i.2.2 Babylonian Mythology
In the Babylonian version of the Sumerian creation myth, there were too many theological committees in the various cities and temples, labeling every physical phenomena as a unique god. In the beginning, there was only a primordial living sea of saltwater, named Nammu, described as female, and was the sole element in the Universe. Nammu created the sky and the earth, intimately joined together. The earth was flat with an underground aquifer named Abzu, encircled by a saltwater sea, defined as female and named Ki. The sky was defined as male and named An, whose temple was at Uruk. Ki and An mated, thus Ki gave birth to the air which separated the sky from the earth. The air was named Enlil, and described as male. His temple was at Nippur. Enlil mated with Ki and engendered all living creatures on the Earth, except man. Then Enki, another son of An and either Ki or Nammu, created and protected mankind. He lived in the Abzu and its outlets flowing in springs, rivers, lakes, and marshes. Enki and the Abzu were worshiped at the temple at Eridu.
Babylonian astronomers recorded the motions celestial objects on clay tablets, inscribed in cuneiform, focusing on some group of stars and constellations, which may have been collected from various earlier sources.