Sumerian Literature and Mythology: Atrahasis

Atrahasis, "the surpassingly wise," is the name of the Mesopotamian hero of the Flood in the myth of the same name (corresponding to the biblical Noah and quranic Nuh), recorded in Assyro-Babylonian literature from the Old Babylonian period up until the New Babylonian period. In Sumerian his name is Ziusudra (which becomes Xisuthros in Berossus), whereas in the Epic of Gilgamesh he is called Utanapishtim—meaning, respectively, the one who "has a long life" and the one who "has found life."

The Sumerian pantheon, which was accepted and assimilated by the Semitic Babylonians, had a pyramid structure, with the god An, the sky, at its head, sharing power with his two sons Enlil and Enki, all having clearly defined areas of responsibility. An controlled the sky, Enlil the earth, and Enki the ocean depths. In practice, whether because Enlil was god of the earth or because his priests at Nippur were a particularly powerful social grouping, it was Enlil who gave Sumerian sovereigns their royal power. Enki had nothing to do with the Sumerian kingship, so his son Marduk was cut off from the decision-making process of which Enlil was in charge.

The Babylonian priests showed their bitterness here. The antagonism been Enlil and Enki was well known, so some scholars have thought the two gods may represent two different religions, a chthonic one and a heavenly one, fused in the Sumerian religious system. In their writings, the Babylonians emphasized the rivalry between the two gods, naturally favoring Enki, demonstrating not so much the worthless nature of Enlil but certainly his lack of wisdom and his ill-will toward the human race.

More information:

• https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/atrahasis
  
• https://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Atrahasi.htm
  
• Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. “The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Our Understanding of Genesis 1-9.” The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 40, no. 4, 1977, pp. 147–55. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3209529
• Millard. A. R. The Atrahasis Epic and Its Place in Babylonian Literature. University of London. 1966. https://web.archive.org/web/20201209161330id_/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29625/1/10752597.pdf
  
• Dalley. S. (tulk.) Myths from Mesopotamia Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh and Others. Oxford: Oxford World’s Classics. 2008.