The Atrahasis provides a fascinating look into rituals and beliefs present in Ancient Mesopotamia. The story presents a multi-layered origin story with references to both the “fashioning” and “sexual reproduction” creation theories that were discussed in class, and gives insight into some of the rituals and celebrations that might have been performed at the time this tablet was written. The personalities of the gods and interactions between them are clearly defined and explored in this text as well; these trait associations help us understand the values, practices, and beliefs of the civilization at the time. Although the Atrahasis is an origin story, it begins before man while detailing the lives of the gods. After casting lots, Ellil
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This text seems to take the “fashioning” route to the origin of life most predominantly, and is described similarly to a potter making creations on a wheel. When Mami is described as forming the matter to make humans, “Nintu shall mix the clay/ With his flesh and blood/ Then god and a man/ Will be mixed together in clay” (15), she is shown binding the “ghost” of a god to her material similarly to the way a potter would mix clays to strengthen the final product. Furthermore, Mami is described molding and forming the clay like one would do with a sculpture, and fashioning them into small figures of men and women with the womb goddesses (16, 17). This idea of being molded out of earth seems to be important both in the story and in the rituals outlined within it; both of the birthing rituals that Mami described while she was creating her humans feature clay slabs heavily. One such ritual states, “in the house of a woman who is giving birth/ The mud brick shall be put down for seven days […]” (16), while another that seems to be intended after a successful birth states that “the mud brick shall be put down for nine days. Nintu the womb-goddess shall be honored” (17). This deepens the metaphor somewhat—now not only do we see an association between clay and the original creation of life, but with the creation of all life through
This text seems to take the “fashioning” route to the origin of life most predominantly, and is described similarly to a potter making creations on a wheel. When Mami is described as forming the matter to make humans, “Nintu shall mix the clay/ With his flesh and blood/ Then god and a man/ Will be mixed together in clay” (15), she is shown binding the “ghost” of a god to her material similarly to the way a potter would mix clays to strengthen the final product. Furthermore, Mami is described molding and forming the clay like one would do with a sculpture, and fashioning them into small figures of men and women with the womb goddesses (16, 17). This idea of being molded out of earth seems to be important both in the story and in the rituals outlined within it; both of the birthing rituals that Mami described while she was creating her humans feature clay slabs heavily. One such ritual states, “in the house of a woman who is giving birth/ The mud brick shall be put down for seven days […]” (16), while another that seems to be intended after a successful birth states that “the mud brick shall be put down for nine days. Nintu the womb-goddess shall be honored” (17). This deepens the metaphor somewhat—now not only do we see an association between clay and the original creation of life, but with the creation of all life through