Enki (Sumerian: EN.KI — "Lord of the Earth")¶

Sumerian name: EN.KI

Enki (Sumerian: Enki, "Lord of the Earth"; Akkadian: Ea, "House of Water") was the chief scientist of the Anunnaki and, in Zecharia Sitchin's narrative, the most important god in human history. As the creator of humanity, Enki is the central figure of the Earth Chronicles — the Promethean figure who brought knowledge and civilization to the human race.

Role in the Anunnaki Hierarchy¶

Attribute	Detail
Father	Anu (King of Nibiru)
Mother	Antum or a lesser consort
Domain	Eridu, the Abzu, the waters
Sacred Number	40
Symbols	The serpent, the goat-fish, the flowing vase
Title	Lord of the Earth, Lord of Wisdom, Creator

Enki was the firstborn son of Anu, but was denied the succession in favor of his brother Enlil. This created a rivalry that would define Anunnaki politics for millennia.

Enki the Scientist¶

Sitchin portrays Enki as the scientific and technological genius of the Anunnaki:

Creation of Humanity — Enki proposed and executed the genetic engineering project that produced Adamu and Ti-
The Flood Warning — Enki defied Enlil's orders and warned Ziusudra (Noah) to build an ark, preserving human civilization
Civilization Bringer — Enki taught humanity agriculture, crafts, writing, law, and the arts
The ME — Enki was the keeper of the ME (the divine decrees containing the knowledge of civilization)
Healer — Enki possessed the secrets of medicine and healing

"Enki was the god of wisdom, the lord of the Abzu, the one who measured the heavens and the earth, and the one who created man to be the servant of the gods."

Family and Descendants¶

Enki had many children, including:

Child	Mother	Role
Marduk	Damkina	Lord of Babylon, supreme god of Babylon
Nergal	Ereshkigal (by one account)	Lord of the underworld
Nabu	Damkina (or Tashmetum)	God of writing
Gibil	—	God of fire and metallurgy
Dumuzi	—	Shepherd god, Inanna's consort
Adapa	(Created by Enki)	The sage, human

Enki and the Creation of Humanity¶

The creation of humanity is Enki's defining act. In Sitchin's reading of the Atra Hasis epic:

"The mother goddess mixed clay with the flesh and blood of a god... Enki, the lord of wisdom, oversaw the work. From the union of Anunnaki essence with the life of the Earth, a new being was born — the Adamu, the first human."

Enki's motivation was both practical (providing workers to replace the revolting Igigi) and compassionate (he had sympathy for the hard lot of the lower gods and later for humanity itself).

The Serpent Symbol¶

Enki's symbol — the entwined serpents (the caduceus) — became the universal symbol of medicine and healing. Sitchin argued that the serpent represented the DNA double helix, reflecting Enki's mastery of genetic science.

Cuneiform Evidence¶

The name EN.KI (𒂗𒆠, "Lord of the Earth") is well attested in Sumerian literary tablets. Enki appears as a central figure in numerous mythological compositions from the Old Babylonian period (c. 2000–1600 BCE).

CDLI Corpus: EN.KI — Browse tablets mentioning Enki
Key tablet: Enki and the World Order (CDLI P346034) — A Sumerian literary composition describing Enki's organization of the world. The tablet (CDLI no. 173) is housed in the Louvre Museum and dates to the Old Babylonian period.
Tablet of "Enki and the World Order," a Sumerian literary composition recounting Enki's divine decrees that ordered civilization. (CDLI P346034)

Sources¶

Sitchin, Z. (1976). The 12^th Planet.
Sitchin, Z. (1985). The Wars of Gods and Men.
Sitchin, Z. (1990). Genesis Revisited.
Kramer, S. N. & Maier, J. (1989). Myths of Enki, the Crafty God. Oxford University Press.