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Before leaving the names, it may be added that, of the primaeval deities, Anshar and Kishar are obviously Sumerian in form. Damkina was the later wife of Ea or Enki; and Ninkharsagga is associated with Enki, as his consort, in another Sumerian myth. It may be noted that the character of Apsû and Tiamat in this portion of the poem is quite at variance with their later actions.
Enki, the third of the creating gods, was naturally credited, as God of Wisdom, with special creative activities, and fortunately in his case we have some independent evidence of the varied forms these could assume. According to one tradition that has come down to us, after Anu had made the heavens, Enki created Apsû or the Deep, his own dwelling-place.
'Thy command be invincible, thy order authoritative. The plan of procedure, it would appear, is the result of a council of war held by Apsu and Tiâmat, who feel themselves powerless to carry on the contest by themselves. The portion of the tablet in which this council is recounted is in so bad a condition that but little can be made out of it.
This conception is more clearly emphasized by the parallelism implied between Eridu and the 'deep. The 'formation' of Apsu corresponds to the 'structure' made by Marduk according to the first version, as the seat of Ea. The waters were not created by Marduk, but they were confined by him within a certain space. In a vague way, the 'deep' itself rested in a vast tub.
Esharra is a poetical designation of the earth and signifies, as Jensen has satisfactorily shown, "house of fullness" or "house of fertility." The earth is regarded as a great structure, and placed as it is over the Apsu, its size is dependent upon the latter. Its measurement from one end to the other cannot exceed the width of the Apsu, nor can it be any narrower.
While perhaps not much stress is laid by the artist upon this symbolism, its existence can hardly be questioned. The water certainly represents the Apsu. Allatu rests upon the bark. The dead are buried, and by virtue of this fact enter Aralû, which is in the earth. Egyptian influence is possible, but unlikely. IVR. 26, no. 1. I.e., the nether world. IVR. 30, no. 1; obverse 5, 14.
It is into this ocean, forming part of the Apsu, that the sun dips at evening and through which it passes during the night. The scene between Gilgamesh and Sabitum accordingly is suggested, in part, by the same cosmological conceptions that condition the description of the mountain Mashu. Sabitum herself is a figure that still awaits satisfactory explanation. She is called the goddess Siduri.
While recognizing the 'deep' as the domain of Ea, the theologians saved Marduk's honor by having him take a part in fixing Ea's dwelling and in determining its limitations. With the carcass of Tiâmat stretched across the upper firmament and safely guarded, and with the Apsu under control, the way is clear for the formation of the earth.
Esharra, the earth, is in existence and the Apsu appears to include all waters, but that the epic treated of the creation of plant and animal life and then of the creation of man is eminently likely.
This class does not differ essentially from Apsu and Tiâmat, nor from the 'Leviathan, the 'Dragon, the winged serpents, and the winged bulls that are all emanations of the same order of ideas. Accordingly, we find Lakhmu and Lakhamu associated with Tiâmat when the conflict with the gods begins.
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