more than three hundred servitors.

In the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, Zabriel is a duke and is one of the twelve named Duke Servitors of Carnesiel. 

Zabriel commands no less than ten but no more than three hundred servitors.

Source: 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59.

Bucafas, an Aerial Devil, is named as one of the twelve duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

Benoham,

In the Theurgia Goetia, the second book of the
Lemegeton, Benoham, an AERIAL Devil, is listed
as one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel

Sources: 

Guiley, Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology, 37; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59;
Trirthemius, Steganographia, 49.

Arifiel,

In Theurgia Goetia, book two of the Lemegeton, Arifel is a duke and one of the twelve named

Cumeriel,

In the Theurgia Goetia, the second book of the Lemegeton, Cumerzel is named as one of the twelve duke Servitors of Carnesiel. 

He commands between ten and three hundred servants.

Sources: 

Guiley, Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology, 37; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59.

Vadriel, one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel. 

He commands ten chiefs and one hundred servitors and is most powerful during the ninth hour of the day.

Vadriel is one of the twelve named Duke Servitors of Carnesiel. 

He commands ten chiefs and one hundred servitors and is most powerful during the ninth hour of the day.

Sources: 

Davidson, Dictionary of Angels, 60, 84, 94, 180, 191, 303, 330; 

Gettings, Dictionary of Demons, 188, 245; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59; 

Waite, The Book of Ceremonial Magic, 68.

Armany, duke and one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

In the Theurgia Goetia, book two of the Lemegeton, Armany is listed as a duke and one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

Sources: 

Eco, Infinity of Lists, 61; 

Guiely, Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology, 37; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 69.

Capriel, named as one of the twelve duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

In Theurgia Goetia, book two of the Lemegeton, Capriel is named as one of the twelve Duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

Sources: 

Belanger, Dictionary of Demons, 85; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59.

Bedary, one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

In the Theurgia Goetia, book two of the Lemegeton, Bedary is one of the twelve named Duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

Sources: 

Guiley, Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology, 37; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59.

Laphor, chief duke who commands between ten and three hundred servitors. 

An Aerial Devil, he is also listed as one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel.

The Theurgia Goetia, the second book of the Lemegeton, is ranked as a chief duke who commands between ten and three hundred servitors. 

An Aerial Devil, he is also listed as one of the twelve named duke Servitors of Carnesiel .

Sources: 

Eco, Infinity of Lists, 61; 

Guiley, Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology, 37; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59.

Servitors of Carnesiel

The Theurgia Goetia, book two of the Lemegeton, says there are 60,000,000,000,000 duke servitors of CARNESIEL, but it only names twelve of them: Arifiel, ARMANY, BEDARY, BenOHAM, Bucafas, Capriel, Cumerzel, Laphor,  Myrezyn, Ornich, VADRIEL, and ZABRIEL. 

Sources: 

Butler, Ritual Magic, 77; 

Eco, Infinity of Lists, 61; 

Gettings, Dictionary of Demons, 232; 

Pane, Hierarchy of Hell, 68; 

Peterson, Lesser Key of Solomon, 59-60, 69; 

Trirthemius, Steganographia, 1, 49; 

Waite, Manual of Cartomancy and Occult Divination, 97.

THE 20 OLDEST OCCULT AND RELIGIOUS BOOKS OF ALL TIME.

If you were asked to name an old book, you would probably name something by Homer. Perhaps you might think of Beowulf. Someone religiously minded might mention Vedic texts, or perhaps the earliest writings found in the Hebrew Bible. While these literary classics are, indeed, old, a learned library science professional could probably tell you that the earliest books are from the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and the Middle East: Sumerian, Akkadian and Egyptian.

The earliest examples of literature that we have date from 2600 BC, during the early Bronze Age. This literature is interesting, and offers a look at the thought process of early civilization. (A look at examples of the earliest literature might warrant a library science grant or fellowship.) Examples from these early writings are often found inscribed on clay tablets, and, in some cases, in other mediums. And, of course, the language used is very different from modern Western languages. But, in the end, these oldest books represent the cultural heritage of us all. Here are the 20 oldest books of all time with links included in description for each:


SUMERIAN

No one is exactly sure where the Sumerians came from, but they may have come from Iran or India. Their language was different, though, from the Semitic peoples inhabiting Mesopotamia when they arrived. Sumer occupied the area we know as southern Iraq — the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Sumer was composed of city-states, each with its own ruler. However, these city-states comprised a civilization. Many consider Sumer the first cohesive civilization.

Even though examples of writing from Egypt predate some of the writing in Sumer and other permanent settlements were established prior to the cities of the Sumerians, many scholars agree that the Sumer’s general code of law and its culture and systemic writing and mode of exchange puts Sumer in the running as the world’s oldest civilization.

• Instructions of Shuruppak: Representing what is known as Sumerian wisdom literature, the Instructions of Shuruppak was meant to teach virtue and community standards.
• Code of Urukagina: This is a book of law. The rules in the Code of Uruagina were part of an effort to combat the corruption under a previous ruler.
• Epic of Gilgamesh: You’ve probably heard of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, following the exploits of this great hero of literature.
• Curse of Agade: Tells the story of the fall of the Akkadian empire, due to the cursing of the king, Agade.
• The Debate Between Bird and Fish: A philosophical essay, postulating a debate between a bird and a fish. A number of these literary essays exist in Sumerian literature.
• Code of Ur-Nammu: Pre-dating the Code of Hammurabi by three centuries, the Code of Ur-Nammu has the most complete set of laws of old books.
• Lament for Ur: When the great Sumerian city of Ur fell to the Elamites, the literary Lament for Ur was written to express the sorrow of the patron goddess of the city.
• Enmerkar and the Lord of Arrata: A great, legendary account of the conflict between two great kings. Many scholars have drawn parallels between some of the themes in Enmerkar and the Lord of Arrata and the Tower of Babel story.

AKKADIAN

The culture of Akkad rose side by side with that of Sumer, although located originally further south. However, the Akkadians eventually became what many historians and scholars consider the first true empire. At least, it was the largest empire seen up to that point. Unlike the Sumerians, who were not Semitic, the people of Akkad were Semitic. As the Akkadians moved north, they conquered the Sumerians, and absorbed them into what became the Akkadian empire.

After the Sumerians were conquered, Akkadian culture flourished. Arts and language grew to great heights. Eventually, the capital of the Akkadian empire became the well-known city of Babylon. The Akkadian empire eventually fell, but a rich history was left behind.

• Legend of Etana: Interestingly, the Legend of Etana tells the story of the Sumerian king Kish, and how he obtains a son with the help of Eagle — and what happens after.
• Enheduanna’s Hymns: Are you looking for an example of women in early literature? The hymns of the priestess Enheduanna, an important woman in Ur, offers you a look.
• Laws of Eshnunna: The city state of Eshnunna had its own set of laws. There are differences between the laws in this book, and the famous Code of Hammurabi, are instructive about the development of law in ancient times.
• Epic of Gilgamesh: This made it to the list twice. Why? Because the Akkadians, centuries after the first stories of Gilgamesh were told, fashioned the stories into one of the earliest examples of epic poetry.
• Kultepe Texts: These texts represent some of the first writings found in Anatolia. The Kultepe Texts include Histories of rebellions against the Akkadians.
• Enuma Elish: The Akkadian creation epic, the Enuma Elish, can help you understand the Babylonian worldview.
• Atra-Hasis: Tablets containing the Atra-Hasis contain an account of how the humans came to be, as well as an account of the Great Flood.

EGYPTIAN

The foundation for what we recognize as Ancient Egyptian culture had been developing for centuries, even before recorded history. However, things really picked up during the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt, when the government of Egypt — with divine kings at the center — and other portions of Egyptian culture were established.

The Early Dynastic Period was punctuated by a move to cities, as well as a flourishing artistic scene. Some of the earliest examples of writing are from Ancient Egypt, following this period and moving into the Fifth Dynasty. It is little surprise, then, that some of the oldest books of all time are from Egypt.

• Pyramid Texts: You’ve probably heard of the Pyramid Texts. These prove that a book can even be inscribed on the walls of an edifice.
• Palermo Stone: Chronicles the rise of legendary rulers before the god Horus. The Palermo Stone is a an example of legendary history.
• Maxims of Ptahhotep: This ancient text, a literary work ascribed to the ruler Ptahhotep, sets out proper rules governing human relationships.
• Coffin Texts: The coffin texts, written on (as you might expect) coffins, provide a look at the evolving Egyptian view of the afterlife.
• Story of Sinuhe: Perhaps one of the finest examples of Egyptian literature — or any literature — the Story of Sinuhe offers a moving story of divinity and mercy and other universal themes.

Of the Forgotten Generations of Man

And was not Man created from the blood of KINGU
Commander of the hordes of the Ancient Ones?
Does not man possess in his spirit
The sees of rebellion against the Elder Gods?
And the blood of Man is the Blood of Vengeance
And the blood of Man is the Spirit of Vengeance
And the Power of Man is the Power of the Ancient Ones
And this is the Covenant
For, lo! The Elder Gods possess the Sign
By which the Powers of the Ancient Ones are turned back
But Man possesses the Sign
And the Number
And the Shape
To summon the Blood of his Parents.

And this is the Covenant
Created by the Elder Gods
From the Blood of the Ancient Ones
Man is the Key by which
The Gate if IAK SAKKAK may be flung wide
By which the Ancient Ones
Seek their Vengeance
Upon the face of the Earth
Against the Offspring of MARDUK.

For what is new
Came from that which is old
And what is old
Shall replace that which is new
And once again the Ancient Ones
Shall rule upon the face of the Earth!
And this is too the Covenant!

Of the Generations of the Ancient Ones

UTUKK XUL
The account of the generations
Of the Ancient Ones here rendered
Of the generations of the Ancient Ones
Here remembered.
Cold and Rain that erode all things
They are the Evil Spirits
In the creation of ANU spawned
Plague Gods
PAZUZU
And the Beloved Sons of ENG
The Offspring of NINNKIGAL
Rending in pieces on high Bringing destruction below
They are Children of the Underworld
Loudly roaring on high
Gibbering loathsomely below
They are the bitter venom of the Gods.


The great storms directed from heaven
Those are they
The Owl, Messenger of UGGI
Lord of Death
Those they are
THEY ARE THE CHILDREN
BORN OF EARTH
THAT IN THE CREATION
OF ANU WERE SPAWNED.

The highest walls
The thickest walls
The strongest walls
Like a flood they pass
From house to house
They ravage
No door can shut them out
No bolt can turn them back
Through the door like snakes they slide
Through the bolts like winds they blow
Pulling the wife from the embrace of the husband
Snatching the child from the loins of man
Banishing the man from his home, his land
THEY ARE THE BURNING PAIN
THAT PRESSETH ITSELF ON THE BACK OF MAN.

THEY ARE GHOULS
The spirit of the harlot that hath died in the streets
The spirit of the woman that hath died in childbirth
The spirit of the woman that hath dies, weeping with a babe at the breast
The spirit of an evil man
One that haunteth the streets
Or one that haunteth the bed.


They are Seven!
Seven are they!
Those Seven were born in the Mountains of MASHU
Called Magick
They dwell within the Caverns of the Earth
Amid the desolate places of the Earth they live
Amid the places between
The Places
Unknown in heaven and in earth
They are arrayed in terror
Among the Elder Gods there is no knowledge of them
They have no name
Not in heaven
Nor on earth
They ride over the Mountain of Sunset
And on the Mountain of Dawn they cry
Through the Caverns of the Earth they creep
Amid the desolate places of the Earth they lie
Nowhere are they known
Not in heaven
Nor in the Earth
Are they discovered
For their place is outside our place
And between the angles of the Earth
They lie in wait
Crouching for the Sacrifice
THEY ARE THEY CHILDREN OF THE UNDERWORLD.

Falling like rain from the sky
Issuing like mist from the earth
Doors do not stop them
Bolts do not stop them
They glide in at the doors like serpents
They enter by the windows like the wind
IDPA they are, entering by the head
NAMTAR they are, entering by the heart
UTUK they are, entering by the brow
ALAL they are, entering by the chest
GIGIM they are, seizing the bowels
TELAL they are, grasping the hand
URUKU they are, giant Larvae, feeding on the Blood


They are Seven!
Seven are They!
They seize all the towers
From UR to NIPPUR
Yet UR knows them not
Yet NIPPUR does not know them
They have brought down the mighty
Of all the mighty Cities of man
Yet man knows them not
Yes the Cities do not know them
They have struck down the forests of the East
And have flooded the Lands of the West
Yet the East knows them not
Yet the West does not know them
They are a hand grasping at the neck
Yet the neck does not know them
And man knows them not.


Their words are Unwritten
Their numbers are Unknown
Their shapes are all Shapes
Their habitations
The desolate places where their Rites are performed
Their habitations
The haunts of man where a sacrifice has been offered
Their habitations
The lands here
And cities here
And the lands between the lands
The cities between the cities
In spaces no man has ever walked
In KURNUDE
The country from whence no traveller returns
At EKURBAD
In the altar of the Temple of the Dead
And at GI UMUNA
At their Mother's breast
At the Foundations of CHAOS
In the ARALIYA of MUMMU-TIAMAT
And at the Gates
Of IAK SAKKAK!

SPIRIT OF THE AIR, REMEMBER!
SPIRIT OF THE EARTH, REMEMBER!

THE MAGAN TEXT

Hearken, and Remember!
In the Name of ANU, Remember!
In the Name of ENLIL, Remember!
In the Name of ENKI, Remember!
When on High the Heavens had not been named,
The Earth had not been named,
And Naught existed but the Seas of ABSU,
The Ancient One,
And MUMMU TIAMAT, the Ancient One
Who bore them all,
Their Waters as One Water.
At this time, before the ELDER GODS had been brought forth,
Uncalled by Name,
Their destinies unknown and undetermined,
Then it was that the Gods were formed within the Ancient Ones.
LLMU and LLAAMU were brought forth and called by Name,
And for Ages they grew in age and bearing.
ANSHAR and KISHAR were brought forth,
And brought forth ANU
Who begat NUDIMMUD, Our Master ENKI,
Who has no rival among the Gods.
Remember!
The Elder Ones came together
They disturbed TIAMAT, the Ancient One, as they surged back and forth.
Yea, they troubled the belly of TIAMAT
By their Rebellion in the abode of Heaven.
ABSU could not lessen their clamour
TIAMAT was speechless at their ways.
Their doings were loathsome unto the Ancient Ones.

ABSU rose up to slay the Elder Gods by stealth.
With magick charm and spell ABSU fought,
But was slain by the sorcery of the Elder Gods.
And it was their first victory.
His body was lain in an empty Space
In a crevice of the heavens
Hid
He was lain,
But his blood cried out to the Abode of Heaven.

TIAMAT
Enraged
Filled with an Evil Motion
Said
Let us make Monsters
That they may go out and do battle
Against these Sons of Iniquity
The murderous offspring who have destroyed
A God.


HUBUR arose, She who fashioneth all things,
And possessor of Magick like unto Our Master.
She added matchless weapons to the arsenals of the Ancient Ones,
She bore Monster-Serpents
Sharp of tooth, long of fang,
She filled their bodies with venom for blood
Roaring dragons she has clothed with Terror
Has crowned them with Halos, making them as Gods,
So that he who beholds them shall perish
And, that, with their bodies reared up
None might turn them back.


She summoned the Viper, the Dragon, and the Winged Bull,
The Great Lion, the Mad-God, and the Scorpion-Man.
Mighty rabid Demons, Feathered-Serpents, the Horse-Man,
Bearing weapons that spare no
Fearless in Battle,
Charmed with the spells of ancient sorcery,
. . . withal Eleven of this kind she brought forth
With KINGU as Leader of the Minions.

Remember!

ENKI
Our Master
Fearing defeat, summoned his Son
MARDUK
Summoned his Son
The Son of Magick
Told him the Secret Name
The Secret Number
The Secret Shape
Whereby he might do battle
With the Ancient Horde
And be victorious.

MARDUK KURIOS!
Brightest Star among the Stars
Strongest God among the Gods
Son of Magick and the Sword
Child of Wisdom and the Word
Knower of the Secret Name
Knower of the Secret Number
Knower of the Secret Shape
He armed himself with the Disc of Power
In chariots of Fire he went forth
With a shouting Voice he called the Spell
With a Blazing Flame he filled his Body
Dragons, Vipers, all fell down
Lions, Horse-Men, all were slain.


The Mighty creatures of HUBUR were slain
The Spells, the Charms, the Sorcery were broken.
Naught but TIAMAT remained.
The Great Serpent, the Enormous Worm
The Snake with iron teeth
The Snake with sharpened claw
The Snake with Eyes of Death,
She lunged at MARDUK
With a roar
With a curse
She lunged.


MARDUK struck with the Disc of Power
Blinded TIAMAT's Eyes of Death
The Monster heaved and raised its back
Struck forth in all directions
Spitting ancient words of Power
Screamed the ancient incantations
MARDUK struck again and blew
An Evil Wind into her body
Which filled the raging, wicked Serpent
MARDUK shot between her jaws
The Charmed arrow of ENKI's Magick
MARDUK struck again and severed
The head of TIAMAT from its body.

And all was silent.

Remember!

MARDUK
Victor
Took the Tablets of Destiny
Unbidden
Hung them around his neck.
Acclaimed of the Elder Gods was he.
First among the Elder Ones was he.
He split the sundered TIAMAT in twain
And fashioned the heavens and the earth,
With a Gate to keep the Ancient Ones Without.
With a Gate whose Key is hid forever
Save to the Sons of MARDUK
Save to the Followers of Our Master
ENKI
First in Magick among the Gods.

From the Blood of KINGU he fashioned Man.
He constructed Watchtowers for the Elder Gods
Fixing their astral bodies as constellations
That they may watch the Gate of ABSU
The Gate of TIAMAT they watch
The Gate of KINGU they oversee
The Gate whose Guardian is IAK SAKKAK they bind.


All the Elder Powers resist
The Force of Ancient Artistry
The Magick Spell of the Oldest Ones
The Incantation of the Primal Power
The Mountain KUR, the Serpent God
The Mountain MASHU, that of Magick
The Dead KUTULU, Dead but Dreaming
TIAMAT, Dead but Dreaming
ABSU, KINGU, Dead but Dreaming
And shall their generation come again?

WE ARE THE LOST ONES
From a Time before Time
From a Land beyond the Stars
From the Age when ANU walked the earth
In company of Bright Angels.
We have survived the first War
Between the Powers of the Gods
And have seen the wrath of the Ancient Ones
Dark Angels
Vent upon the Earth
WE ARE FROM A RACE BEYOND THE WANDERERS OF NIGHT.


We have survived the Age when ABSU ruled the Earth
And the Power destroyed out generations.
We have survived on tops of mountains
And beneath the feet of mountains
And have spoken with the Scorpions
In allegiance and were betrayed.
And TIAMAT has promised us nevermore to attack
With water and with wind.
But the Gods are forgetful.
Beneath the Seas of NAR MATTARU
Beneath the Seas of the Earth, NAR MATTARU
Beneath the World lays sleeping
The God of Anger, Dead but Dreaming
The God of CUTHALU, Dead but Dreaming!
The Lord of KUR, calm but thunderous!
The One-Eyes Sword, cold but burning!

He who awakens Him calls the ancient
Vengeance of the Elder Ones
The Seven Glorious Gods
of the Seven Glorious Cities
Upon himself and upon the World
And old vengeance . . .

Know that our years are the years of War
And our days are measured as battles
And every hour is a Life
Lost to the Outside
Those from Without
Have builded up charnel houses
To nourish the fiends of TIAMAT
And the Blood of the weakest here
Is libation unto TIAMAT
Queen of the Ghouls
Wreaker of Pain
And to invoke her
The Red Water of Life
Need be split on a stone
The stone struck with a sword
That hath slain eleven men
Sacrifices to HUBUR
So that the Strike ringeth out
And call TIAMAT from Her slumber
From her sleep in the Caverns
Of the Earth.

And none may dare entreat further
For to invoke Death is to utter
The final prayer.

Master Enki Lord of Magicians

Enki
God of Creation, Intelligence, Crafts, Water, Seawater, Lakewater, Fertility,Semen, Magic, Mischief
Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC
Symbol	Goat, Fish, Goat-fish chimera
Personal information
Consort	Ninhursag/Ki, Ninsar, Ninkurra, Damkina
Children	Ninsar, Ninkurra, Uttu, Ninti
Parents	Anu and Nammu

Enki  is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge (gestú), mischief, crafts (gašam), and creation(nudimmud). He was later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology. He was originally patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Canaanites, Hittites and Hurrians. He was associated with the southern band of constellations called stars of Ea, but also with the constellation AŠ-IKU, the Field (Square of Pegasus). Beginning around the second millennium BCE, he was sometimes referred to in writing by the numeric ideogram for "40", occasionally referred to as his "sacred number". The planet Mercury, associated with Babylonian Nabu (the son of Marduk) was, in Sumerian times, identified with Enki.

A large number of myths about Enki have been collected from many sites, stretching from Southern Iraq to the Levantine coast. He is mentioned in the earliest extant cuneiform inscriptions throughout the region and was prominent from the third millennium down to Hellenistic times.

The exact meaning of his name is uncertain: the common translation is "Lord of the Earth". The Sumerian En is translated as a title equivalent to "lord" and was originally a title given to the High Priest. Ki means "earth", but there are theories that ki in this name has another origin, possibly kig of unknown meaning, or kur meaning "mound". The name Ea is allegedly Hurrian in origin while others claim that his name 'Ea' is possibly of Semitic origin and may be a derivation from the West-Semitic root *hyy meaning "life" in this case used for "spring", "running water". In Sumerian E-A means "the house of water", and it has been suggested that this was originally the name for the shrine to the god at Eridu. It has also been suggested that the original non-anthropomorphic divinity at Eridu was not Enki but Abzu. The emergence of Enki as the divine lover of Ninhursag, and the divine battle between the younger Igigi divinities and Abzu, saw the Abzu, the underground waters of the Aquifer, becoming the place in which the foundations of the temple were built.

Worship

The main temple to Enki was called E-abzu, meaning "abzu temple" (also E-en-gur-a, meaning "house of the subterranean waters"), a ziggurat temple surrounded by Euphratean marshlands near the ancient Persian Gulf coastline at Eridu. It was the first temple known to have been built in Southern Iraq. Four separate excavations at the site of Eridu have demonstrated the existence of a shrine dating back to the earliest Ubaid period, more than 6,500 years ago. Over the following 4,500 years, the temple was expanded 18 times, until it was abandoned during the Persian period. On this basis Thorkild Jacobsen has hypothesized that the original deity of the temple was Abzu, with his attributes later being taken by Enki over time. P. Steinkeller believes that, during the earliest period, Enki had a subordinate position to a goddess (possibly Ninhursag), taking the role of divine consort or high priest, later taking priority. The Enki temple had at its entrance a pool of fresh water, and excavation has found numerous carp bones, suggesting collective feasts. Carp are shown in the twin water flows running into the later God Enki, suggesting continuity of these features over a very long period. These features were found at all subsequent Sumerian temples, suggesting that this temple established the pattern for all subsequent Sumerian temples. "All rules laid down at Eridu were faithfully observed".

Iconography

The Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal showing (from left to right) Inanna, Utu, Enki, and Isimud (circa 2300 BC)

Enki was the keeper of the divine powers called Me, the gifts of civilization. He is often shown with the horned crown of divinity .

On the Adda Seal, Enki is depicted with two streams of water flowing into each of his shoulders: one the Tigris, the other the Euphrates. Alongside him are two trees, symbolizing the male and female aspects of nature. He is shown wearing a flounced skirt and a cone-shaped hat. An eagle descends from above to land upon his outstretched right arm. This portrayal reflects Enki's role as the god of water, life, and replenishment.

Considered the master shaper of the world, god of wisdom and of all magic, Enki was characterized as the lord of the Abzu (Apsu in Akkadian), the freshwater sea or groundwater located within the earth. In the later Babylonian epic Enûma Eliš, Abzu, the "begetter of the gods", is inert and sleepy but finds his peace disturbed by the younger gods, so sets out to destroy them. His grandson Enki, chosen to represent the younger gods, puts a spell on Abzu "casting him into a deep sleep", thereby confining him deep underground. Enki subsequently sets up his home "in the depths of the Abzu." Enki thus takes on all of the functions of the Abzu, including his fertilising powers as lord of the waters and lord of semen.

Early royal inscriptions from the third millennium BCE mention "the reeds of Enki". Reeds were an important local building material, used for baskets and containers, and collected outside the city walls, where the dead or sick were often carried. This links Enki to the Kur or underworld of Sumerian mythology. In another even older tradition, Nammu, the goddess of the primeval creative matter and the mother-goddess portrayed as having "given birth to the great gods," was the mother of Enki, and as the watery creative force, was said to preexist Ea-Enki. Benito states "With Enki it is an interesting change of gender symbolism, the fertilising agent is also water, Sumerian "a" or "Ab" which also means "semen". In one evocative passage in a Sumerian hymn, Enki stands at the empty riverbeds and fills them with his 'water'".

Mythology

Enki and Ninhursag and the Creation of Life and Sickness

The cosmogenic myth common in Sumer was that of the hieros gamos, a sacred marriage where divine principles in the form of dualistic opposites came together as male and female to give birth to the cosmos. In the epic Enki and Ninhursag, Enki, as lord of Ab or fresh water (also the Sumerian word for semen), is living with his wife in the paradise of Dilmun where

"The land of Dilmun is a pure place, the land of Dilmun is a clean place,

The land of Dilmun is a clean place, the land of Dilmun is a bright place;

He who is alone laid himself down in Dilmun,

The place, after Enki is clean, that place is bright"

Despite being a place where "the raven uttered no cries" and "the lion killed not, the wolf snatched not the lamb, unknown was the kid-killing dog, unknown was the grain devouring boar", Dilmun had no water and Enki heard the cries of its Goddess, Ninsikil, and orders the sun-God Utu to bring fresh water from the Earth for Dilmun. As a result,

"Her City Drinks the Water of Abundance,

Dilmun Drinks the Water of Abundance,

Her wells of bitter water, behold they are become wells of good water,

Her fields and farms produced crops and grain,

Her city, behold it has become the house of the banks and quays of the land."

Dilmun was identified with Bahrain, whose name in Arabic means "two seas", where the fresh waters of the Arabian aquifer mingle with the salt waters of the Persian Gulf. This mingling of waters was known in Sumerian as Nammu, and was identified as the mother of Enki.

The subsequent tale, with similarities to the Biblical story of the forbidden fruit, repeats the story of how fresh water brings life to a barren land. Enki, the Water-Lord then "caused to flow the 'water of the heart" and having fertilised his consort Ninhursag, also known as Ki or Earth, after "Nine days being her nine months, the months of 'womanhood'... like good butter, Nintu, the mother of the land, ...like good butter, gave birth to Ninsar, (Lady Greenery)". When Ninhursag left him, as Water-Lord he came upon Ninsar (Lady Greenery). Not knowing her to be his daughter, and because she reminds him of his absent consort, Enki then seduces and has intercourse with her. Ninsar then gave birth to Ninkurra (Lady Fruitfulness or Lady Pasture), and leaves Enki alone again. A second time, Enki, in his loneliness finds and seduces Ninkurra, and from the union Ninkurra gave birth to Uttu (weaver or spider, the weaver of the web of life).

A third time Enki succumbs to temptation, and attempts seduction of Uttu. Upset about Enki's reputation, Uttu consults Ninhursag, who, upset at the promiscuous wayward nature of her spouse, advises Uttu to avoid the riverbanks, the places likely to be affected by flooding, the home of Enki. In another version of this myth Ninhursag takes Enki's semen from Uttu's womb and plants it in the earth where eight plants rapidly germinate. With his two-faced servant and steward Isimud, "Enki, in the swampland, in the swampland lies stretched out, 'What is this (plant), what is this (plant). His messenger Isimud, answers him; 'My king, this is the tree-plant', he says to him. He cuts it off for him and he (Enki) eats it". And so, despite warnings, Enki consumes the other seven fruit. Consuming his own semen, he falls pregnant (ill with swellings) in his jaw, his teeth, his mouth, his hip, his throat, his limbs, his side and his rib. The gods are at a loss to know what to do, chagrinned they "sit in the dust". As Enki lacks a womb with which to give birth, he seems to be dying with swellings. The fox then asks Enlil King of the Gods, "If I bring Ninhursag before thee, what shall be my reward?" Ninhursag's sacred fox then fetches the goddess.

Ninhursag relents and takes Enki's Ab (water, or semen) into her body, and gives birth to gods of healing of each part of the body. Abu for the Jaw, Nintul for the Hip, Ninsutu for the tooth, Ninkasi for the mouth, Dazimua for the side, Enshagag for the Limbs. The last one, Ninti (Lady Rib), is also a pun on Lady Life, a title of Ninhursag herself. The story thus symbolically reflects the way in which life is brought forth through the addition of water to the land, and once it grows, water is required to bring plants to fruit. It also counsels balance and responsibility, nothing to excess.

Ninti, the title of Ninhursag, also means "the mother of all living", and was a title given to the later Hurrian goddess Kheba. This is also the title given in the Bible to Eve, the Hebrew and Aramaic Ḥawwah (חוה), who was made from the rib of Adam, in a strange reflection of the Sumerian myth, in which Adam — not Enki — walks in the Garden of Paradise.

Enki and the Making of Man

After six generations of gods, in the Babylonian Enûma Eliš, in the seventh generation, (Akkadian "shapattu" or sabath), the younger Igigi gods, the sons and daughters of Enlil and Ninlil, go on strike and refuse their duties of keeping the creation working. Abzu God of fresh water, co-creator of the cosmos, threatens to destroy the world with his waters, and the Gods gather in terror. Enki promises to help and puts Abzu to sleep, confining him in irrigation canals and places him in the Kur, beneath his city of Eridu. But the universe is still threatened, as Tiamat, angry at the imprisonment of Abzu and at the prompting of her son and vizier Kingu, decides to take back the creation herself. The gods gather again in terror and turn to Enki for help, but Enki who harnessed Abzu, Tiamat's consort, for irrigation refuses to get involved. The gods then seek help elsewhere, and the patriarchal Enlil, their father, God of Nippur, promises to solve the problem if they make him King of the Gods. In the Babylonian tale, Enlil's role is taken by Marduk, Enki's son, and in the Assyrian version it is Asshur. After dispatching Tiamat with the "arrows of his winds" down her throat and constructing the heavens with the arch of her ribs, Enlil places her tail in the sky as the Milky Way, and her crying eyes become the source of the Tigris and Euphrates. But there is still the problem of "who will keep the cosmos working". Enki, who might have otherwise come to their aid, is lying in a deep sleep and fails to hear their cries. His mother Nammu (creatrix also of Abzu and Tiamat) "brings the tears of the gods" before Enki and says

Oh my son, arise from thy bed, from thy (slumber), work what is wise,

Fashion servants for the Gods, may they produce their (bread?).

Enki then advises that they create a servant of the gods, humankind, out of clay and blood. Against Enki's wish the Gods decide to slay Kingu, and Enki finally consents to use Kingu's blood to make the first human, with whom Enki always later has a close relationship, the first of the seven sages, seven wise men or "Abgallu" (Ab = water, Gal = great, Lu = Man), also known as Adapa. Enki assembles a team of divinities to help him, creating a host of "good and princely fashioners". He tells his mother

Oh my mother, the creature whose name thou has uttered, it exists,

Bind upon it the (will?) of the Gods;

Mix the heart of clay that is over the Abyss,

The good and princely fashioners will thicken the clay

Thou, do thou bring the limbs into existence;

Ninmah (the Earth-mother goddess (Ninhursag, his wife and consort) will work above thee

(Nintu?) (goddess of birth) will stand by thy fashioning;

Oh my mother, decree thou its (the new born's) fate.

Adapa, the first man fashioned, later goes and acts as the advisor to the King of Eridu, when in the Sumerian Kinglist, the "Me" of "kingship descends on Eridu".

Samuel Noah Kramer, believes that behind this myth of Enki's confinement of Abzu lies an older one of the struggle between Enki and the Dragon Kur (the underworld)

The Atrahasis-Epos has it that Enlil requested from Nammu the creation of humans. And Nammu told him that with the help of Enki (her son) she can create humans in the image of gods.

Confuser of languages[edit]

In the Sumerian epic entitled Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, in a speech of Enmerkar, an incantation is pronounced that has a mythical introduction. Kramer's translation is as follows:

Once upon a time there was no snake, there was no scorpion,

There was no hyena, there was no lion,
There was no wild dog, no wolf,
There was no fear, no terror,
Man had no rival.

In those days, the lands of Subur (and) Hamazi,
Harmony-tongued Sumer, the great land of the decrees of princeship,
Uri, the land having all that is appropriate,
The land Martu, resting in security,
The whole universe, the people in unison
To Enlil in one tongue [spoke].

(Then) Enki, the lord of abundance (whose) commands are trustworthy,
The lord of wisdom, who understands the land,
The leader of the gods,
Endowed with wisdom, the lord of Eridu
Changed the speech in their mouths, [brought] contention into it,
Into the speech of man that (until then) had been one.

Enki and the Deluge

In the Sumerian version of the flood myth, the causes of the flood and the reasons for the hero's survival are unknown due to the fact that the beginning of the tablet describing the story has been destroyed. Nonetheless, Samuel Noah Kramer has stated that it can probably be reasonably inferred that the hero Ziusudra survives due to Enki's aid because that is what happens in the later Akkadian and Babylonian versions of the story.

In the later Legend of Atrahasis, Enlil, the king of the gods, sets out to eliminate humanity, whose noise is disturbing his rest. He successively sends drought, famine and plague to eliminate humanity, but Enki thwarts his half-brother's plans by teaching Atrahasis how to counter these threats. Each time, Atrahasis asks the population to abandon worship of all gods, except the one responsible for the calamity, and this seems to shame them into relenting. Humans, however, proliferate a fourth time. Enraged, Enlil convenes a Council of Deities and gets them to promise not to tell humankind that he plans their total annihilation. Enki does not tell Atrahasis directly, but speaks to him in secret via a reed wall. He instructs Atrahasis to build a boat in order to rescue his family and other living creatures from the coming deluge. After the seven-day Deluge, the flood hero frees a swallow, a raven and a dove in an effort to find if the flood waters have receded. Upon landing, a sacrifice is made to the gods. Enlil is angry his will has been thwarted yet again, and Enki is named as the culprit. Enki explains that Enlil is unfair to punish the guiltless, and the gods institute measures to ensure that humanity does not become too populous in the future. This is one of the oldest of the surviving Middle Eastern Deluge myths.

Enki and Inanna

In his connections with Inanna, Enki shows other aspects of his non-patriarchal nature. The myth Enki and Inanna tells the story of how the young goddess of the É-anna temple of Uruk feasts with her father Enki. The two deities compete against each other in a drinking competition. Then, Enki, thoroughly inebriated, gives Inanna all of the Mes, the gifts of civilized life. The next morning, when Enki awakes with a hangover, he asks his servant Isimud for the Mes, only to be informed that he has given them to Inanna. Upset at his actions, he sends Galla demons to recover them. Inanna sails away in the boat of heaven and arrives safely back at the quay at Uruk. Enki realises that he has been tricked in his hubris and accepts a peace treaty forever with Uruk.

Politically, this myth would seem to indicate events of an early period when political authority passed from Enki's city of Eridu to Inanna's city of Uruk.

In the myth of Inanna's descent, Inanna, in order to console her grieving sister Ereshkigal, who is mourning the death of her husband Gugalana (gu, bull, gal, big, ana, sky/heaven), slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu, sets out to visit her sister. She tells her servant Ninshubur (Lady Evening), a reference to Inanna's role as the evening star, that if she does not return in three days, to get help from her father Anu, Enlil, king of the gods, or Enki. When she does not return, Ninshubur approaches Anu only to be told that he understands that his daughter is strong and can take care of herself. Enlil tells Ninshubur he is much too busy running the cosmos. Enki immediately expresses concern and dispatches his Galla demons, Galaturra or Kurgarra, sexless beings created from the dirt from beneath the god's finger-nails, to recover the young goddess. These beings may be the origin of the Greco-Roman Galli, androgynous beings of the third sex, similar to the American Indian berdache, who played an important part in early religious ritual.

In the story Inanna and Shukaletuda, Shukaletuda, the gardener, set by Enki to care for the date palm he had created, finds Inanna sleeping under the palm tree and rapes the goddess in her sleep. Awaking, she discovers that she has been violated and seeks to punish the miscreant. Shukaletuda seeks protection from Enki, whom Bottero believes to be his father. In classic Enkian fashion, the father advises Shukaletuda to hide in the city where Inanna will not be able to find him. Enki, as the protector of whoever comes to seek his help, and as the empowerer of Inanna, here challenges the young impetuous goddess to control her anger so as to be better able to function as a great judge.

Eventually, after cooling her anger, she too seeks the help of Enki, as spokesperson of the "assembly of the gods", the Igigi and the Anunnaki. After she presents her case, Enki sees that justice needs to be done and promises help, delivering knowledge of where the miscreant is hiding.

Enki and the Kur

In the earliest surviving version of the myth of the slaying of the Kur, Enki is the hero responsible for the Kur being slain. Unfortunately, this myth is highly fragmentary and what little that is known about it comes solely from the prologue at the beginning of the epic poem, "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Nether World." In later versions of this myth, the hero is either Ninurta or Inanna.

Based on what little has survived of the account, it seems that the legend begins with the Kur abducting the goddess, Ereshkigal, and dragging her down to the Netherworld. Enki sets out in a boat to attack the Kur and avenge the abduction of Ereshkigal. The Kur is described as defending itself using a storm of hailstones of all sizes and by attacking Enki using the waters beneath the boat. The account never actually tells who the winner of the fight is, but it can probably be assumed that Enki is the ultimate victor.

Influence

Enki and later Ea were apparently depicted, sometimes, as a man covered with the skin of a fish, and this representation, as likewise the name of his temple E-apsu, "house of the watery deep", points decidedly to his original character as a god of the waters (see Oannes). Around the excavation of the 18 shrines found on the spot, thousands of carp bones were found, consumed possibly in feasts to the god. Of his cult at Eridu, which goes back to the oldest period of Mesopotamian history, nothing definite is known except that his temple was also associated with Ninhursag's temple which was called Esaggila, "the lofty head house" (E, house, sag, head, ila, high; or Akkadian goddess = Ila), a name shared with Marduk's temple in Babylon, pointing to a staged tower or ziggurat (as with the temple of Enlil at Nippur, which was known as E-kur (kur, hill)), and that incantations, involving ceremonial rites in which water as a sacred element played a prominent part, formed a feature of his worship. This seems also implicated in the epic of the hieros gamos or sacred marriage of Enki and Ninhursag (above), which seems an etiological myth of the fertilisation of the dry ground by the coming of irrigation water (from Sumerian a, ab, water or semen). The early inscriptions of Urukagina in fact go so far as to suggest that the divine pair, Enki and Ninki, were the progenitors of seven pairs of gods, including Enki as god of Eridu, Enlil of Nippur, and Su'en (or Sin) of Ur, and were themselves the children of An (sky, heaven) and Ki (earth).^[29] The pool of the Abzu at the front of his temple was adopted also at the temple to Nanna (Akkadian Sin) the Moon, at Ur, and spread from there throughout the Middle East. It is believed to remain today as the sacred pool at Mosques, or as the holy water font in Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches.

Whether Eridu at one time also played an important political role in Sumerian affairs is not certain, though not improbable. At all events the prominence of "Ea" led, as in the case of Nippur, to the survival of Eridu as a sacred city, long after it had ceased to have any significance as a political center. Myths in which Ea figures prominently have been found in Assurbanipal's library, and in the Hattusas archive in Hittite Anatolia. As Ea, Enki had a wide influence outside of Sumer, being equated with El (at Ugarit) and possibly Yah (at Ebla) in the Canaanite 'ilhm pantheon, he is also found in Hurrian and Hittite mythology, as a god of contracts, and is particularly favourable to humankind. It has been suggested that etymologiically Ea was comes from the term *hyy (life), referring to Enki's waters as life giving. Enki/Ea is essentially a god of civilization, wisdom, and culture. He was also the creator and protector of man, and of the world in general. Traces of this version of Ea appear in the Marduk epic celebrating the achievements of this god and the close connection between the Ea cult at Eridu and that of Marduk. The correlation between the two rises from two other important connections: (1) that the name of Marduk's sanctuary at Babylon bears the same name, Esaggila, as that of a temple in Eridu, and (2) that Marduk is generally termed the son of Ea, who derives his powers from the voluntary abdication of the father in favour of his son. Accordingly, the incantations originally composed for the Ea cult were re-edited by the priests of Babylon and adapted to the worship of Marduk, and, similarly, the hymns to Marduk betray traces of the transfer to Marduk of attributes which originally belonged to Ea.

It is, however, as the third figure in the triad (the two other members of which were Anu and Enlil) that Ea acquires his permanent place in the pantheon. To him was assigned the control of the watery element, and in this capacity he becomes the shar apsi; i.e. king of the Apsu or "the deep". The Apsu was figured as the abyss of water beneath the earth, and since the gathering place of the dead, known as Aralu, was situated near the confines of the Apsu, he was also designated as En-Ki; i.e. "lord of that which is below", in contrast to Anu, who was the lord of the "above" or the heavens. The cult of Ea extended throughout Babylonia and Assyria. We find temples and shrines erected in his honour, e.g. at Nippur, Girsu, Ur, Babylon, Sippar, and Nineveh, and the numerous epithets given to him, as well as the various forms under which the god appears, alike bear witness to the popularity which he enjoyed from the earliest to the latest period of Babylonian-Assyrian history. The consort of Ea, known as Ninhursag, Ki, Uriash Damkina, "lady of that which is below", or Damgalnunna, "big lady of the waters", originally was fully equal with Ea, but in more patriarchal Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian times plays a part merely in association with her lord. Generally, however, Enki seems to be a reflection of pre-patriarchal times, in which relations between the sexes were characterised by a situation of greater gender equality. In his character, he prefers persuasion to conflict, which he seeks to avoid if possible.

Ea and West Semitic deities

In 1964, a team of Italian archaeologists under the direction of Paolo Matthiae of the University of Rome La Sapienza performed a series of excavations of material from the third-millennium BCE city of Ebla. Much of the written material found in these digs was later translated by Giovanni Pettinato.

Among other conclusions, he found a tendency among the inhabitants of Ebla, after the reign of Sargon of Akkad, to replace the name of El, king of the gods of the Canaanite pantheon (found in names such as Mikael and Ishmael), with Ia (Mikaia, Ishmaia).

Jean Bottero (1952) and others suggested that Ia in this case is a West Semitic (Canaanite) way of saying Ea, Enki's Akkadian name, associating the Canaanite theonym Yahu, and ultimately Hebrew YHWH. Some scholars remain skeptical of the theory while explaining how it might have been misinterpreted.

Ia has also been compared by William Hallo with the Ugaritic Yamm (sea), (also called Judge Nahar, or Judge River) whose earlier name in at least one ancient source was Yaw, or Ya'a.