Anu

Heaven separated from earth, and earth separated from heaven. In former days, in distant former days, Anu and Ki had remained joined. They had formed a solid mass, yet they had remained two. The early days had brought the established order into being and had carefully nurtured it. Bread had been set in the houses of the land, and bread had been baked in the ovens of the land. The ordered world had waited for its division.

Anu carried heaven away. Enlil carried earth away. Ki went apart from Anu, and the divided realms took their places. The heavens held their ordered place, while the earth became the land that Enlil carried away. After heaven had been separated from earth, and earth had been severed from heaven, the name of mankind was established.

In one telling, heaven and earth separated like a pair of sitting ducks taken by different hunters. Each hunter carried one duck away in the opposite direction. The two parts had once rested together, but they had been taken apart and carried away from each other.

In another telling, Enlil performed the separation alone. He cut heaven apart from earth like joined twins divided by an operation. The severing did not follow a battle. Heaven and earth had already stood joined before Enlil divided them. Their separation opened the ordered world, left heaven above earth, and placed mankind within the established order.