Ancient Sumerian myths (The E-Abzu versus the Netherworld)

The E-Abzu versus the Netherworld

Have you ever wondered what the Abzu and the Netherworld was all about? Did you know that they were both connected? Did you realize that the ancient Sumerian Myths basically tells many of the same myths that the Greek and Biblical myths do?

I know there exist lots of different interpretations of all this kind of stuff out there, so I taught if I was presenting yet another one , it wouldn’t hurt. Thus I take the opportunity to post my personal views on “The Abzu” and “The Netherworld”. Hopefully it will encourage and trigger others that are interested in these kind of things to comment and share information on these topics as well. These things never stops boring me.

Enlil, Enki and Nergal

These three Anuna Gods were probably identical with the Greek Gods called Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, where Enlil was the God of all the lands, Enki was the God of the waters and seas, while Nergal was the God of the Netherworld. Both Enki and Nergal was titled ‘Junior Enlil’s’, but was lower ranked than Enlil himself. Thus Enlil had the rank of ‘50’, Enki had the rank of ‘40’ and Nergal had the rank of ‘30’. Enlil/Zeus was also identical with the pre-flood biblical God called El. This God should however not be confused with the post flood biblical God referred to as YHWH (The God of Israel) as these two Gods were different persons. I taught I also would like to mention Nuska , which was Enlil’s son and trusted minister. He must have been identical with the biblical ‘archangel’ Michael, which is so central in biblical texts.

Enlil and The E-kur

Enlil’s (Nudimmud) palace was called the E-kur (Mountain house) and was situated in Nibru. The palace was carved into the mountainside and because of this Enlil was also referred to as ‘Great mountain’. The Ki-ur (The great council hall in the E-kur) was also the place where all the permanent members (at that time probably 12) of the great assembly held regular meetings and made their decisions (destinies) and decrees (fates). The Greek referred to this palace as mount Olympus. Hence the Anuna Gods was called The Olympians, which again was identical with the various biblical Angels (The Elohim).

Anu and The E-Ana

Anu (the king of all the Anuna Gods) was a sky God and thus he lived in heaven. Translated ,(using modern terms) , this means that Anu probably lived aboard a space station that was orbiting Earth in those days. This space station was also the command center , and it was from this command center that the “Earths terra forming project” and their plans for setting the first civilization in motion was planned and controlled.

However. In a very early stage of the alien Terra forming project, also Anu lived on Earth for a while. He built a palace in Unug (Kulaba) called the E-ana. This palace was however later given to Inana. In the text called ‘Gilgamec and Aga’ we can read that it was Anu himself that built the city wall around it.

However. Also Enlil eventually left Earth and went up to this space station. This happened shortly before the great flood. It was also in these days that Marduk (son of Enki) eventually became the new Enlil on Earth. He was probably thus the third or fourth generation Enlil’s, and probably also the last. I also suspect that Marduk could be identical with the ‘God of Israel’ (YHWH) as it is the correct time period, but that is however just a working theory though.

Enki and Ninki

Enki is said to have been the oldest son of Anu, and he was married to Damgalnuna (Ninki), which is a rather anonymous person in Sumerian literature. Enki is also called Ea which means ‘house of water’. He is also called Nunamnir which means something like ‘begetter of mankind’. He is often depicted as having two rivers of water running from his shoulders and the double helix was his symbol. Enki is described as being a genius and he probably mastered multiple fields within science. He was also a born leader and a politician. It was however his great knowledge within the fields of geneticism that he has become most famous for. His personal palace was called The E-unir,( House which is a ziqqurat). It is also said to have been the place where the plans of heaven and earth was located.

Nergal and Ereskigala

Nergal (on the other hand) is said to have been a son of Enlil, and he became married to Ereskigala (the twin sister of Inana). Ereskigala was also a scientist , and before she married Nergal she was the ruler of the netherworld. After she married Nergal, they shared this duty. Nergal was also called Meslamta-Ea. Before he married Ereskigala he was however a soldier, and he thus had no scientific background. Nergal’s personal palace was called E-jickecda-kalama and was located in Gudua. Ereskigala does not seem to have had a personal palace at all.

Having mentioned all this, we should probably now continue with the real explanation of the E-Abzu and the Netherworld. Because , after all, it is perhaps these issues that interests us the most and also have given birth to so many strange myths. I also guess few people really believe that there was some kind of netherworld in those days where the dead were shipped and wandered around. Thus there naturally has to be some other logical explanation as we shall see in part two.

Part one

The E-Abzu and the Netherworld

The word Abzu (akkadian Apsu) actually means ‘down into the ground’ or ‘under the ground’. The E-abzu was however a gigantic facility close to Eridug that partly was built beneath the surface of the sea and down into the ground below the surface of the sea. Only parts of the facility itself was visible over the sea.

The complex was located in the middle of the sea or perhaps in the middle of a lake, and the only way to access it was by boat. Enki kept a special boat for this purpose, and it was called “The stag of the Abzu”. The captain of this boat was called Nijir-sig. It is this boat and it’s captain that later caused the myth of the ferry man that transported the souls of the dead to the Netherworld to be born. The E-Abzu was also referred to as the E-Engura (House of the subterranean sea)

The area around the E-Abzu was fenced in and was in addition to this heavily guarded by 50 giant creatures called the lahmu’s (the hairy ones). Those creatures was beings which the former generation aliens had created, and were probably identical with the giant creatures that the Greek referred to as ¬the Hecatoncheires and the cyclopes.

So what was going on in this gigantic facility of Enki? Well. It was basically a huge science station, and it was packed with all the smartest alien scientists. These scientists probably all lived and worked there and they did experiments on merely all kind of organic life forms they could think of. They even engineered, designed and created hybrid animals there , as well as mixtures of animals and human beings. (Interested people should read Berossus account on this). It was also in this place that the human beings eventually was created. We must therefore assume that the garden of Eden, also was situated within this complex.

Thus we must assume that the facility was packed with all kind of laboratories and different kind of scientists . There were also so called birth facilities located in this complex as well as birth goddesses which assisted giving birth to the different beings.

Besides being a facility for science on the source of life itself, it also contained morgues and laboratories where autopsies was performed on the dead. It also housed a staff of people who was dealing with the dead. Thus they were responsible for keeping an archive of the dead as well as supplying funeral rites and priest. The facility also contained a prison where they kept alien prisoners and perhaps prisoners that they even experimented on. (ref.Kingu who’s blood was used to create the fourth generation mankind)

In addition to all this. There was also laboratories in this place where different scientists were doing useful science on plants , food production, insects , fishes, birds , as well as wild and domestic animals. Thus most of the work they did in this place was probably very useful and eventually beneficial for everybody.

One can however imagine why and how a multitude of strange myths arose from such a place. According to Sumerian texts , it was next to impossible to get access to the facilities for people from the outside, even for higher ranked Anuna Gods. We can read in Sumerian texts that the place was surrounded by strange rumors, mystique and strange stories even in those days, and thus most people kept away from the place anyway.

Thus this strange underwater scientific complex of Enki became known as the underworld and the place where immortality could be achieved. Thus we can for instance read about Gilgamec who (after the flood) searched for Noah in order to find out where the Abzu was located. He wanted to find the place so he could obtain immortality. Thus he ended up diving (in the sea) , looking for the underwater facility called the Abzu.

We can furthermore read in several biblical texts that the experiments that was going on in those days eventually led to a lot of uncontrolled diseases and for this reason most of the animals at that time was dangerous to eat. Hence they were called ‘unclean’ up until after the great flood.

The netherworld was also referred to as the place where no one returned from. At least it was not easy. The reason for this was because the entire complex always was under strict laws of quarantine. Whoever arrived from the outside was stripped down and examined for contamination, diseases and viruses before they eventually were let in, and they could only leave after having undergone a period of quarantine. Thus we can read the Sumerian text called ‘Inanna’s decent to the underworld’, how Inana for example was stipped of her clothes before she was let in.

Sumerian texts tells us that Namtar was the minister of the complex and that it was Neti who was the gatekeeper. Ninazu (son of Nergal and Ereskigala) was also a scientist there, so was Ninjicsina and Ninmah , just to mention a few.

The facility itself was probably subdivided into seven different sections with different security zones as we can read from Inana’s descent to the underworld. Also note that Inana’s reason for her descent to the netherworld was to inform Ereskigala that (one of her many?) husband(s) was dead, and that they needed Ereskigala to arrange for funeral and funeral rites for him.

So what happened to this great facility? In some Sumerian texts called the ‘Lamentation series’, we can read that the entire complex was bombed to smithereens by Anu and Enlil shortly before the great flood. So did also the palace of Enlil as well as many other of those famous palaces. The texts does (sadly) not give us an exact reason why this is done. But it is clearly written in those texts that the bombing and destruction of those palaces, facilities and temples are planned from ‘high command’.

So let me leave you with this description of the E-abzu from the text called ‘Enki and the world order’.

“The lord established a shrine, a holy shrine, whose interior is elaborately constructed. He established a shrine in the sea, a holy shrine, whose interior is elaborately constructed. The shrine, whose interior is a tangled thread, is beyond understanding. The shrine's emplacement is situated by the constellation the Field, the holy upper shrine's emplacement faces towards the Chariot constellation. Its terrifying awesomeness is a rising wave, its splendour is fearsome. The Anuna gods dare not approach it. The great prince Enki, the pelican of the sea.”



Part Two (end)

Interesting story to say the least. So if we understand Abzu to mean: waters of the deep or "distant waters" and anytime abzu is mentioned it is always prefaced with "the" so "the Abzu". Trying to speak such a statement would almost seem to indicate les s of a specific location and more about an experience.....at least to me. Another words in English to say "I'm going to the Abzu" wouldn't mean "I'm going to the home" or "I'm going to the San Fransisico, you would instead say "I'm going to San Fransisco".

Going further, take this:

Enlil, holy Urac is favoured with beauty for you; you are greatly suited for the abzu

Greatly suited for the abzu? To me abzu represents something not some place. You see it over and over. The above quote leads one to believe, at least in this instance would imply abzu meaning leadership. You are suited to be the king.

The lagar priests of this temple whose lord has grown together with it are expert in blessing; its gudu priests of the abzu are suited for

Again the preface of "the" changes the context if just a little. Everything I've personally read leads me to believe "abzu" is in fact "cosmic waterways" i.e. Distant waters. So Enlil is king and resides within Eridu. Within Eridu resides "the" Ziggurat to which Enlil climbs down from. The Ziggurat itself is surrounded by "the abzu" (pathway) from Nubiru to Earth. The portal or simply "port" on Earth is the Ziggurat that was built at Eridu.

Still, any way you shake it, it's pretty amazing stuff!

In a hymn to Haia from Rim-Sin they speak often of the abzu shrine. The shrine being named after what it is supposed to personify. Or it could also represent its location, like the Georgia Stones.

He who fixes the standards on their pegs, planner (?) who artfully excavates (?) the soil of the Land, who decorates the floor and makes the dining-hall attractive for Ancar and the Great Mountain! Tall and with head high, he whose utterances from the abzu shrine are favourable, who carefully holds the pure white loaves of the house of the gods! Kugsud and Indagara, without whom heaven would not be pure nor earth bright, continual providers of the great meals of An and Enlil in their grand dining-hall! He who gazes upon the holy precinct, upon lord Nudimmud; he who holds the holy bronze vessels, who makes hearts rejoice and soothes spirits!

However upon further reading, the last part states:

When father Enki comes forth from the abzu, he assigns (?) its greatness to you, Haia. You cause the people who are in its midst to lift their necks towards heaven; you make its population pass their days in rejoicing. You keep all its people forever contented. You establish festivals in the houses of the great gods; you spread splendour.

So Enki comes forth FROM "the" abzu! The abzu in this context implies to me a doorway or portal, not the shrine itself.

Eta: in carvings you often see a doorway surrounded by water. Inside the doorway is Enlil sitting on a throne. All of which sits upon a Ziggurat and you will see a reed boat on "the abzu" the waterway or passage from there world to ours.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

The standalone word “Abzu” seems to have different meanings as you point out, however,if one reads the Sumerian texts in the ETCSL archive one should be aware of that the word Abzu and E-Abzu is used interchangeble. That means that most of the texts that refers to the facility called E-Abzu simply use the short form “Abzu” , omitting the prefix “E”, thus it gets even more confusing.

Here are some other samples:

“Ninmaḫ took clay from the top of the abzu in her hand and she fashioned from it first a man who could not bend his outstretched weak hands.” The top of the Abzu could here mean that the clay was taken out of the surface of the ground.

“meš tree planted in the Abzu” This should probably mean that the tree was planted into the ground.

Your great house is founded in the Abzu. This could have a double meaning. Either they refer to the E-abzu or they simply mean that the house is built on the ground.

Enki, the king of the Abzu. This could actually have a triple meaning. Either they mean Enki was king over the ‘netherworld’ , or that Enki was king over the E-Abzu or that Enki was king ‘over the land’

“Temple, built from precious metal and lapis lazuli; whose foundation pegs are driven into the abzu”. This should mean that the foundation pegs are driven into the ground.

I do however agree with you. It’s easy to get lost in these texts and it can be confusing. I am not at all an expert in Sumerian language. Perhaps other could contribute with something here?

Enki, the king of the Abzu. This could actually have a triple meaning. Either they mean Enki was king over the ‘netherworld’ , or that Enki was king over the E-Abzu or that Enki was king ‘over the land’

This is interesting because I've always seen Enki as the Mother Earth figure and Enlil more as commander and chief or the slave master. Enki, the kink of the abzu, can be interchangeable with king of "the" earth. Which of course goes against the initial thought of the abzu representing heavenly waters.

Its worth considering that we don't actually know how many different authors and how subtle changes in context appear large to us and insignificant to them at the time. The United States of America means what it means. When someone asks where I am from I say America and its understood usually I'm from the US when I speak to others abroad. However, 4000 years from now someone reading and trying to decipher what is left after another.....epic and come across to texts from different people, possibly 50 years apart. Nothing changed over the 50 years but this researcher might read one text as the USA and another that was America. Without proper context he/she may conclude that at some point the US took over all of the Americas.

Not really a far stretch if the researchers was able to deduce from prior readings of the US's imperialistic behaviors.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

Most of these texts seems to agree that Enlil was ’Lord over the lands’, probably meaning that he was actually the ruler of all countries or perhaps even the entire Earth in these times. Enki however was ‘Lord of the land’, meaning that he (at some point) probably just was the ruler of the Sumerian nation. The kingship seems however to have been passed on to Nanna/Suen (the moon god) later on. Also keep in mind that the usage of the titles King and Lord are also used interchangeable by authors of these texts, just like they mix up those ‘titles’ in the biblical texts as well (Lords and princes etc.).

Regarding the ‘heavenly waters’ or the ‘upper water’. I have always understood the texts like it was Ickur that was in charge of this. Translated to modern language , we should probably understand Ickur/Ishkur (also Adad/Hadad) as a scientist or expert on metrological weather conditions.

I totally agree with you in the way you can see how texts can be easily misunderstood over large spans of time. Your example of America versus USA is spot on. The problem future generations will have with our days texts are probably much of the same we ourselves have with those ancient texts we study today, but in addition to this todays texts have all those abbreviations. How would future generations that comes across a texts that mentions that NASA sent a spaceship to mars. I wonder how they would interpret NASA. Perhaps as a name of a God?

The one thing that I definitely have learnt after having studied ancient history for so long, is that it’s still very much confusing after all these years. It’s nevertheless interesting. Don’t you think?

Thanks for your responses , by the way.

hi op

if you actually wanted to find the remains of the abzu shrine which is in the abzu enclosure which is on an island in the freshwater abzu sea then these passages must be important?


Enki and Ninmaḫ
In those days, in the days when heaven and earth were created; in those nights, in the nights when heaven and earth were created; in those years, in the years when the fates were determined; when the Anuna gods were born; when the goddesses were taken in marriage; when the goddesses were distributed in heaven and earth; when the goddesses …… became pregnant and gave birth; when the gods were obliged…… their food …… dining halls; the senior gods oversaw the work, while the minor gods were bearing the toil. The gods were digging the canals and piling up the silt in Ḫarali. The gods, crushing the clay, began complaining about this life.

Enlil and Sud
...Ores from Ḫarali, the faraway land, …… storehouses, ……, rock-crystal, gold, silver, ……, the yield of the uplands ……, heavy loads of them, were despatched by Enlil toward Ereš.



surely the abzu enclosure is the same as the bahitra of vishnu, the vara of yima, the pen of geryon and of course the ark of noah so the netherworld had originally been paradise before a catastrophe.


peace

a reply to: helius
Very interesting stuff!!! Trying to put it into modern context is a crap shoot, but very interesting none the less. It may be we are approaching an apex in genetics reached by ancient civilizations that may have lead to the genesis of the human race! The very word genesis implies as much.
Please continue, I'm fascinated!!

You claim these interpretations of Sumerian texts refer to Enki as a "scientist," living in a "science station," and that he was, among other things, a "geneticist." You claim that "abzu" was also a place for "alien prisoners."

This is entirely Sitchin's theory. Every bit of what you've posted came from Sitchin's "Earth Chronicles." However, I don't see you citing him as your source.

originally posted by: Blackmarketeer
You claim these interpretations of Sumerian texts refer to Enki as a "scientist," living in a "science station," and that he was, among other things, a "geneticist." You claim that "abzu" was also a place for "alien prisoners."

This is entirely Sitchin's theory. Every bit of what you've posted came from Sitchin's "Earth Chronicles." However, I don't see you citing him as your source.

....or where in the Sumerian texts those words are used.

a reply to: Hanslune

...or where in the Sumerian texts those words are used.

The Sumerians must be among the most misrepresented ancient peoples, bar none.

originally posted by: Blackmarketeer
a reply to: Hanslune

...or where in the Sumerian texts those words are used.

The Sumerians must be among the most misrepresented ancient peoples, bar none.

Perhaps, but at least they are remembered, if incorrectly while the Ubaidians are intentionally overlooked.