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116 priests created—those who are allowed to approach Shamash and Adad." By the time of the seventh generation after Enosh, on the eve of the Deluge, the Earth and its inhabitants were gripped by a new Ice Age. The Mesopotamian texts detail the sufferings by mankind, the shortages of food, even cannibalism. The Book of Genesis only hints at the situation by stating that when Noah ("Respite") was born, he was so named by his father in the hope that his birth shall signal a respite "from the work and toil that cometh from the Earth which the Lord hath cursed." The biblical version tells us little about Noah, apart from the fact that he was "righteous and of pure genealogy." The Mesopo- tamian texts inform us that the hero of the Deluge lived in Oa a Shuruppak, the medical center run by Sud. The Sumerian texts relate that as mankind's hardships were in- creasing, Enki suggested, and Enlil vehemently opposed, the tak- ing of measures to alleviate the suffering. What upset Enlil no end was the increasing sexual relationships between the young male Anunnaki and the Daughters of Man. The Book of Genesis de- scribes the "taking of wives" by the Nefilim in the following words: And it came to pass, When the Earthlings began to increase in number upon the face of the Earth, and daughters were born unto them— That the sons of the gods saw the daughters of the Earthlings nut. a that they were compatible; And they took unto themselves wives of whichever they chose. A "mythical tablet" (CBS-14061) reported by E. Chiera (Su- merian Religious Texts) tells the story of those early days and of a young god named Martu, who complained that he, too, should be permitted to espouse a human wife. It happened, the text begins, when The city of Nin-ab_ existed, Shid-tab did not exist; The holy tiara existed, the holy crown did not exist Cohabitation there was Bringing forth [of children] there was. exist; was THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN