order that the
gods may have worshippers is at once followed by the announcement that
the gods themselves must be punished and their "ways" changed. In the
Sumerian Version the gods are united and all are naturally regarded as
worthy of man's worship. The Sumerian Creator makes no distinctions; he
refers to "our houses", or temples, that shall be established. But in
the later version divine conflict has been introduced, and the future
head of the pantheon has conquered and humiliated the revolting deities.
Their "ways" must therefore be altered before they are fit to receive
the worship which was accorded them by right in the simpler Sumerian
tradition. In spite of the epitomized character of the Sumerian
Version, a comparison of these passages suggests very forcibly that the
Semitic-Babylonian myth of Creation is based upon a simpler Sumerian
story, which has been elaborated to reconcile it with the Dragon myth.

The Semitic poem itself also supplies evidence of the independent
existence of the Dragon myth apart from the process of Creation, for the
story of Ea and Apsu, which it incorporates, is merely the local Dragon
myth of Eridu. Its inclusion in the story is again simply a tribute to
Marduk; for though Ea, now become Marduk's father, could conquer Apsu,
he was afraid of Tiamat, "and turned back".(1) The original Eridu myth
no doubt represented Enki as conquering the watery Abyss, which became
his home; but there is nothing to connect this tradition with his
early creative activities. We have long possessed part of another local
version of the Dragon myth, which describes the conquest of a dragon by
some deity other than Marduk; and the fight is there described as taking
place, not before Creation, but at a time when men existed and cities
had been built.(2) Men and gods were equally terrified at the monster's
appearance, and it was to deliver the land from his clutches that one
of the gods went out and slew him. Tradition delighted to dwell on the
dragon's enormous size and terrible appearance. In this version he is
described as fifty _beru_(3) in length and one in height; his mouth
measured six cubits and the circuit of his ears twelve; he dragged
himself along in the water, which he lashed with his tail; and, when
slain, his blood flowed for three years, three months, a day and a
night. From this description we can see he was given the body of an
enormous serpent.(4)

(1) Tabl. III, l. 53, &c. In the stor