Editing Enlil (section)

===Origins myths===
The main source of information about Sumerian creation mythology is the prologue to the epic poem ''[[Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld]]'' ([[Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature|ETCSL]] [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1814.htm 1.8.1.4]),{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=30–33}} which briefly describes the process of creation: originally, there was only [[Nammu]], the primeval sea.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pp=37–40}} Then, Nammu gave birth to [[Anu|An]], the sky, and [[Ki (goddess)|Ki]], the earth.{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=37–40}} An and Ki mated with each other, causing Ki to give birth to Enlil.{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=37–40}} Enlil separated An from Ki and carried off the earth as his domain, while An carried off the sky.{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=37–41}} Enlil marries his mother, Ki, and from this union all the plant and animal life on earth is produced.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kramer|first=Samuel Noah|url=|title=Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C.|date=2020-03-05|publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing|isbn=978-1-83974-294-1|language=en}}</ref>

''[[Enlil and Ninlil]]'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr121.htm 1.2.1]) is a nearly complete 152-line Sumerian poem describing the affair between Enlil and the goddess [[Ninlil]].{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=43}}{{snf|Jacobsen|1946|pages=128–152}} First, Ninlil's mother [[Nunbarsegunu|Nunbarshegunu]] instructs Ninlil to go bathe in the river.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=44}} Ninlil goes to the river, where Enlil seduces her and impregnates her with their son, the moon-god [[Sin (god)|Nanna]].{{snf|Jacobsen|1946|pages=128–152}} Because of this, Enlil is banished to [[Kur]], the Sumerian underworld.{{snf|Jacobsen|1946|pages=128–152}} Ninlil follows Enlil to the underworld, where he impersonates the "man of the gate".{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=44–45}} Ninlil demands to know where Enlil has gone, but Enlil, still impersonating the gatekeeper, refuses to answer.{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=44–45}} He then seduces Ninlil and impregnates her with [[Nergal]], the god of death.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=45}} The same scenario repeats, only this time Enlil instead impersonates the "man of the river of the nether world, the man-devouring river"; once again, he seduces Ninlil and impregnates her with the god [[Ninazu]].{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=46}} Finally, Enlil impersonates the "[[Urshanabi|man of the boat]]"; once again, he seduces Ninlil and impregnates her with [[Enbilulu]], the "inspector of the canals".{{snf|Black|Cunningham|Robson|2006|page=106}}

The story of Enlil's courtship with Ninlil is primarily a genealogical myth invented to explain the origins of the moon-god Nanna, as well as the various gods of the Underworld,{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=43}} but it is also, to some extent, a [[coming-of-age story]] describing Enlil and Ninlil's emergence from adolescence into adulthood.{{sfn|Leick|2013|page=66}} The story also explains Ninlil's role as Enlil's consort; in the poem, Ninlil declares, "As Enlil is your master, so am I also your mistress!"{{sfn|Leick|2013|page=67}} The story is also historically significant because, if the current interpretation of it is correct, it is the oldest known myth in which a god changes shape.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=43}}