propitiated. Originally Ea appears to have been a fish--the
incarnation of the spirit of, or life principle in, the Euphrates
River. His centre of worship was at Eridu, an ancient seaport, where
apparently the prehistoric Babylonians (the Sumerians) first began to
utilize the dried-up beds of shifting streams to irrigate the soil.
One of the several creation myths is reminiscent of those early
experiences which produced early local beliefs:

O thou River, who didst create all things,
When the great gods dug thee out,
They set prosperity upon thy banks,
Within thee Ea, the king of the Deep, created his dwelling.[10]

The Sumerians observed that the land was brought into existence by
means of the obstructing reeds, which caused mud to accumulate. When
their minds began to be exercised regarding the origin of life, they
conceived that the first human beings were created by a similar
process:

Marduk (son of Ea) laid a reed upon the face of the waters,
He formed dust and poured it out beside the reed ...
He formed mankind.[11]

Ea acquired in time, as the divine artisan, various attributes which
reflected the gradual growth of civilization: he was reputed to have
taught the people how to form canals, control the rivers, cultivate
the fields, build their houses, and so on.

But although Ea became a beneficent deity, as a result of the growth
of civilization, he had also a demoniac form, and had to be