The Fifty Names of Marduk

The liturgy of the Babylonian creation myth, performed each year by the King and the priests, tells us about the intellectual frame of their world, as it was then understood. The physical world is a place of refuge, created by the gods to ensure the well-being of human life. The King is the earthly embodiment of the King of the gods, Marduk, whose character is described in detail. Each of his qualities enables him to maintain the good order of the world. There are however elements in the liturgy which suggest that the Babylonian perception of reality had a transcendentalist aspect.