Before the sky and the earth existed, there were two gods Apsu (god of fresh water) and Tiamat (goddess of salt water). When their waters mixed, they had produced several children. Apsu ruled the gods.

After Anu and Tiamat’s children had their own children, there were a great number of gods and they made a great deal of noise. The noise caused Apsu distress and prevented him sleeping. So Apsu wanted to destroy the younger gods.

The younger gods found out and Ea, one of the younger gods, enchanted Apsu and made him sleep. While he was asleep, Ea killed Apsu and became the king of the gods.

Later Ea had a son called Marduk, the god of the sun. He had four eyes and four ears, and flames came out of his mouth.

The younger gods became angry with Tiamat for not defending Apsu. They began a war against her. To defend herself she made a group of monsters: the Hydra, the Dragon, the Hairy Hero, The Great Demon, the Savage Dog, and the Scorpion-man, the Fish-man, and the Bull-man.

When the gods saw how strong Tiamat’s monsters were, they tried to appease her. But none of them were able to do it. Eventually, they persuaded Marduk, the strongest of the gods, to fight her.

First, Marduk captured Tiamat’s general, Qingu. When Marduk killed Qingu, he used his blood to make humans.

Later, Tiamat and Marduk fought each other with spells and then with violence. In the end, Marduk defeated Tiamat because he used the gods of the winds to trap her.

After she was dead, Marduk used her body to make the world. He cut he body in half; one half made the sky and the other made the earth. From he eyes flowed the river Euphrates and the river Tigris.

So, from this battle, the earth and the humans on it were made.