Marduk
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Marduk [mär'dook] (Sumerian spelling in Akkadian: AMAR.UTU 𒀫𒌓 "solar calf"; perhaps from MERI.DUG; Biblical Hebrew מְרֹדַךְ Merodach; Greek Μαρδοχαῖος[1], Mardochaios) was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi (18th century BC), started to slowly rise to the position of the head of the Babylonian pantheon, a position he fully acquired by the second half of the second millennium BC.
Nibiru, to the Babylonians, was the celestial body or region sometimes associated with the god Marduk.
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History
Marduk's original character is obscure but he was later on connected with water, vegetation, judgment, and magic.[2] He was also regarded as the son of Ea (Sumerian Enki) and Damkina and the heir of Anu, but whatever special traits Marduk may have had were overshadowed by the political development through which the Euphrates valley passed and which led to imbuing him with traits belonging to gods who at an earlier period were recognized as the heads of the pantheon. There are particularly two gods—Ea and Enlil—whose powers and attributes pass over to Marduk. In the case of Ea, the transfer proceeded pacifically and without effacing the older god. Marduk took over the identity of Asarluhi, the son of Ea and god of magic, so that Marduk was integrated in the pantheon of Eridu where both Ea and Asarluhi originally came from. Father Ea voluntarily recognized the superiority of the son and hands over to him the control of humanity. This association of Marduk and Ea, while indicating primarily the passing of the supremacy once enjoyed by Eridu to Babylon as a religious and political centre, may also reflect an early dependence of Babylon upon Eridu, not necessarily of a political character but, in view of the spread of culture in the Euphrates valley from the south to the north, the recognition of Eridu as the older centre on the part of the younger one.
While the relationship between Ea and Marduk is marked by harmony and an amicable abdication on the part of the father in favour of his son, Marduk's absorption of the power and prerogatives of Enlil of Nippur was at the expense of the latter's prestige. After the days of Hammurabi, the cult of Marduk eclipsed that of Enlil; although Nippur and the cult of Enlil enjoyed a period of renaissance during the four centuries of Kassite control in Babylonia (c. 1570 BC–1157 BC), the definite and permanent triumph of Marduk over Enlil became felt within the Babylonian empire. The only serious rival to Marduk after ca. 1000 BC was Aššur in Assyria. In the south, Marduk reigned supreme. He is normally referred to as Bel "Lord", also bel rabim "great lord", bêl bêlim "lord of lords", ab-kal ilâni bêl terêti "leader of the gods", aklu bêl terieti "the wise, lord of oracles", muballit mîte "reviver of the dead", etc.
When Babylon became the capital of Mesopotamia, the patron deity of Babylon was elevated to the level of supreme god. In order to explain how Marduk seized power, Enûma Elish was written, which tells the story of Marduk's birth, heroic deeds and becoming the ruler of the gods. This can be viewed as a form of Mesopotamian apologetics. Also included in this document are the fifty names of Marduk.
In Enûma Elish, a civil war between the gods was growing to a climactic battle. The Anunnaki gods gathered together to find one god who could defeat the gods rising against them. Marduk, a very young god, answered the call and was promised the position of head god.
To prepare for battle, he makes a bow, fletches arrows, grabs a mace, throws lightning before him, fills his body with flame, makes a net to encircle Tiamat within it, gathers the four winds so that no part of her could escape, creates seven nasty new winds such as the whirlwind and tornado, and raises up his mightiest weapon, the rain-flood. Then he sets out for battle, mounting his storm-chariot drawn by four horses with poison in their mouths. In his lips he holds a spell and in one hand he grasps a herb to counter poison.
First, he challenges the leader of the Anunnaki gods, the dragon of the primordial sea Tiamat, to single combat and defeats her by trapping her with his net, blowing her up with his winds, and piercing her belly with an arrow.
Then, he proceeds to defeat Kingu, who Tiamat put in charge of the army and wore the Tablets of Destiny on his breast, and "wrested from him the Tablets of Destiny, wrongfully his" and assumed his new position. Under his reign humans were created to bear the burdens of life so the gods could be at leisure.
Marduk was depicted as a human, often with his symbol the snake-dragon which he had taken over from the god Tishpak. Another symbol that stood for Marduk was the spade.
People were named after Marduk. For example, some scholars speculate that the Biblical character of Mordechai (Book of Esther) used this Persian name to replace his original Hebrew name, Bilshan.
Babylonian texts talk of the creation of Eridu by the god Marduk as the first city, "the holy city, the dwelling of their [the other gods] delight".
Nabu, god of wisdom, is a son of Marduk.
It can also be said that there are similarities between the stories of Marduk in Enûma Elish and the story of creation according to Genesis.
Astrology
In late Babylonian astrology, Marduk was connected to the planet Jupiter. As the ruler of the late Babylonian pantheon, he was equated with the Greek god Zeus (Latin Jupiter).
Also called NIBIRU in Sumeric, Marduk was identified as the 12th planet in the solar system in Babylonian mythology, passing through Mars and Jupiter every 3600 years. Sumeric mythology believes that the "Annunaki" the Observers, came from Marduk.
Marduk's name was also given to Mars, and some records presume it to be the moon being that Marduk was the rising up of Tamuz who dies. Tamuz can be best explained as the Tau (cross) of Damuzi. Marduk was a special calendar New Year, and using a 780-day Mars we have every 13 years. This also means 130 years which has been referred to as the Year of Cainan or Chaldea. Thus as the New Year it marked Creation by Flood, Creation of Man (after that flood), and 130 years to creation of the city whether it be Ur or Babel or Eridu. Marduk is said to have created Ninevah, and Babel's temple of Marduk, and then Marduk Street in Babel. All of these being on the 13-year cycle of the 360-day calendar. Hamurabi is said to restore Marduk as supreme. Doing so by calendar would be to replace 360-days with 365 days. This can be done as 156 years. Thus the New Year Toth 1 being Nov 9 in 1770 BC, is recognized as 73 orbits of Mars to the date New Year date Toth 1 being in Oct 1 in 1614 BC (39 leap days) affiliated with harvest. In 834 BC, or 936 years from 1770 BC the Thoth New Year becomes March 20 affiliated with equinox and reborn vegetation. This 936-year date however, is also affiliated with the 12-year calendar artificially representing Jupiter. In reality it takes 996 years, (12x83-year Jupiter = 83x 12-year calendar), year of dragon 1769 BC and 773 BC. Close enough with 936 years being only one 60-year calendar cycle early. It is said the Olympiad is 773 years before the real birth-year of the Christ, which ever year or christ it be. Tamuz is 773 years in that it is 1770-997 BC dividing Israel in two.
Marduk was also a sun god. He was associated with the sun, similar to Ra in Egypt. It is interesting to note that Marduk rose to power in Babylon starting circa 2200 BC, and the Egyptian god Amun-Ra which the Thebans Egyptian rulers worshipped also rose to power at around this time. This coincides with the fact that the Era of Aries started at around 2200 BC and might have some relationship.
Babilonian priests also gave Marduk 50 holy names, and wrote the Eluma Elish (Poem of the creation) in his honor.
In popular media
In the second season of the cartoon series Sealab 2021, Marduk was mentioned in the episode "Stimutacs". One character gained mystic powers, claiming they were from "Marduk, son of Ea, slayer of Tiamat". A cartoon version of Marduk appeared and said "Eat some more pills, pill-head." When told that he "totally ruled," Marduk replied that "I totally already knew that." He then led a rock group singing the ending credits.
Marduk is the name of a secret organization which existed in the world of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis, influenced somewhat by Babylonian mythology, also features the "Marduks", the bigoted, anti-robot political vigilante organization founded by Duke Red.
In the introduction text to the computer game NetHack, there is a reference to "Marduk the Creator".
Marduk was the antagonist of the Lucasarts computer game Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. The game was a bizare departure from Indiana Jones canon in that Marduk was really an ancient alien from another dimension.
In the real-time strategy game Sacrifice developed by Shiny Entertainment, Marduk is the rival of the main character Eldred in the main campaign.
There is a monster called Marduk in the popular MMORPG Ragnarok Online.
In Marvel Comics, Marduk Kurios is one of several high-level demons, who controls an aspect of Hell and claims to be the Biblical Satan.
Marduk is the name of a black metal band formed in 1990 from Sweden
In the computer game Septerra Core, Marduk is the son of the Creator. He was sent to Septerra to defeat Gemma who was attempting to fulfill the "Legacy of the Creator."
In the television series Stargate SG1, Marduk was a Goa'uld, whose rule over a planet was so brutal and cruel, that his own priests rose up against him and sealed him inside his Sarcophagus, a device used by the Goa'uld to heal themselves and others, even from death, with a creature that would devour him, for centuries as it turned out, as the sarcophagus healed him.
Marduk and Tiamat are important characters in a Ghostbusters cartoon episode.
In the first book of the Empire of Man series of SF novels by John Ringo the hero and his bodyguards are marooned on the primitive backwater planet Marduk and spend the rest of the series trying to get off it and back to civilization.
Marduk was included in the film "Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine". Dr.Jones had to fight him to release Sophia of his custody
Marduk also appears in the PC game Septerra Core, by Valkyrie Studios.
Marduk is also the name of the Father of the Chosen Ones, a Nephelim, in Tracy Harding's trilogy, the Chosen ones. In fact, her two chronicles are based on Mesopotamian mythology.
In Wilbur Smith's Novel Warlock: A novel of Ancient Egypt, there are 18 pages with references to Marduk, and "Marduk the Devourer" as being a god to which the ancient Mesopotamian's worshipped and performed human sacrifice.
See also
- Assyro-Babylonian religion
- Ashur (god)
- Bull of Heaven
- Chaldean mythology
- Etemenanki
- Marduk (band)
- Marduk (planet)
- Marduk in popular culture
- List of entities named Marduk
References
- ^ identified with Marduk by Heinrich Zimmeren (1862-1931), Stade's Zeitschrift 11, p. 161.
- ^ [John L. McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible, Simon & Schuster, 1965 p 541.]
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Marduk. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of this Wikinfo article is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. |
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
- The Mystica (article about Marduk)
- [1]
- TV Tome - About episode 12 of Sealab 2021.
- Putting God on Trial-The Biblical Book of Job A Biblical reworking of the combat motif between Tiamat and Marduk.
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