Adapa or Adamu son of Ea (according to Sayce) was a Babylonian mythical figure
who accidentally rejected the gift of immortality. The story is first
attested in the Kassite period (14th century BC).
Roles
Adapa was a mortal from a godly lineage, a son of Ea, god of wisdom and of the ancient city of
Eridu, who brought the arts of civilisation to that city from Dilmun. He broke the wings of Ninlil the South Wind, who had overturned his
fishing boat, and was called to account before Anu. Ea,
his patron god, warned him to apologise humbly for his actions, but not to partake of food or drink while he was in heaven, as it
would be the food of death. Anu, impressed by Adapa's sincerity, offered instead the food of immortality, but Adapa heeded Ea's
advice, refused, and thus was cheated of the immortality that would have been his.
Adapa is often identified as advisor to the mythical first (antediluvian) king of Eridu,
Alulim. In addition to his advisory duties, he served as a priest and exorcist, and upon his death took his place among the Seven Sages (Apkallū). He is also merged with the
Kassite-period apkal ("sage", from Sumerian Abgallu (Ab=water,
Gal=Great, Lu=man)) U-an, who is most familiar though Berossus' recounting of the myth
of Oannes. It is possible he was also called Atrahasis
"Exceedingly Wise", a Noah-like figure who built an ark to survive a flood and was rewarded with
immortality.[citation needed] He was portrayed as a man
wearing the skin of a fish.
Bibliography
- Black, Jeremy, Andrew George & Nicholas Postgate, eds. 1999: A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, SANTAG, 5 (ISBN
3-447-04225-7)
- Miller, Douglas & R Mark Shipp 1993: An Akkadian Handbook (ISBN 0-931464-86-2)
- Verbrugghe Gerald & John Wickersham 2000: Berossos & Manetho Introduced & Translated; Native Traditions in
Mesopotamia & Egypt (ISBN 0-472-08687-1)
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