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"The Epic of Creation is the Sumerian version of how the world began and includes to some degree the formation of the other members of the solar system. The Sumerian tale is also likely the source of the earliest chapters of the Bible’s Genesis -- the latter which might be considered to be an Executive Summary of the original. Their similarities are highlighted in Comparative Religions (among other places), but the fact that Genesis was written during the Hebrews’ captivity in Babylon, c. 600 B.C.E. (where access to the Babylonian version of the Epic was readily available) is undoubtedly important.
The Sumerian Epic of Creation and Genesis both have the interesting feature of being scientifically accurate in terms of what was created first. In creating a world, you begin with energy (light), form the planet itself, divide the land from the water, grow grass, herbs, fruit (in that order), initiate day/night and seasons, create fish, fowl, cattle, creeping thing and beasts of the earth (again, in that order), until finally you create man. Then you get really clever and create woman. Okay, so it’s not all perfect!
But there is also the distinction between the cosmic creation and the earthly ones. In the Genesis version, the heavens were created separate from the Earth (by the means of a firmament), while the Sun and Moon were specifically mentioned as “two great lights”. In the Sumerian version -- which is decidedly less ego-earth-centric -- all of the other planets may be considered to have been described in various stages of grouping themselves into the current arrangement. It’s just that their names were often attributed to gods, instead of gods and planets! "
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