The Sacred Tablets of Ithax

Ithax created himself, and then the world. He looked out upon it and saw emptiness. He said that it would be good to fill this empty world. And so, he raised up the sky above it, and placed in it the sun, the moons and the stars. He let out a puff of air and the winds began to blow. He brought forth water and the seas filled.

He liked what he had created, but there was much yet to do, and he was lonely. And so he created lesser gods to help him in his tasks. Above these gods he set his eight chosen to continue the creation.

The Book of Creation, Sacred Tablets of Ithax

The original sacred tablets were said to be destroyed along with the Temple of the Hebdomad. Copies of this text circulate in hidden places and are secretly read to those who still follow the hebdomad. Some copies have been obtained by libraries and are maintained for scholarly research.

The group of eight chosen lesser gods were called the octad. They helped him raise mountains, carve rivers and lakes, and much other detailed work. And Ithax was content with what they had done.

But one of the eight, who is only referred to as the eighth, grew tired of the work. They asked Ithax to create more helpers for them. For unclear reasons, Ithax found the request impertinent and grew angry. Nevertheless, he agreed and created creatures in the form of the gods, only mortal. After this final act, he left the world to watch the octad complete the creation from afar.

After Ithax left, the octad continued the creation as instructed. They brought forth trees, shrubs and grass on the land. They filled the seas and lakes with fish and the land and sky with beasts and birds. The mortals that Ithax created helped the eight with their work. When the creation was complete, the eight chose to rest for a time. Seven among the eight left the mortals to travel the world.

The mortals lived happily among the beasts in the forests. They were innocent then, and knew nothing of evil. When they were hungry or thirsty, they ate of the food given by the eight. When they were cold or tired, they hid in shelters the eight had made for them. But while the seven were elsewhere, the eighth moved among the mortals, and taught them evil. He taught them how to kill, how to steal what was not theirs, and how to live without honor to the gods.

When the other gods returned and saw this, they were frightened and asked Ithax what they should do. Ithax saw what had happened and became angry. He banished the eighth. The seven gods left were called the hebdomad.

Then he turned to the mortals and punished them. Because they had learned evil, they would now need to hunt for their food or grow it themselves. They would need to build their own shelters. And they would need to live in fear of each other, lest another mortal kill them or steal from them.

Ithax turned to the hebdomad and berated them for letting the eighth teach such evil. He gave them the job to watch over the mortals, and prevent evil from spreading further. He divided the mortals among them. The hebdomad would be his voice among the mortals, and teach them the right things to do. They were allowed to punish those mortals who disobeyed them and continued to follow evil.

The story continues on with myths of the first days of civilization, some of which coincide with known history.