Abzu
/ˈæb.zuː/noun
In ancient Mesopotamian religion, the Abzu was the subterranean freshwater reservoir and a divine cosmic realm.
Did you know?In Sumerian cosmology, the Abzu was associated with Enki, god of wisdom and magic, whose temple at Eridu symbolically connected earthly waters with the cosmic deep.
Etymological Timeline
Early 2nd Millennium BCE
Sumerian
abzu
“The subterranean freshwater deep or cosmic freshwater reservoir”
Early 2nd Millennium BCE
Sumerian
abzu
“A sacred domain associated with Enki and the generative waters beneath the earth”
2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
apsû
“The primordial freshwater ocean beneath the earth in Babylonian cosmology”
1st Millennium BCE
Akkadian
apsû
“The divine freshwater deep, described in texts such as the Babylonian creation epic Enūma Eliš”
19th–20th Century
Assyriology
Abzu
“The standard scholarly transcription of the Sumerian cosmological term”
Modern English
English
Abzu
“A Mesopotamian mythological freshwater abyss or underworld ocean”