Enki is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge (gestú), crafts (gašam), and creation (nudimmud), and one of the Anunnaki. He was later known as Ea or Ae in Akkadian (Assyrian-Babylonian) religion, and is identified by some scholars with Ia in Canaanite religion. The name was rendered Aos in Greek sources.
Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2,300 BC
The Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal showing (from left to right) Inanna, Utu, Enki, and Isimud (circa 2300 BC)
Impression of a cylinder seal of the time of Akkadian King Sharkalisharri (c.2200 BC), with central inscription: "The Divine Sharkalisharri Prince of Akkad, Ibni-Sharrum the Scribe his servant". Depiction of Ea with long-horned water buffalo. Circa 2217–2193 BC. Louvre Museum.
God Ea, a statue from Khorsabad, late 8th century BCE, Iraq, now in the Iraq Museum
Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization found in recorded history and based in ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders.
Wall plaque showing libations by devotees and a naked priest, to a seated god and a temple. Ur, 2500 BCE.
Plaque with a libation scene. 2550-2250 BCE, Royal Cemetery at Ur.
Statuette of a Sumerian worshipper from the Early Dynastic Period, ca. 2800-2300 BC
Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons
