>>703803Both the Sumerian and Babylonian creation myths—along with the Hebrew account in Genesis—describe what we would call a
flat Earth cosmology.
In fact, the idea of a spherical Earth floating in empty space did not exist in the ancient Near East. Instead, all of these cultures shared the same basic blueprint for the universe. Historians often compare their model of the universe to a
cosmic snow globe.
Here is how that "flat" universe was structured in these ancient traditions:
### The Sumerian "Snow Globe"
To the Sumerians, the universe was a closed sphere or dome floating in a limitless, chaotic saltwater ocean (Nammu).
*
The Earth (Ki): The Earth was a flat, circular disk.
*
The Underworld and the Abzu: Beneath this flat disk was the realm of the dead, and below that was the *Abzu* (or Apsu)—a cosmic underground ocean of fresh water.
*
The Sky (An): Above the flat Earth was a solid vault, usually thought to be made of tin or lapis lazuli (a deep blue stone). This solid dome is what Enlil held up, keeping the upper waters from crashing down and drowning the flat Earth.
### The Babylonian Version
The Babylonians inherited this exact structural map but added the violent twist of the *Enuma Elish*.
* When Marduk splits the sea monster Tiamat in half like a "dried fish," the two halves become the top and bottom of the snow globe.
* The top half becomes the solid dome of the sky to hold back the upper cosmic waters.
* The bottom half becomes the flat foundation of the Earth, resting upon the deep lower waters.
### The Shared Ancient Mindset
It helps to look at this through the eyes of an ancient person standing in the deserts of Mesopotamia.
When they looked around, the land looked flat and circular, ending at the horizon. When they dug deep enough into the dirt, they hit groundwater (the lower waters/Abzu). When they looked up, the sky looked like a giant blue bowl resting on the horizon, and occasionally water fell out of it (rain from the upper waters).
Therefore, in Sumerian, Babylonian, and early Hebrew thought, the Earth was not a planet spinning in a vacuum. It was a flat, stable disc firmly anchored in the middle of a massive, watery abyss, protected by a hard, vaulted ceiling.