Marduk is a Mesopotamian god principally associated with the city of Babylon, of which he was the patron deity. Still, he was also worshipped in Sippar, Borsippa, and Nippur. He seems to have been a fairly obscure god in the third millennium BCE but rose to be the most important god in the Mesopotamian pantheon by the first century BCE.
Marduk was considered the ruler of all the gods, and the intermediary between the realm of the divine and the mortal realm, which he created. His associations were broad because he could take on the function of any god, but he was most commonly associated with wisdom, water, storms, vegetation, judgment, and magic. His association with judgment and magic seems to pre-date his rise in the pantheon, as even in the third and second millennia BCE, oaths and incantations included his name.
Enuma Elish Creation Myth
According to the Enuma Elish creation myth, in the beginning, the world was a watery chaos ruled by Tiamat, the goddess of salt water and the female principal, and Apsu, the god of sweet water and the male principal. They gave birth to other gods, including Enki and Daminka, who would go on to give birth to most of the Babylonian gods, including Marduk. He appears to have been special among the children of the gods from the beginning. He suckled from all the goddesses, giving him great power, and when he was young, his father gave him the four winds to play with.
The gods didn’t have much to do, so Apsu soon decided to kill his children. As a mother, Tiamat warned her son Enki, who in turn killed his father. This made Tiamat fly into a rage and she started to kill all her children. With the help of her supporters and her general Kingu, they were quickly ravaging the forces of their children.
Eventually, Marduk was chosen to lead the forces of the gods against them in this war and successfully killed Tiamat. To do so, he gathered many weapons and filled his body with flame. He then made a net to encircle Tiamat and called on the four winds to entrap her in the net. They then faced off in single combat and he killed her with an arrow to the belly.
As a result of his victory, the other gods chose Marduk as their permanent leader and bestowed on him “50 names”. Since names have power and the name of a god usually indicates their realm of power, this suggests that he invested him with vast divine powers. With these powers, he used the body of Tiamat to create the world. He also created mankind to work with the gods to help prevent the chaos he had destroyed from returning. According to the Code of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE), Marduk received stewardship of all people from the other gods.
Among the titles used for Marduk by his human followers were: Light of His Father, Young Steer of Day, King of Heaven, Glorious Word of Power, Overseer who is Good, Guardian of the Four Quarters, Shepherd of the Stars, Lord of Life, Citadel of Prayer, Shepherd of the Gods, Master of Magick, and Restorer of Joy to Humankind.
Worshipped in Babylon
Marduk’s main center of worship was the city of Babylon. There he had a ziggurat called Etemenanki, which means “temple foundation of heaven and earth”. He also had a tower called Esagilia, which would later act as a model for the famous Tower of Babel. He also had a place of worship called Akitu-House. It seems that on the new year, the priests of Marduk would read the Enuma Elish to his statue there.
Another important story about Marduk involves his statue. An inscription from the “House of the Exorcist” in Babylon dating to the 7th century BCE, says that several hundred years earlier, when the Elamites invaded Babylon, they took Marduk’s statue. This brought disaster to Babylon because all the gods followed Marduk to Elam. But Marduk himself said that he would return to Babylon one day when it again had a strong king. This would be Nebuchadnezzar I (1125-1104 BCE).
Marduk’s statue was returned to Babylon and so was prosperity. While this prophecy was no doubt made up to celebrate the victory of Nebuchadnezzar over the Elamites, it also highlights how important Marduk was to the property of Babylon.
Personal Devotion
As well as being the king of the gods, there is evidence that Marduk received personal devotion. A poem called Ludlul bel nemiqi, probably composed around 1300 BCE, is written on four tablets of 120 lines each. The first four lines are dedicated to the praise of Marduk and highlighting his dual and contradictory nature. He is powerful, but neither good nor evil, and can bestow prosperity or ruin.
The poem is written in the first person and describes how the poet had a miserable life until he was saved by Marduk, to whom he offers personal devotion.
Symbols of Marduk
Marduk usually appears as a man. He carries a spear, bow, scepter, quiver, thunderbolt, club, and the magick net which restrains doers of evil. When he speaks, fire comes out of his mouth. Upon his head is the crowned helmet, and upon his hand, a royal signet ring. He may appear as a winged bull centaur, or in colossal human form, with multiple eyes and ears.
Marduk is often accompanied by a chimera called a mushkhushshu, which is a scaled animal with the hind legs and talons of an eagle and the front legs, head, and tail of a lion, as well as horns. Marduk once vanquished the animal, making it his servant.
God of Magic?
So, in what way is Marduk a god of magic? He was considered to be the arbiter of destiny and the god most capable of holding back the demonic forces that were always threatening to plummet the world into chaos.
Perhaps, as the creator god, he has a special affinity with the creative life force that runs through all things and therefore has greater control over the force to work magic, which was present in every aspect of life, since all life was made from the same creative material. In this way, Marduk would be very similar to Heka, the Egyptian god of magic.
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