Due to the nature of Enuma Elish, it is generally advised to be wary of simply taking the text as a representative of Mesopotamian creation myths.[52] Enuma Elish references multiple myths and other texts, and epithets usually attested in royal inscriptions were given to Marduk.[53] Similarities with the Anzu myth are commonly observed,[54] such as both myths using the Tablet of Destinies as a key object and the similarities between the weapons used by Ninurta and Marduk,[55] and lines from the Anzu myth were adapted to fit the story of Enuma Elish, such as Anzu's feathers being blown off by the wind being adjusted to having Tiamat's blood being blown off by the wind.[56] Marduk using floods and storms as a weapon and using a net to capture Tiamat (the personified sea) does not make logical sense, but they were weapons that Ninurta used in the Anzu myth and in Lugal-e,[57] and usage of a net would make sense against Anzu.[58] Other traditions related to Ninurta were also applied to Marduk in Enuma Elish, such as the name of one of Ninurta's weapons (long wood) being given to Marduk’s bow.[57] While it would make sense to simply write this off as Marduk using Ninurta's model simply because it was the closest match, the traditions involving Ninurta were already used to allude to heroism in the epic of Gilgamesh, and imageries of Ninurta played an important part of Neo-Assyrian ideology.[59]
Outside of the Anzu myth, similarities between Enuma Elish and the Atrahasis epic were also pointed out. Both Apsu and Enlil wanted to destroy a source of noise which prevented them from falling asleep[60] (for Enlil, this was humanity and for Apsu, this was his offspring). Both Nintu and Tiamat then lament their fate.[61] Wisnom further suggests that the similarities between the beginning of Enuma Elish and Atrahasis was to have Apsu remind people of Enlil, thus the overthrowing of Apsu symbolically represents the dethronement of Enlil, the old head of the pantheon.[62] Enlil is conspicuously missing in most of Enuma Elish, only appearing to offer his title to Marduk, and Marduk receives fifty names, the number of Enlil.[63]
Other comparisons were also drawn, such as the description of Marduk's awe with the description in Marduk's Address to the Demons,[64] and the creation of the universe at the beginning of Tablet X with Tablet XXII of the astronomical series Enuma Anu Enlil. In Enuma Anu Enlil, the creation of the universe was credited to Anu, Enlil and Ea, while in Enuma Elish the creation of the universe was credited to Marduk while Enlil and Ea were assigned a position.[65]
The myth of a god (usually a storm god) fighting the sea is well known in the Ancient Near East, including myths such as the Song of Hedammu, the Baal cycle, the Illuyanka myth, and the Astarte papyrus. In the Song of Hedammu and the Illuyanka Myth the sea acts as a sort of breeding ground for the god's enemies, as both Hedammu and Illuyanka were sea monsters.[66] The Song of the Sea, suggested to belong to the Kumarbi Cycle,[67] likely narrates the story of the storm god Teshub fighting the sea god, although the text is damaged and fragmentary. The Astarte Papyrus also mentioned a struggle with the sea,[68] and the Ugaritic Baal Cycle had Baal Hadad fight for his position from Yam.[69]
A ritual text from the Seleucid period states that Enūma Eliš was recited during the Akitu festival.[70] There is scholarly debate as to whether this reading occurred, its purpose, and even the identity of the text referred to. Most analysts consider that the festival concerned and included some form of re-enactment of Tiamat's defeat by Marduk, representing a renewal cycle and triumph over chaos. However a more detailed analysis by Jonathan Z. Smith led him to argue that the ritual should be understood in terms of its post-Assyrian and post-Babylonian imperial context, and may include elements of psychological and political theater legitimizing the non-native Seleucid rulers; he also questions whether Enūma Eliš read during that period was the same as that known to the ancient Assyrians. Whether Enūma Eliš creation myth was created for the Akitu ritual, or vice versa, or neither, is unclear; nevertheless there are definite connections in subject matter between the myth and festival, and there is also evidence of the festival as celebrated during the neo-Babylonian period that correlates well with Enūma Eliš myth.[71] A version of Enūma Eliš is also thought to have been read during the month of Kislimu.[72][73]
It has been suggested that ritual reading of the poem coincided with spring flooding of the Tigris or Euphrates following the melting of snow in mountainous regions upstream. This interpretation is supported by the defeat of the (watery being) Tiamat by Marduk.[74]
