BELET-ILI

[Mesopotamian] The Sumerian goddess of the womb. The gods asked her to create mankind for them. She created men, so they could till the soils and dig canals, and she created women so that they could continue to bear men. Seven of each she created, so that after 600 years the people were already too numerous. The land became so noisy that Ellil could not sleep. The people were also sinful, eating their own children, so Ellil decided to wash them away with a great flood. He meant to keep the plan a secret from the people but the god Ea (Enki) told his protege Atrahasis what would happen and how he could save himself by means of a boat. The flood lasted seven days.