Religion and Humanity in Mesopotamian Myth and Epic

Religion and Humanity in Mesopotamian Myth and Epic
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date: 22 December 2022
prayers, and finally through the physical boundary of a wall. In Atrahasis, the continuation of 
divine/human relations is dependent on effective communication and the formation of 
connections with individual deities.
Later in the narrative, Enlil sends a great storm against humanity. Atrahasis, warned by Enki, 
builds a boat to escape, but the rest of humanity is destroyed. The destruction of humanity 
horrifies the gods, who are hungry and thirsty owing to a lack of the offerings usually made to 
them. The hunger of the deities shows their dependence on humans for offerings,
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a theme that 
is evident earlier in the composition when the humans bribe certain deities with food offerings to 
avert the plagues. The theme of divine hunger illustrates the more general interdependence of 
human and divine relations, as this theme is paralleled, somewhat ironically, with the earlier 
attempt to destroy humanity through a terrible famine; both humankind and the gods are shown 
to cause starvation for one another in Atrahasis. The hierarchy of relations is still weighted in 
favor of the divine (for example, the solution to both famines is indirectly provided by Ea, and 
both famines are indirectly caused by Enlil), but each group is presented as having significant 
influence on the other’s well-being. Similarly, damaging divine plans can be countermanded in 
Atrahasis through the intercession of individual gods and appropriate religious observance.
The deities put in place several new developments to prevent human overpopulation from 
causing problems again, including the establishment of mortality and a reduction in childbirth, 
juxtaposing divine accountability for human suffering, such as the invention of a demon to 
increase infant mortality, with the mutually caring and beneficial relationship between humans 
and deities more generally, as is seen in the reaction of the deities to the destruction of humanity. 
A contrast is provided between humanity as a whole, and the individual, in terms of divine 
connectedness. While the clamor and spread of humanity places a strain on divine/human 
relations, the relationship between Atrahasis and Enki is close, and their communication is 
essential to the survival of humankind.