Editing Enlil (section)

===Flood myth===
In the Sumerian version of the [[flood story]] (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.7.4# 1.7.4]), the causes of the flood are unclear because the portion of the tablet recording the beginning of the story has been destroyed.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=97}} Somehow, a mortal known as [[Ziusudra]] manages to survive the flood, likely through the help of the god [[Enki]].{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=97–98}} The tablet begins in the middle of the description of the flood.{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=97–98}} The flood lasts for seven days and seven nights before it subsides.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=98}} Then, [[Utu]], the god of the Sun, emerges.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=98}} Ziusudra opens a window in the side of the boat and falls down prostrate before the god.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=98}} Next, he sacrifices an ox and a sheep in honor of Utu.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=98}} At this point, the text breaks off again.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=98}} When it picks back up, Enlil and An are in the midst of declaring Ziusudra immortal as an honor for having managed to survive the flood. The remaining portion of the tablet after this point is destroyed.{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=98}}

In the later Akkadian version of the flood story, recorded in the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', Enlil actually causes the flood,{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=109}} seeking to annihilate every living thing on earth because the humans, who are vastly overpopulated, make too much noise and prevent him from sleeping.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=109–111}} In this version of the story, the hero is [[Utnapishtim]],{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=109–110}} who is warned ahead of time by [[Enki|Ea]], the Babylonian equivalent of Enki, that the flood is coming.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=110–111}} The flood lasts for seven days; when it ends, [[Ishtar]], who had mourned the destruction of humanity,{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=113}} promises Utnapishtim that Enlil will never cause a flood again.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=114–115}} When Enlil sees that Utnapishtim and his family have survived, he is outraged,{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=115}} but his son [[Ninurta]] speaks up in favor of humanity, arguing that, instead of causing floods, Enlil should simply ensure that humans never become overpopulated by reducing their numbers using wild animals and famines.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=115–116}} Enlil goes into the boat; Utnapishtim and his wife bow before him.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=115–116}} Enlil, now appeased, grants Utnapishtim immortality as a reward for his loyalty to the gods.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=116}}