Many myths from Mesopotamia have survived written on cuneiform tablets. They were mainly in poetic form. The following three simplified accounts ignore the many problems of translation, interpretation and complex theology of the originals.

The Sumerians were fond of a form of story which is known today as ‘disputations'. They involve debates over the value of opposites.

Enmesh (Summer) and Entum (Winter)

When the god Enlil came up with the idea of making the earth with plants and animals he created two brothers, Enmesh and Entum.

Entum caused lambs, calves and goats to be born, fat and milk to increase. He filled the steppe lands with donkeys, sheep and goats and the sky with birds and the rivers with fish. He planted palm-groves and fruit-trees and laid out gardens.

Then Enmesh took over. He created the sheep and cattle stalls and brought in the harvest. He founded cities and had houses and temples built.

Having finished their tasks the brothers came to Nippur and presented their gifts to Enlil. Enmesh brought wild and domesticated animals and plants. Entum brought precious metals and stones, trees and fish. However, they soon started to quarrel about which were the best gifts. It was left for Enlil to decide.

Enlil decided that Entum had the best gifts because he is in charge of irrigation, without which nothing would grow. He could call himself the ‘farmer of the gods'. The brothers agreed on the verdict and made offerings to the great god Enlil.

The Babylonian Epic of Creation (Enuma Elish)

The reading (or perhaps acting out) of the following myth was an important part of the New Year festival at Babylon (see Festivals). It explains the rise of the city as capital of southern Mesopotamia and also the continual confrontation between salt and fresh water at the head of the Gulf.

Before heaven and earth were given names there was only Apsu (fresh water) and Tiamat (salt water). The mixing of the waters creates new gods: Lahmu and Lahamu; Anshar and Kishar; then Anu who creates Ea. The younger gods are noisy and soon disturb the sleep of Apsu. He decides to destroy his children but Tiamat is against it. However, Ea who is wise, knows what Apsu plans. He draws a magic circle around them and recites a spell which makes Apsu fall into an everlasting sleep. Ea then makes his home in the watery depth that Apsu has become and here Ea's wife gives birth to the god Marduk. The new young god is wise like his father but also extremely powerful. He causes waves in the Apsu which disturbs Tiamat. Angry at the death of Apsu and now with her sleep interrupted by the younger gods, Tiamat decides to go into battle against them. She creates an army of monsters, serpents and dragons and makes her first-born son, Kingu, the leader.

Ea, who is wise, knows what Tiamat plans. However, he is unable to stop her. Anu is also unable to get close to the angry goddess. Ea now calls upon Marduk who agrees to go into battle with Tiamat but only if he is given supreme command of the gods and the universe. The other gods agree and Marduk is provided with weapons: a bow and arrows, a club, a net and the seven winds with which he raises a storm and a flood. He harnesses a team of four horses to his chariot and rushes towards Tiamat, raising the flood waters and challenging Tiamat to single combat. She is furious and attacks Marduk. However, Marduk spreads his net and captures the goddess. Into her face he threw the storm wind and when Tiamat opened her mouth he forced in the wind which fills her belly. Marduk quickly fires an arrow at Tiamat's swollen body and kills her. Tiamat's army tries to run but becomes trapped in Marduk's net as if they were fish.

Marduk takes Tiamat's body and from half of it creates the sky and heaven. He creates the stars, the constellations and the moon. Then Marduk takes the other half of Tiamat's body and creates the earth. Her head is a great mountain and out of her eyes run the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

The gods thank Marduk and crown him as their king. From the blood of Kingu, mixed with earth, he creates humans as servants of the gods and in gratitude the gods build Marduk a home which he calls Babylon.

Ishtar's descent

Ishtar is the goddess of sexuality and aggression. The myth may try to explain why there are seasons when animals and plants are born or die.

The goddess Ishtar decides to visit the underworld where her sister Ereshkigal is queen. She approaches the gate of the underworld and demands to be let in, threatening to smash down the door. The gate-keeper lets Ishtar in but tells her she must remove her symbols of power as she passes through each of the seven gates. She arrives naked in front of Ereshkigal and tries to grab the throne of the underworld from her sister but is cursed and pronounced dead. In heaven and on earth there is confusion at Ishtar's absence. So Ea creates a beautiful-looking creature who charms Ereshkigal. She orders that Ishtar be sprinkled with the Water of Life. The goddess leaves the underworld and at each gate puts on one of her symbols. However, the rules of the underworld say that nobody (not even a god) can leave so Ishtar must find a substitute. She eventually choses her husband, the shepherd Dumuzi, who is grabbed by demons and carried off to the underworld. He is to spend half the year in the underworld and half the year on earth.