This book traced the broad as well as the narrow paths that led from Mesopotamian theories of language to their Greek adaptations. It argued that some stories, like the succession myths, displayed not only a shared interest in the nature of language but were also a vehicle for transcultural transmission. Within this context, the idea of a universal god whose multiple names describe cosmic history was utilized by elite specialists for purposes of understanding the world. Rather than viewing transculturation in terms of influence or, contrarily, in asserting independence, this study showed how the Greeks made selective use of Mesopotamian cultural goods to achieve prestige through innovation.

This chapter considers the case of the Song of Emergence that has proved central to several contributions collected here, but approaches the comparison as an opportunity to appreciate the distinctive differences reflected in the various relevant sources. This chapter emphasises the role of female wife–mother figures as destabilising elements in Hesiod’s Theogony, in contrast to the more limited roles of female characters particularly in the Song of Emergence, and locates that gendering theme within the wider context of early Greek mythology. This comparison allows us to see the individual element working within its own context, to determine what is distinctive about each tradition and so, finally, to understand all of them better. Genealogy, at least in the way most Classicists would like to practise it, is neither possible nor profitable. But the comparison remains, and its analogy can tell us a lot.