When Apsu's spirit returned to the waters, the other gods came to know what Man had done. Suddenly, there was a division among them. The elder gods who came first from the primordial sea were determined to wipe out Apsu's murderers both to avenge him and to protect themselves from the devious machinations of such a dangerous creation. But the younger gods, Tiamat's children, defended Man because they too now realized their own ambitions. So the gods aligned themselves either with or against Apsu's killers, and both entreated Tiamat according to their desires.
But finally, Kingu and the twins Lahamu and her brother Lahmu of the elder gods, accused Tiamat of hard-heartedness. Will no one be punished for Apsu's death, they asked. Would she never even mourn him, for the love of Man who had ta
