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    Apkallu PDF

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    Spameron Diaz
    The document summarizes the Apkallu, who were seven Sumerian sages created by the god Enki to establish culture and civilization for mankind. They served as priests of Enki and advisors to early Sumerian kings. According to myth, they emerged from the Abzu and taught mankind arts, writing, law, and agriculture. They are depicted as having fish-like lower bodies or dressed as fish. The document provides historical references to the Apkallu and discusses their influence on later Assyrian culture.

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    Apkallu PDF

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    Spameron Diaz
    563 views4 pages
    The document summarizes the Apkallu, who were seven Sumerian sages created by the god Enki to establish culture and civilization for mankind. They served as priests of Enki and advisors to early Sumerian kings. According to myth, they emerged from the Abzu and taught mankind arts, writing, law, and agriculture. They are depicted as having fish-like lower bodies or dressed as fish. The document provides historical references to the Apkallu and discusses their influence on later Assyrian culture.

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    The document summarizes the Apkallu, who were seven Sumerian sages created by the god Enki to establish culture and civilization for mankind. They served as priests of Enki and advisors to early Sumerian kings. According to myth, they emerged from the Abzu and taught mankind arts, writing, law, and agriculture. They are depicted as having fish-like lower bodies or dressed as fish. The document provides historical references to the Apkallu and discusses their influence on later Assyrian culture.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    563 views4 pages

    Apkallu PDF

    Uploaded by

    Spameron Diaz
    The document summarizes the Apkallu, who were seven Sumerian sages created by the god Enki to establish culture and civilization for mankind. They served as priests of Enki and advisors to early Sumerian kings. According to myth, they emerged from the Abzu and taught mankind arts, writing, law, and agriculture. They are depicted as having fish-like lower bodies or dressed as fish. The document provides historical references to the Apkallu and discusses their influence on later Assyrian culture.

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    The key takeaways are that the Apkallu were mythical creatures sent by the god Enki to teach mankind the ways of civilization. They were half-fish, half-human sages who taught mankind skills like writing, law, agriculture and more.

    The Apkallu were amphibious half-fish, half-human creatures sent by the god Enki from Dilmun to live with early humans and teach them the arts and aspects of civilization.

    The Apkallu taught mankind skills like writing, law, temple and city building, agriculture and gave them the Me (moral code).

    Apkallu

    “Abgal” redirects here. For other uses, see Abgal (disam-


    biguation).
    The Apkallu (Akkadian) or Abgal (Sumerian), are

    A pair of protective spirits, Apkallu, from Nimrud.

    A bird-headed Apkallu on a relief at the palace of Ashurnasirpal


    II, collection of the National Museum in Warsaw

    seven Sumerian sages, demigods who are said to have


    been created by the god Enki (Akkadian: Ea) to estab-
    lish culture and give civilization to mankind. They served
    as priests of Enki and as advisors or sages to the earliest
    kings of Sumer before the flood. They are credited with
    giving mankind the Me (moral code), the crafts, and the
    arts. They were seen as fish-like men who emerged from
    the sweet water Abzu. They are commonly represented
    as having the lower torso of a fish, or dressed as a fish.

    1 The myth

    According to the myth, human beings were initially un-


    aware of the benefits of culture and civilization. The
    god Enki sent from Dilmun,[1] amphibious half-fish, half-
    human creatures, who emerged from the oceans to live Wall relief depicting an eagle-headed and winged man, Apkallu,
    with the early human beings and teach them the arts and from Nimrud.
    other aspects of civilization such as writing, law, temple
    and city building and agriculture.[2] These creatures are
    known as the Apkallu. 2 Historical references
    The Apkallu remained with human beings after teaching
    them the ways of civilization, and served as advisors to The Apkallus are referred to in several Sumerian myths in
    the kings.[3] cuneiform literature. They are first referred to in the Erra

    1
    2 7 REFERENCES

    and last came Utuabzu “who ascended to heaven.”


    Conrad and Newing identify Utuabzu as the legendary
    Babylonian mythical figure, Adapa,[8] while others iden-
    tify Uanna with Adapa.[9]

    4 Ante and post-diluvian presence


    These seven were each advisers for seven different kings
    and therefore result in two different lists, one of kings and
    one of Apkallu. Neither the sages nor the kings in these
    lists were genealogically related however.[10] Apkallu and
    human beings were presumably capable of conjugal rela-
    tionships since after the flood, the myth states that four
    Apkallu appeared. These were part human and part Ap-
    kallu, and included Nungalpirriggaldim, Pirriggalnungal,
    Pirriggalabsu, and Lu-nana who was only two-thirds Ap-
    The archeological mound of Eridu, the city where the seven sages kallu. These Apkallus are said to have committed various
    first appeared transgressions which angered the gods. These seeming
    negative deeds of the later Apkallu and their roles as wise
    councillors has led some scholars to equate them with the
    Epic[4] by the character of Marduk who asks “Where are nephilim of Genesis 6:4.[8] After these four post-diluvian
    the Seven Sages of the Apsu, the pure puradu fish, who Apkallus came the first completely human advisers, who
    just as their lord Ea, have been endowed with sublime were called ummanu. Gilgamesh, the mythical king of
    wisdom?"[5] According to the Temple Hymn of Ku'ara, Uruk, is said to be the first king to have had an entirely
    all seven sages are said to have originally belonged to the human adviser.[3] In recent times, scholars have also sug-
    city of Eridu. However, the names and order of appear- gested the Apkallu are the model for Enoch, the ancestor
    ance of these seven sages are varied in different sources. of Noah.[11]
    They are also referred to in the incantation series Bit
    Meseri's third tablet.[6] In non-cuneiform sources, they
    find references in the writings of Berossus, the 3rd cen- 5 Influence on later culture
    tury BC, Babylonian priest of Bel Marduk. Berossus de-
    scribes the appearance from the Persian Gulf of the first
    of these sages Oannes and describes him as a monster Apkallu reliefs also appear in Assyrian palaces as
    with two heads, the body of a fish and human feet. He guardians against evil spirits. They are one of the more
    then relates that more of these monsters followed. The prominent supernatural creatures that appear in the art
    seven sages are also referred to in an exorcistic text where of Ashurnasirpal II of the 9th century BC. They appear
    they are described as bearing the likeness of carps.[7] in one of three forms, bird-headed, human-headed or
    dressed in fish-skin cloaks.[12]

    3 Order of appearance
    6 See also
    Though the order of the appearance of the sages is not
    precisely agreed upon, Conrad and Newing give an order • Saptarishi
    of their appearance:
    • Adad
    The first is Uanna, “who finished the plans for heaven and
    earth”,
    The second is Uannedugga “who was endowed with com- 7 References
    prehensive intelligence”,
    Third came Enmedugga “who was allotted a good fate”, [1] “Apkallu Dilmun”. Pubblicazioni dell'Istituto universitario
    orientale di Napoli 59. 1999. Retrieved 12 December
    Next was Enmegalamma “who was born in a house”, 2011.
    Fifth was Enmebulugga “who grew up on pasture land”,
    [2] “Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near
    The sixth is An-Enlilda “the conjurer of the city of East” (PDF). University of Zurich. Retrieved 12 Decem-
    Eridu”, ber 2011.
    3

    [3] Jones, Lindsay, ed. in chief (2005). Encyclopedia of reli-


    gion vol. 9 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Thomson Gale. p. 5964.
    ISBN 0-02-865742-X.

    [4] “The Melammu Project: The Intellectual Heritage of As-


    syria and Babylonia in East and West”. Retrieved 12 De-
    cember 2011.

    [5] Leick, Gwendolyn (1998). A dictionary of ancient Near


    Eastern mythology (1. paperback ed.). London: Rout-
    ledge. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-415-19811-0.

    [6] Mettinger, Tryggve N.D. (2007). The Eden narrative: a


    literary and religio-historical study of Genesis 2-3. Winona
    Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-57506-
    141-2.

    [7] Bottéro, Jean (1995). Writing, reasoning, and the Gods


    (Paperback ed.). Chicago [u.a.]: Univ. of Chicago Press.
    p. 247. ISBN 978-0-226-06727-8.

    [8] Conrad, Edgar W.; Newing, Edward G., eds. (1987).


    Perspectives on language and text : essays and poems in
    honor of Francis I. Andersen’s sixtieth birthday, July 28,
    1985. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns. p. 39. ISBN
    978-0-931464-26-3.

    [9] Clifford, edited by Richard J. (2007). Wisdom literature


    in Mesopotamia and Israel ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Atlanta:
    Society of Biblical Literature. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-58983-
    219-0.

    [10] Hess, ed. by Richard S. (1994). “I studied inscriptions


    from before the flood” : ancient Near Eastern, literary, and
    linguistic approaches to Genesis 1-11. Winona Lake, Ind.:
    Eisenbrauns. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-931464-88-1.

    [11] chief, Lindsay Jones, ed. in (2005). Encyclopedia of reli-


    gion vol. 4 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Thomson Gale. p. 2803.
    ISBN 0-02-865737-3.

    [12] Ataç, Mehmet-Ali (2010). The mythology of kingship in


    Neo-Assyrian art (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
    University Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-521-51790-4.

    8 External links
    • “abgal” search at *Electronic Text Corpus of Sume-
    rian Literature
    4 9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

    9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses


    9.1 Text
    • Apkallu Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apkallu?oldid=681900797 Contributors: Wetman, Rursus, Kaz, Wareh, FlaBot, Str1977,
    RussBot, Boticario, Boivie, SmackBot, Cloj, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Marty8, CmdrObot, Thijs!bot, NeilEvans, Goldenrowley, Xact,
    T@nn, Tgeairn, Šarukinu, Una Smith, John Carter, Goustien, Piledhigheranddeeper, BurgererSF~enwiki, Matma Rex, Addbot, Eskil S,
    Debresser, Yobot, AnomieBOT, DSisyphBot, Franco3450, Regstuff, ChuispastonBot, Telpardec, Helpful Pixie Bot, BigEars42, George
    Ponderevo, Nungalpiriggal, Neuroforever, Steinsplitter, Xenxax and Anonymous: 16

    9.2 Images
    • File:A_pair_of_protective_spirits,_Apkallu,_from_Nimrud..JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/
    A_pair_of_protective_spirits%2C_Apkallu%2C_from_Nimrud..JPG License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist:
    Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)
    • File:Eridu_mound4c.8.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Eridu_mound4c.8.png License: CC-BY-SA-
    3.0 Contributors: English Wikipedia Original artist: User:Cush
    • File:Nimrud_Apkallu.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Nimrud_Apkallu.jpg License: CC0 Contrib-
    utors: Own work (BurgererSF) Original artist: Anonymous (Nimrud)
    • File:Wall_relief_depicting_an_eagle-headed_and_winged_man,_Apkallu,_from_Nimrud..JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.
    org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Wall_relief_depicting_an_eagle-headed_and_winged_man%2C_Apkallu%2C_from_Nimrud..JPG
    License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

    9.3 Content license


    • Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

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