When the sky above had not been named, the dry land had not been called by a name below.

Before heaven and earth existed, the saltwater goddess Tiamat and her husband Apsu, the freshwater god, begat a family of gods, among others Ansar and Kisar. These would beget Anu, who in turn would beget Ea, who would surpass his parents and be unrivaled among the gods.

Many of these new gods, with their cries and their dances, began to cause displeasure to Apsu. So Apsu planned to do away with these,...