Editing Akkadian literature (section)

===Mythology===
One of the most famous of these was the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'',<ref name=EB1911/> which first appears in Akkadian during the Old Babylonian period as a circa 1,000 line epic known by its incipit, ''šūtur eli šarrī'', ‘‘Surpassing all other kings,’’ incorporating some of the stories from the five earlier Sumerian Gilgamesh tales. A plethora of mid to late second millennium versions give witness to its popularity. The Standard Babylonian version, ''ša naqba īmeru'', ‘‘He who saw the deep,’’ contains up to 3,000 lines on eleven tablets and a prose meditation on the fate of man on the twelfth which was virtually a word-for-word translation of the Sumerian “Bilgames and the Netherworld.” It is extant in 73 copies and was credited to a certain [[Sîn-lēqi-unninni]]<ref>{{ cite book | title = The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts, Volume 1 | author = A. R. George | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2003 | pages = 22–33, 379 }}</ref> and arranged upon an astronomical principle. Each division contains the story of a single adventure in the career of [[Gilgamesh]], king of [[Uruk]]. The whole story is a composite product, and it is probable that some of the stories are artificially attached to the central figure.<ref name=EB1911/>

Another epic was that of the "Creation" ''[[Enûma Eliš]]'', whose object was to glorify [[Bel (god)|Bel]]-[[Marduk]] by describing his contest with [[Tiamat]], the dragon of chaos. In the first book, an account is given of the creation of the world from the primeval deep, and the birth of the gods of light. Then comes the story of the struggle between the gods of light and the powers of darkness, and the final victory of Marduk, who clove Tiamat asunder, forming the heaven from half of her body and the earth from the other. Marduk next arranged the stars in order, along with the sun and moon, and gave them laws they were never to transgress. After this, the plants and animals were created, and finally man. Marduk here takes the place of [[Ea (Babylonian god)|Ea]], who appears as the creator in the older legends, and is said to have fashioned man from clay.<ref name=EB1911/>

The legend of Adapa, the first man — a portion of which was [[Amarna letters|found]] in [[Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh|the record-office]] of the Egyptian king [[Akhenaton]] at [[Amarna|Tell-el-Amarna]] — explains the origin of death. Adapa, while fishing, had broken the wings of the south wind, and was accordingly summoned before the tribunal of [[Anu]] in heaven. Ea counselled him not to eat or drink anything there. He followed this advice, and thus refused the food that would have made him and his descendants immortal.<ref name=EB1911/>

Among the other legends of Babylonia may be mentioned those of [[Namtar]], the plague-demon; of [[Erra (god)|Erra]], the pestilence; of [[Etana]] and of [[Zu (god)|Anzu]]. Hades, the abode of [[Ereshkigal]] or [[Allatu]], had been entered by [[Nergal]], who, angered by a message sent to her by the gods of the upper world, ordered Namtar to strike off her head. She, however, declared that she would submit to any conditions imposed on her, and would give Nergal the sovereignty of the earth. Nergal accordingly relented, and Allatu became the queen of the infernal world. Etana conspired with the eagle to fly to the highest heaven. The first gate, that of Anu, was successfully reached; but in ascending still farther to the gate of [[Ishtar]], the strength of the eagle gave way, and Etanna was dashed to the ground. As for the storm-god Anzu, we are told that he stole the tablets of destiny, and therewith the prerogatives of [[Enlil]]. God after god was ordered to pursue him and recover them, but it would seem that it was only by a stratagem that they were finally regained.<ref name=EB1911/>