Gods and Liars

Enki, who had helped to fashion Homo Sapiens Sapiens, had an obvious interest in its development. Though half-brother Enlil (the chief god later known as Yahweh) was interested in men and women to serve as helpers (slaves), he cared little for their improvement beyond that capacity.

There was work to be done in the gold mines of southern Africa, and the countless other tasks in ministering to the needs of the "gods"... waiting on them, doing for them ... light and heavy chores the gods themselves had long tired of, for which Enlil appreciated having humans around to perform. But he was at heart an elitist, reluctant to share his station with others of inferior rank.

For that reason, Enlil strongly opposed any increase in humans' capacity other than as workers. But Enki was a true scientist - he sought  to make continual improvements in his grand achievement, Man.

Most notable was his achieving man's ability to reproduce; for our earlier version was, like mules and other hybrids, sterile. So many workers were needed that it became unfeasible to continue producing them only seven at a time. The various gods each had many uses for such valuable helpers, and it was up to Enki to more quickly satisfy the growing demand.

This challenge was met with the scientific assistance of sister Ninhursag (aka Ninmah, Lady of the Mountain, Sud, Hathor [in Egypt]). By careful experiment with genetic material from both gods and sterile hybrids, Enki was able at last to produce a new generation of hybrids who were no longer sterile. Instead of being individually mass-produced, humans were now self-replicating. Demand by the gods for these valued  workers could now be more easily met.