The English translation of Genesis above can easily be translated to depict the immediate chaos after God’s creation of Earth. In both, the existence of the world is empty besides the water. The sequence of creation is also similar; light, firmaments, land, luminaries and man.
Night and day were created as a regulator of time:
Gen. 1:14: And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years”
Enuma Elish 5:12–13: “The Moon-god he caused to shine forth, the night he entrusted to him. He appointed him, a being of the night, to determine the days;”
The consultation of God(s) before the creation of man:
Gen 1:26: "God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness
Enuma Elish 6:4-9: That which he had conceived in his heart he imparted unto him:"My blood will I take and bone will I fashion. I will make man, that man may. I will create man who shall inhabit the earth”
The similarities are many and there is a high chance that the Hebrew Bible is in fact a derivation of the original Epic. So our Sumerian God’s survived in literature, in a way, to this very day. The question then is now how such coincidences came to be as it is clear (only few examples provided above) that the writers of Genesis were very familiar with the Enuma Elish, but why they would base this ‘new’ creation on an already told account, could it be they were simply trying to retell the same story in a different style.
Enki, the original Prometheus
Prometheus was, according to Greek mythology a God who stole the fire from Zeus, the fire symbolising knowledge, and gave it to mankind. Prometheus is credited, in Greek mythology as being an enthusiast of mankind as he went against the other God’s wishes and taught forbidden knowledge. Much like Enki, who was considered the God of wisdom and knowledge, among other things. Enki was one of the keepers of divine decrees called ME, these ME made civilization possible as they held the secrets to technology, societal development, agriculture, etc.
According to Laurence Gardner, “The dominant tenet of the new thought was based wholly on the utmost fear of Enlil [Enki’s brother], who was known to have instigated the great Flood [or else acquiesced in not warning the humans, or making any attempt to save them], and to have facilitated the invasion and destruction of civilized Sumer. Here was a deity who spared no mercy for those who did not comply with his dictatorial authority.”
Figure 2: Two depictions of 'The Temptation', one of a serpent, the other of a half-man hybrid.
Bramley states that, “We therefore find Ea [Enki] as the reputed culprit who tried to teach early man (Adam) the way to spiritual freedom. This suggests that Ea intended his creation, Homo sapiens, to be suited for Earth labor, but at some point he changed his mind about using spiritual enslavement as a means.”
Let’s look at this feisty relationship between the brother God’s in the Biblical perspective.
+It was Enki who created the first humans, AD.AM and EVE.
+It was Enlil though, who created the land that was, ED.EN.
+Enki was the serpent in the garden who urged AD.AM and EVE to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden, Enki was the serpent.
+It was Enlil then, who drove them out of ED.EN once they had betrayed his commands, his authority.
+Enki was there to clothe AD.AM and EVE.
It’s interesting to note here the use of the Hebrew word for snake in the Bible, nâchâsh, which translates to ‘the hissing serpent’. But it comes from the word NHSH, which means ‘to decipher, to find out’.
[size=1]Figure 3: The Annunaki God's(outisde) pass knowledge to the King's(inside) standing around the Tree of Knowledge. [/size]
The above image is an Assyrian (remember, Babylonian and Assyrian mythology derived from Sumerian mythology) peice which depicts ANUNAKI gods on the outside and humans on the inside. Popular belief is that the God on the left or right is Enki himself, giving life to the humans, with the Tree of Life in the middle, providing spiritual enlightenment, all the while being overlooked by Anshar (the flying god).
So, as we understand it, Enki gave knowledge and enlightenment to mankind. Enki is commonly represented as a double-helix snake. This symbol is the modern day symbol for medicine, but the double-helix itself, is the same shape as human DNA, oddly enough.
Figure 4: Similarity between human DNA structure and the image of the twin snakes.
Further, Thoth is believed to be the son of Enki. Those who are familiar with Egyptian-Greek mythology would know that Thoth and the Greek God Hermes were believed to be one in the same, going by the name Hermes Trismegistus. The caduceus or the wand of Hermes (depicted below) is confused by many to be the symbol of medicine, while it is in fact the Rod of Asclepius (single snake around tree) which is the traditional symbol for medicine.
Before traversing on a completely different path, it is evident that Enki and his association with the snake (knowledge) has traversed the millennia and survived in modern day symbolism. In a way, the mythological Enki still survives in modern day science, as he was the father of all sciences for the Sumerians. Those who subscribe to the writings of Sitchin would say that the representation of the double-helix snake as Enki and the close resemblance to human DNA is not coincidental, as Enki was the biological designer of modern humans. However, Sitchin’s translations of Sumerian cuneiform are questionable to say the least, and in the purpose of maintaining some validity in this thread in terms of Sumerian mythology, we shall steer close of paying too much attention to Sitchin. So, Enki was the Prometheus for Sumerians, the giver of knowledge, the victor of the war between his brother Enlil.
Clay and stone, pathway to the Skies
Sumerians, like other cultures, idolized their God’s. This was done through the creation of sculptures and the building of pyramidal ziggurats among other things. The primarily used material for the creation of sculptures was clay, it was the most easily accessible as other materials had to be imported from surroundings areas ancient Mesopotamia. Statues were usually depicted in the position of prayer or meditation, with clasped hands. There is a strong case of accentuation of the eyes in many carvings, sculptures. This accentuation is mostly done when the sculpture is depicted a deity.
Figure 5: Sculpture with enlarged eyes, indented eyes.
Figure 6: Enlarged eyes on a sculpture.
Whatever the case may be with this peculiar art form, it is clear that these are unique cases and not all Sumerian sculptures were attributed with such strange characteristics.
Figure 7: Examples of sculptures with typical human characteristics.
CONTINUED BELOW
[edit on 29/10/2009 by serbsta]
[edit on 29/10/2009 by serbsta]
Much thanks. 
