ENKI (lord of the soul)

ORIGIN Mesopotamian (Sumerian) [Iraq]. Creator god; god of wisdom; god of sweet water.

KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 3500 BC to circa 1750 BC.

SYNONYMS EA (god of the deep, Akkadian); Lugal-id(ak) (owner of the river); Lugalabzu(ak) (owner of the deeps); NUDIMMUD (image fashioner).

Center(s) of worship probably at Eridu (Abu Sˇahrain), but known only from literature.

ART REFERENCES plaques, votive stelae, glyptics.

LITERARY SOURCES creation epics including Atrahasis, Enki and the World Order, temple hymns etc.

As god of water in its capacity to nourish the earth, Enki is one of the major Sumerian deities. The son of AN and NAMMU, he is considered by some to be a late entry to the pantheon. His consort is DAMKINA and his sanctuary at Eridu is E-engurra. He is usually represented as a figure in typical horned headdress and tiered skirt with two streams of water (Tigris and Euphrates) springing from his shoulders or from a vase and including leaping fish. He may also hold the eagle-like Imdugud (thunder) bird, thus signifying clouds rising from the waters. His foot may rest on an ibex. Among his offspring are ASˇALLUHA, NIN-SAR (by NINHURSAG˜ A), NIN-IMMA (by NINKURRA) and UTTU (by NINMAH).

Enki is a complex and, at times, Machiavellian character. The running of day-to-day affairs is left to him and in the creation mythology he organized the earth and established law and order.

He is also seen in a heroic light, having been one of three principal deities engaged in the primordial battle between good and evil, the latter personified in the dragon Kur. In the Sumerian creation epic Enki set out in a boat to avenge the abduction by Kur of the goddess ERESˇKIGAL. Kur fought back with huge stones.

Enki is perceived to fill the Tigris and Euphrates with sacred sweet water. He also appoints various other minor deities to their duties in connection with the well-being of the natural world. Additionally he is god of artists and craftsmen.

According to one legend, Enki generated the plants from his semen and inside his body until it made him ill, whereupon Ninhursag˜a placed him in her own vagina and gave birth to his progeny.

INANA, Ninhursag˜a and ENLIL are variously drawn, at times, as serious adversaries.