Apsu
Quick Summary
In Mesopotamian mythology, Apsu represents the primordial waters beneath the earth. He, along with the goddess Tiamat (the sea), were the first beings from whom the gods were born. Apsu and Tiamat created the first gods by the mingling of their waters.12
The god Ea, also known as Enki, was the lord of Apsu and the god of fresh waters. In the Enuma elish, a Mesopotamian creation epic, Apsu plots to kill the younger gods due to their disruptive noise. However, Ea kills Apsu and uses his body to help create the universe. Apsu's role as the primordial waters is a foundational element in Mesopotamian cosmology, representing the initial state of the world before creation.3142
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- Middle Eastern religionThe concept of the sacred
…existed only the male (Apsu) and female (Tiamat) gods of the deep. They raised a family of gods that were so unruly that Apsu resolved to destroy them. Rebellion and chaos ensued. Among the deities was Marduk, the god of Babylon. Since the main version of the epic of…
Read More…existed only the male (Apsu) and female (Tiamat) gods of the deep. They raised a family of gods that were so unruly that Apsu resolved to destroy them. Rebellion and chaos ensued. Among the deities was Marduk, the god of Babylon. Since the main version of the epic of…
Read More 
Mesopotamian religionMyths…beginning there was nothing but Apsu, the sweet waters underground, and Tiamat, the sea, mingling their waters together. In these waters the first gods came into being, and generation followed generation. The gods represented energy and activity and thus differed markedly from Apsu and Tiamat, who stood for rest and…
Read More…beginning there was nothing but Apsu, the sweet waters underground, and Tiamat, the sea, mingling their waters together. In these waters the first gods came into being, and generation followed generation. The gods represented energy and activity and thus differed markedly from Apsu and Tiamat, who stood for rest and…
Read More- Mesopotamian religionHuman origin
…the “engendering clay of the Apsu”—i.e., of the waters underground—and borne by Nammu. The Akkadian tradition, as represented by the “Myth of Atrahasis,” had Enki advise that a god—presumably a rebel—be killed and that the birth goddess Nintur mix his flesh and blood with clay. This was done, after which…
Read More…the “engendering clay of the Apsu”—i.e., of the waters underground—and borne by Nammu. The Akkadian tradition, as represented by the “Myth of Atrahasis,” had Enki advise that a god—presumably a rebel—be killed and that the birth goddess Nintur mix his flesh and blood with clay. This was done, after which…
Read More