Ernest A. Wallis Budge

The Babylonian Legends of Creation: and the Fight Between Bel and the Dragon Ernest A. Wallis Budge

The Babylonian Legends of the Creation is a summarization of the beliefs of the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians about Creation, taken from baked clay tablets discovered by British archaeologists in the mid-19th century in Nineveh. This relatively short book describes the excavation of the tablets, their publication and translation, as well as the contents of the Seven Tablets of Creation. The tablets tell a story which includes the creation of man, the adventures of the god Marduk, and the destruction of the dragon Tiamat. This book is an interesting read for anyone, especially students of ancient Babylonian literature and legend. SIR ERNEST ALFRED THOMPSON WALLIS BUDGE (1857-1934) was born in Bodmin, Cornwall in the UK and discovered an interest in languages at a very early age. Budge spent all his free time learning and discovering Semitic languages, including Assyrian, Syriac, and Hebrew. Eventually, through a close contact, he was able to acquire a job working with Egyptian and Iraqi artifacts at the British Museum. Budge excavated and deciphered numerous cuneiform and hieroglyphic documents, contributing vastly to the museum's collection. Eventually, he became the Keeper of his department, specializing in Egyptology. Budge wrote many books during his lifetime, most specializing in Egyptian life, religion, and language.