Sumerian God Enlil: So Revered No One Dared Look In His Direction

Among the countless deities worshipped by the Mesopotamians is a god who was so influential, his titles include King of Heaven and Earth, Lord of the Lands and Father of the Gods. We know him as Enlil. His power was such that the ancient Sumerians considered him an unstoppable force. Likewise, his authority was so elevated his decisions could not be questioned, regardless of divine assembly. In the Hymn to Enlil, he is described as being so holy no one can look directly at his form, not even the other gods. Clearly, he was highly regarded by the Sumerians and those who came after, but what do we really know about Enlil? Enlil was the god of agriculture who held dominion over air, wind, earth and storms. In Sumerian mythology, storms and winds are his breath and come directly from his mouth and nostrils. His job was to balance the intricate relationship between the sky, the land and the storms. On a cautionary note, these attributes meant he had the power to create and destroy. An example of the latter is found in The Lament for Urim, a Sumerian poem which suggests Enlil brought the storm of abundance to annihilate the land and silence the city. Where did Enlil come from? Part of Enlil's story comes from the Epic of Gilgamesh, particularly its prologue, where the creation process was described. The first primordial entity is Namu, the creator of the universe. Namu gave birth to An and Ki, who in turn produced Enlil. However, rather than emerging from the womb of Ki, Enlil was born out of the couple's breath. Overall, Enlil and his siblings, Enki and Nisaba, represent the will of the Sumerian gods to foster the progress of humankind throughout the ages. The worship of Enlil dates back to at least the 26th century BC, when he made frequent appearances in scripture alongside his father, Anu. For the 1400 years that followed, Anu's popularity declined somewhat, while Enlil's popularity skyrocketed. The worship of Enlil was undertaken just about everywhere in the Sumerian Empire, but his home is the city-state of Nippur, located in the Middle Euphrates region. Enlil's mountain house, the Ekur Temple, is set in the high reaches just northeast of the Ziggurat of Ur. Ancient people believed Enlil built this temple to connect heaven and earth. It was considered a palace of the gods, so sacred that no Sumerian king dared make one of their own in Nippur. One of the world's oldest surviving works of literature, the Kesh Temple Hymn, dating back to around 2600 BC, suggests Enlil gave permission for the temple to be built at Nippur. There are parallels between this story and a biblical tale outlined in chapter 49 of Genesis in the Christian Bible. Nippur may resemble a dilapidated, prehistoric town these days, however, in its heyday, it was a city with written language, culture and a religious tradition that would play a critical role in the development of civilization. Nippur essentially gave birth to many religions that are still practiced in modern times. Enlil played a vital role in the lives of the Sumerians, because he was responsible for the act that made the earth inhabitable. The origins of humans are explained in The Song of the Ho, an early 2nd millennium Sumerian poem. Enlil separates the domains of his mother and father in this myth, pushing them apart and becoming the tether between earth and the sky. This perfectly balanced Anu and Ki, allowing life to flourish on earth. After the conditions were right, four gods teamed up to create humanity. Anu, Enki, Enlil and Ninhursanga. In this text, humanity is created to provide for the gods, a common theme in Mesopotamian literature. In some stories, a hoe was used by Enlil to break the earth's crust and allow humanity to come out of the openings. After humans were established, their fields planted and their livestock secured, the cities of Bad Tibira, Eridu, Larak and Shurupak and Sipar were founded. These first five cities became the homes of humanity, and from there, they multiplied and prospered. Life was good under the watchful eyes of the gods, until the Great Flood. Being the god of storms, it was Enlil's role to make this happen. With the oceans rising, the gods warned the ruler of Shurupak, Ziusudra, to build an ark and save as many plants and animals as possible. The story proceeds along the line of the story of Noah's Ark, sharing many similarities. The main difference is that it only lasts for seven days and nights. Sadly, some of the story is lost to time, but we know that Ziusudra survives the flood, making it possible for humanity to continue. Anu and Enlil reward him by giving him the gift of eternal life. Besides building temples, making offerings and praying, the Sumerians found many other ways to incorporate Enlil into their everyday lives. One of the most significant ways was numeric in nature. Using their esoteric mathematical system, he was assigned the number 50, which became a sacred number to his followers. Enlil takes on the world. Though he started life as a Sumerian god, Enlil was adopted by several other cultures over the centuries. The Akkadians, Assyrians and Hurrians all joined the faithful over time. The Babylonians adopted him as the prominent father figure god, with similar traits to the Sumerian version. This continued until around 1230 BC, when Nippur was invaded and sacked by the Elamites, signalling the decline of Enlil and the rise of Marduk, patron god of Babylon. In Babylonian mythology, Marduk was a god who defeated the forces of chaos. His victory resulted in the creation of human beings. As a consequence, during this period, it was Marduk who created laws and gave humans the ability to grow crops. Although Marduk's story differs from Sumerian mythology, many characteristics of Enlil were Even after Marduk rose to prominence, Babylonian kings still made holy pilgrimages to Nippur, where they sought Enlil's approval to rule over their kingdom. Later versions of Enlil myths sometimes differed from the original Sumerian tales. For example, an Akkadian version of the flood story, found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, is much clearer and states that Enlil's intention was to destroy all life on Earth because humanity was too noisy. Just wanting to sleep, the normally patronly god summoned a flood to wipe out the noise and chaos caused by humans. In this version, the god Ea, the equivalent of Enki, warns Utnapishtim that a flood is coming. Like the Sumerian version, the flood lasted for seven days. Enlil was enraged when he found out there was a survivor. However, his son Ninurta convinced him that instead of wiping out humanity, he must merely ensure that humans do not overpopulate again. The solution that Ninurta offers is famines and wild animals. When the floods subsided, Ishtar promised Utnapishtim that a flood like this would never happen again. The ending of this story is similar to the Sumerian version, where Enlil grants immortality to Utnapishtim. Enlil's Children For the most part, Enlil was portrayed as a thoughtful and loving father who wasn't above giving advice. However, the same cannot be said of his behavior toward his unwilling consort. A 2,500-year-old creation myth, known as the Begetting of Nana, describes the creation of Enlil's children. The goddess Nimlil goes to the river to bathe, where Enlil finds her and impregnates her with their son, the moon god Nana. This union was not consensual. Enlil's transgression resulted in his banishment to Kur, the Sumerian version of the Underworld. Nimlil follows him to the Underworld, where Enlil disguises himself as the Gatekeeper and impregnates Nimlil again, producing Nergal, the God of Death. Enlil disguises himself once more, this time as the Man of the River. Again, he impregnates Nimlil, and this union produces Ninazu, the God of the Underworld, Snakes, and Vegetation. Finally, Enlil disguises himself for the fourth time as the Man of the Boat and impregnates Nimlil, which produces Ebilulu, the Inspector of the Canals. Things get a little more complicated as names shift from region to region. The god Pabilsag is apparently Enlil's son through the mother goddess Nintur, though that may be another aspect or guise of his wife Ninlil. Enlil also makes gods, two of whom feature in a Sumerian text called Enlil Chooses the Farmer God. This is a return to Sumerian gods being made out of nothingness rather than being born. In the poem, Enlil creates two agricultural gods named Emesh and Enten. Emesh's role was primarily as a shepherd, while Enten was a farmer. They clash over their roles in the pantheon, and Enlil has to step in and broker the peace. His children also seek his advice in some myths. In the poem Lugali, for example, Enlil's son Ninurta sends his sentient mace into the heavens to ask his father how to kill the demon Asag. The mace returns with the best possible advice, and our hero ends up slaying his demon. The tales of his son Ninurta also talk about seeking Enlil's guidance. Enlil presided over the wedding of his son Nanna and his betrothed Ningal. In old Babylonian law, he granted his daughter Nergal rulership over the underworld as part of her dowry. By most accounts, Enlil loved and supported his children, cementing his role as a father figure to humanity. The mess. One of Enlil's most significant roles was compiling laws and social standards that could be used as examples of fairness. As such, kings would emulate him in order to rule with justice, compassion, and respect. These laws also set a balance between divine worship and the realities of living in a civilized society. Each rule was called a mess, and collectively, these divine decrees were called the mess. The process of getting the mess from Enlil's hands to the people of Mesopotamia was detailed in the poem, Enki and the World Order. Given its name, there's no real surprise that the responsibility was given to Enlil's brother, the knowledgeable god Enki. The latter then made various city-states responsible for teaching the mess. We have evidence of over sixty mess, with topics ranging from political norms, legal standards, art, combat, craftsmanship, and everything in between. Some subjects, such as the relationship between rulers and their people, are evergreen, applying to civilizations far beyond the scope of Mesopotamia. Others are specific to the time and the region. Though hundreds of mess were thought to have been recorded, many have been destroyed by the ravages of time. Enlil was the instrument for humanity's creation, and acted as a shepherd over the people. He would involve himself in humanity's affairs just enough to provide guidance, but not enough to be overbearing. The main themes we see repeatedly are paternal love and stewardship. It has been suggested that Enlil was the basis of the formation of Canaanite and Israelite traditions. Abraham was said to have come from the Ur, directly downstream from Nippur, the home of Enlil. Clearly, Abraham knew of the Sumerian myths. This is why the story of the Great Flood is also in the Bible. However, in Hebrew tradition and stories, Yahweh was the originator of the Flood. Abraham rejected the idea of polytheism and created a monotheistic religion where he worshipped Yahweh. Being an all-powerful god, Enlil believers honored him without fail. The Sumerians felt he was the spark that allowed civilization to thrive. And given the spread of his popularity among the various cultures in the region, clearly, other folks agreed.