Ki

From verses scattered throughout hymns and myths, one can compile a picture of the universe's (anki) creation according to the Sumerians. The primeval sea (abzu) existed before anything else and within that, the heaven (an) and the earth (ki) were formed. The boundary between heaven and earth was a solid (perhaps tin) vault, and the earth was a flat disk. Within the vault lay the gas-like 'lil', or atmosphere, the brighter portions therein formed the stars, planets, sun, and moon.

Each of the four major Sumerian deities is associated with one of these regions. An, god of heaven, may have been the main god of the pantheon prior to 2500 BC., although his importance gradually waned.

Ki is likely to be the original name of the earth goddess, whose name more often appears as Ninhursag (queen of the mountains), Ninmah (the exalted lady), or Nintu (the lady who gave birth).

It seems likely that these two were the progenitors of most of the gods.

According to "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld", in the first days all needed things were created. Heaven and earth were separated. An took Heaven, Enlil took the earth, Ereshkigal was carried off to the netherworld as a prize, and Enki sailed off after her.

Heaven and Earth were once a mountain that rose out of the primeval Sea. The mountain's peak reached into Heaven and its base was the Earth. An was heaven, and Ki was Earth. Nammu is the Sea goddess that surrounded the Earth. She was also the original dark chaos out of which everything formed. The mountain rose up out of the blackness of the deep sea. Enlil, the Air god, seperated Heaven and Earth and gave birth to the dawn. Enlil raped Ninlil the Air Goddess, and she gave birth to the Moon god, Nanna. Nanna and Ningal, his consort, gave birth to Utu, the Sun. Thus the Moon was born out of the darkness, before the Sun. This may be an indicator of the earlier matriarchal religion. Nanna and Ningal also gave birth to Inanna, the Evening Star.