Marduk was the chief god of the Babylonians. Originally, he may have been the god of thunderstorms and of the rain that fertilized the fields. As Babylon’s power spread over the Fertile Crescent (the area around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers), he became the most important god in southern Mesopotamia.
Marduk’s Family
In Babylonian mythology Marduk was the son of Ea, the god of wisdom, magic, and the underground ocean of sweet waters (called the Apsû). Marduk’s companion was Zarpanitum, the goddess of birth.
The Story of Creation
Marduk plays the leading role in Enuma Elish, the Babylonian story of creation. In it he is the only god to challenge Tiamat, the goddess of chaos, who wants to take over the Apsû and the rest of the universe. During a battle between the two gods, Marduk catches Tiamat in his net and stuffs the wind down her throat. While the evil goddess is struggling, Marduk pierces her belly with an arrow and divides her body in two. With one half, he makes the earth. With the other, he makes the heavens. Marduk then fills the skies with stars and creates people to put on earth.
Enuma Elish was written down on seven clay tablets by an unknown poet, possibly sometime between the twelfth and ninth centuries BCE. A cylinder seal, found in the temple dedicated to Marduk at Babylon, shows the god holding a curved sword and standing beside his sacred beast, the horned dragon Mushhushshu. The god’s tunic is decorated with stars and a sun, symbols that show his connection with the heavens.
Marduk’s Wars
The splendor of Babylon was the envy of neighboring peoples, who often attacked the city. In the second half of the thirteenth century BCE, the city came under repeated attack from the Elamites, people who lived in the mountains of present-day Iran. They carried the statue of Marduk away to their royal city of Susa, where they held the statue (hence the god) captive for many years. King Nebuchadrezzar I, who reigned over Babylon from around 1119 to 1098 BCE, organized a counterattack and brought the revered statue of the god back to its home city.
Marduk’s reputation in the ancient world was so great that he was worshiped in many countries, including Assyria and Persia. When Babylon was destroyed by Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE, the great military leader insisted on praying to Marduk. The god survived the fall of Babylon and was eventually worshiped as Bel, a name that means simply "lord." It was only with the coming of Christianity that Marduk’s power over people’s minds finally passed into history, along with that of many other ancient gods.
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THIS IS PART OF A PRAYER READ TO MARDUK DURING THE ANNUAL BABYLONIAN NEW YEAR FESTIVAL: O Lord, mighty one who dwells in Ekur [heaven],
Let thine own divine spirit bring thee rest,
O thou who art the hero of the gods,
May the gods of heaven and earth cause thine anger to be appeased … PSALM OF MARDUK
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