“When the young god Marduk decided to march against Tiamat, there was a moment that would later be celebrated and represented, etched in stone any number of times before being forgotten. He climbed on his chariot, which was called Invincible Tempest. He had harnessed four horses to it, ready to attack. And he wasn’t alone. Beside him he had the god Amuru, the charioteer. Marduk’s weapons were the bow and the net. And the seven winds that were to wreak havoc on Tiamat. The gods had told him: ‘Go and cut Tiamat’s throat, and may the winds bring us her blood like good news.’ The same gods who hadn’t dared attack Tiamat had chosen Marduk as their champion, to defend them. And at first they stuck by his side.

“The chariot advanced and a company of gods marched with him. Ten up front. Fifteen right behind. There were gods we don’t know much about. And there were some of the most glorious gods: Ea and Damkina, Marduk’s parents, and Ninurta, Mullissu, and Beletili, who was the mother of other gods.

“Yet all of a sudden, Marduk found himself facing Tiamat alone. At first he spoke to her. He even had the gall to scold her for having allowed Kingu, a traitor god, to take Apsu’s place in her bed. Tiamat mumbled, as witches will. Deadly spells. And gradually her fury swelled. The two clashed. Marduk cast his net. When Tiamat opened her immense mouth, Marduk thrust in one of his evil winds, to stop it closing. At the same time, he loosed an arrow in Tiamat’s belly. And flung himself on the wound, to open the gash. Thus Tiamat was slain. The gods who had taken Tiamat’s side had disappeared, terrified. All that remained was to get hold of the Tablet of Destinies, which Tiamat had given to Kingu for safekeeping. Marduk hunted him down, grabbed the Tablet, placed his seal on it, and fixed it on his chest.

“For a while, he stood motionless, in silence. Now the world had to clothe itself in those two divine corpses. Marduk wanted marvels from them. Skillfully, like a fishmonger at the market, he cut Tiamat’s body in half. What to do with it? Deck out the world. Then he measured Apsu’s body, which was still lying there, and used it to make Esharra, the heavenly sanctuary, a copy of which would later be built on earth. He began to arrange the constellations on the dark canvas of the sky. And decided what order they should move in: he split up time into the days of the year. Tiamat’s liver he placed at the Zenith. And caused the Tigris and the Euphrates to spring from her eyes.

“The Anunnaki weren’t satisfied. They were happy to have been freed from Tiamat’s oppression and one by one they kissed Marduk’s feet, but they still had another favor to ask of him. They wanted a place where they could rest at night when they were down on earth. ‘Build Babylon!’ said Marduk. ‘Mold the bricks, raise up the sanctuaries!’ The Anunnaki set to work. For two years, like apprentice bricklayers, they fashioned clay into bricks. At last they found themselves gazing on the Esagil, the Eminent House, a city within the city.”