“Anzu was the only witness when Enlil undressed, removed his crown, the band around his forehead, the cloak of sovereignty. And last of all the Tablet of Destinies, which he always kept hanging from his chest. While Enlil was naked, immersed in the water, Anzu snatched the Tablet and flew off toward a mountain that even the Anunnaki could not climb.

“Everyone was shocked. They knew their lives couldn’t go on without that clay tablet, though it hardly differed, to look at, from so many others used in earthly palaces to etch administrative documents, omens, and grocery lists. They also knew, and soon got confirmation, that none of them had the courage to follow Anzu and fight him.

“Once again, it was Ea who took control. He suggested they turn to Mami, queen of all the Anunnaki, who got involved only in very rare instances. And Mami pointed to her son Ninurta as the one to fight Anzu.

“It was a duel like no other. And even here, Ea gave the decisive advice that allowed Ninurta to clip Anzu’s wings. In the end, the Tablet of Destinies was recovered. But for a long time Ninurta was reluctant to return it to his father, Enlil. Only when he was promised a long list of honors and privileges did he finally, grudgingly, hand it back. The Anunnaki could feel safe again. Enlil rediscovered his shine.”

“The duel was all but over. Anzu had folded his wings. His claws opened and he let go his grip on the Tablet. Which fell down all the way to the Apsu, drawn to its place of origin. Aching and bruised, Ninurta had to go down there and persuade Ea to let him have the Tablet. It was a last, arduous ordeal. Only then could Ninurta climb back up to the Anunnaki and hand over the Tablet to Enlil. And the world emerged from the paralysis that had left it stiff and arid.

“The Anunnaki were never self-sufficient, though many imagined otherwise. They needed an object in which everything that was and was becoming the world could concentrate: the Tablet of Destinies. Now they had it back in their care again, though they were bound to remember that in the beginning the Tablet had lain in the Apsu and in Tiamat, that immense enemy power.

“When Marduk reappeared, after his victory over Tiamat, the first thing he did was to give the Tablet to Anu, just as Ninurta returned it to Enlil. Gestures of homage, but also of liberation.”

“Like an army forever changing formation, the Anunnaki were everywhere, among the stars, on the earth, in the Underworld. In the beginning, as I was told, there were thirty-three of Enlil’s gods around the Pole, fifteen of Ea’s gods near the Equator, and twenty-three of Anu’s in the areas between. A celestial equilibrium. Finally, Marduk decided to impose some order. As the newly crowned king of the gods, this was his job. It was the first census of all time. It turned out there were three hundred gods of heaven, guarding Anu’s decrees. Another three hundred gods resided in the Underworld. Then there were the fifty Great Gods and the seven gods of fate, the Sebittu.