The Creation of Marduk

How long was it before the celestial peace was broken once more?

The peace continues, with little pause, and raises the curtain on Act III:

A new celestial “god”—a new planet-now joins the cast.

Marduk was formed in the Deep, far out in space, in a zone where orbital motion—a planet’s “destiny”—had been imparted to him.

He was attracted to the solar system by the outermost planet: “He who begot him was Ea” (Neptune).

The new planet was a sight to behold:

He was the loftiest of the gods, surpassing was his height. His members were enormous, he was exceedingly tall.

Appearing from outer space, Marduk was still a newborn planet, belching fire and emitting radiation. “When he moved his lips, fire blazed forth.”

As Marduk neared the other planets, “they heaped on him their awesome flashes”.

He shone brightly, “clothed with the halo of 10 gods.”*

His approach thus stirred up electrical and other emissions from the other members of the solar system.

Ten celestial bodies awaited him—the Sun and only 9 other planets.

The epic’s narrative now takes us along Marduk’s speeding course.

He first passes by the planet that “begot” him, that pulled him into the solar system, the planet Ea/Neptune.

As Marduk nears Neptune, the latter’s gravitational pull on the newcomer grows in intensity. It rounds out Marduk’s path, “making it good for its purpose.”

Marduk must still have been in a very plastic stage at that time.

As it passed by Ea/Neptune, the gravitational pull caused the side of Marduk to bulge, as though he had “a second head.”

No part of Marduk, however, was torn off at this passage.

But as Marduk reached the vicinity of Anu/Uranus, chunks of matter began to tear away from him, resulting in the formation of four satellites of Marduk.

Called “winds,” the 4 were thrust into a fast orbit around Marduk, “swirling as a whirlwind.”

The order of passage—first by Neptune, then by Uranus—indicates that Marduk was coming into the solar system not in the system’s orbital direction (counterclockwise) but from the opposite direction, moving clockwise.

Moving on, the oncoming planet was soon seized by the immense gravitational and magnetic forces of the giant Anshar/Saturn, then Kishar/Jupiter.

His path was bent even more inward—into the center of the solar system, toward Tiamat. (Fig. 106)

The approach of Marduk soon began to disturb Tiamat and the inner planets (Mars, Venus, Mercury).

The nearing planet “diluted their vitals … pinched their eyes.”

Tiamat herself “paced about distraught”—her orbit, evidently, disturbed.

The gravitational pull of the large approaching planet soon began to tear away parts of Tiamat.

From her midst there emerged 11 “monsters,” a “growling, raging” throng of satellites who “separated themselves” from her body and “marched at the side of Tiamat.”

Preparing herself to face the onrushing Marduk, Tiamat “crowned them with halos,” giving them the appearance of “gods” (planets).