ancient Babylon’s creation myth, the Enuma Elish. There, the god Marduk puts it bluntly: he will create humankind so that the gods can have slaves. That way the gods can sit back and live off the labour of their human workforce. Now Marduk is more plain-speaking than most other gods, but whatever the religion, most gods since have tended to like his approach. And who can blame them? His reasoning is profoundly attractive. If you are a god.
