Atrahasis
Also known as: Atra-Hasis, The Epic of Atrahasis, Atrahasis Epic, Epic of Atra-hasis
An Old Babylonian poem recounting humanity’s creation to relieve the gods of labor, their overgrowth and punishment by successive plagues, drought, and famine, and finally a great flood from which the sage Atrahasis survives by Enki’s counsel.
Description
Atrahasis narrates how the junior gods, burdened by toil, revolt—prompting the mother goddess Mami to fashion humans from clay and the blood of a slain god to assume that labor. As mankind’s numbers swell and their clamor disturbs Enlil, he sends calamities in stages: plague, then drought, then famine. Each time, Enki secretly teaches pious rites to avert the disaster. At last Enlil decrees a deluge. Enki warns Atrahasis through a reed wall to build a sealed boat, preserve life, and endure the flood. After the waters subside, Atrahasis offers sacrifice; the gods regret the devastation and establish measures—mortality, barren women, and dedicated celibate priestesses—to limit human population and restore cosmic balance.
Historiography
Known from Old Babylonian tablets and later first-millennium copies, Atrahasis preserves one of the fullest Mesopotamian flood accounts. Its narrative influenced the Standard Babylonian Gilgamesh XI flood episode and stands alongside the earlier Sumerian "Eridu Genesis". The poem’s three-tablet form suggests a scholastic compilation and transmission within scribal schools. Fragmentary witnesses from Assyrian libraries and Babylonian archives attest to sustained reception and adaptation.
Date Notes
Old Babylonian composition in three tablets; likely formalized in the reigns following Hammurabi with later Assyrian/Babylonian copies and excerpts.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Atrahasis
- Enki
- Enlil
- Nintu
- Anu
Myths
- Creation of Humanity from Clay and Divine Blood
- Plague, Famine, and Drought Decreed
- The Great Flood and Atrahasis’ Ark
- The Gods Limit Human Lifespan
Facts
- Atrahasis is preserved primarily in Akkadian from Old Babylonian exemplars.
- The poem explains human origins as laborers for the gods after the Igigu revolt.
- Disasters escalate from plague to drought to famine before the final flood.
- Enki circumvents Enlil’s plans by instructing Atrahasis indirectly via a reed wall.
- The boat is sealed with pitch and built to preserve life through the deluge.
- Post-flood measures institute mortality limits and social-religious constraints on reproduction.
- The narrative directly influenced the Gilgamesh XI flood story.
- Elements parallel the Sumerian "Eridu Genesis" and later Near Eastern flood traditions.
- The mother goddess Mami fashions humans from clay mixed with divine blood.
- Ilawela, a sacrificed god, provides the blood used in human creation.