Mesopotamian / Sumerian (Enki) god of water and a member of the triad of deities completed by Anu (Sumerian An) and Bel (Enlil). From a local deity worshipped in the city of Eridu, Ea evolved into a major god, Lord of Apsu, the fresh waters beneath the earth. Ea, the Akkadian counterpart of Enki, was the god of ritual purification.