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Apkallu
Apkallu or and Abgal (��; Akkadian and Sumerian, respectively[1]) are terms found in
cuneiform inscriptions that in general mean either "wise" or "sage".
In several contexts the Apkallu are seven demigods, sometimes described as part man and part
fish or bird, associated with human wisdom; these creatures are often referred to in scholarly
literature as the Seven Sages. Sometimes the sages are associated with a specific primeval king.
After the Great Flood (see Epic of Gilgamesh), further sages and kings are listed. Post-deluge, the
sages are considered human, and in some texts are distinguished by being referred to as
Ummanu, not Apkallu.
The term Apkallu-Abgal is also used as an epithet for kings and gods as a mark of wisdom or
knowledge.
A further use of the term Apkallu is when referring to figurines used in apotropaic rituals; these
figurines include fish-man hybrids representing the seven sages, but also include bird-headed
and other figures.
In a later work by Berossus describing Babylonia, the Apkallu appear again, also described as fish-
men who are sent by the gods to impart knowledge to humans. In Berossus, the first one, Oannes
(a variant of Uanna), is said to have taught humans the creation myth, the Enūma Eliš.
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Bas-relief (probably) of an
Apkallu figure from the
temple of Ninurta at
Nimrud.[2]
The term apkallu has multiple uses, but usually refers to some form of wisdom; translations of the
term generally equate to English language uses of the terms "the wise", "sage" or "expert".[3]
As an epithet, prefix, or adjective it can mean "the wise"; it has been used as an epithet for the
gods Ea and Marduk, simply interpreted as "wise one amongst gods" or similar forms. It has also
been applied to Enlil, Ninurta, and Adad.[4]
The term also refers to the "seven sages",[5] especially the sage Adapa,[6] and also to apotropaic
figures, which are often figurines of the 'seven sages' themselves.[7]
A collation of the names and "titles" of theses seven sages in order can be given as:[8]
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Additionally, the term is used when referring to human "priests" (also "exorcists", "diviners").[9]
However, Mesopotamian human sages also used the term ummianu (ummânù) "expert".[10][11]
The first of these legendary fish-man sages is known as Oan/Oannes, Sumerian Uanna/U-An; on a
few cuneiform inscriptions this first sage has "adapa" appended to his name.[12][13] Borger notes,
however, that it is difficult to believe that the half-man half-fish Adapa is the same as the
fisherman of the Adapa myth, the son of the god Ea.[12][14] A potential solution was given by W.
G. Lambert[15]—evidence that "adapa" was also used as an appellative meaning "wise".[12]
Kvanvig 2011 considers the case for Adapa being one of or a name of one of the Apkallu. They
note that while some texts contain plays on words between the terms "adapa" and "uan" and
posit that "adapa" may be an epithet, though in the Adapa myth itself it is likely a proper name.
In terms of the name of the first Apkallu they consider that both terms "adapa" ("wise") and
"ummanu" ("craftsman") together form the whole proper name. Additionally, they note closer
similarities between the 7th Apkallu Utuabzu, who is said to have ascended to heaven (in the Bit
Meseri), and the myth of Adapa who also visited heaven. Both Adapa and the Apkallu have
legends that place them halfway between the world of men and gods; but additionally just as
Oannes in the Greek version passes all the knowledge of civilization to humans, so Adapa is
described as having been "[made] perfect with broad understanding to reveal the plans of the
land." However, despite some clear parallels between Adapa stories and both the first and last
Apkallu, Kvanvig finally notes that the name used for the first Apkallu is given in both Berossus,
and in the Uruk King list—that is Uan.[16]
Oannes was once conjectured to be a form or another name of the ancient Babylonian god Ea.[17]
It is now thought that the name is the Greek form of the Babylonian Uanna, an Apkallu.[18]
Literary evidence
These Sages are found in the "Uruk List of Kings and Sages" (165 BC) discovered in 1959/60 in
the Seleucid era temple of Anu in Bit Res; The text consisted of list of seven kings and their
associated sages, followed by a note on the 'Deluge' (see Gilgamesh flood myth), followed by
eight more king/sage pairs.[19][20][21]
Lenzi notes that the list is clearly intended to be taken in chronological order. It is an attempt to
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During the reign of Dumuzi, the shepherd, the king, Anenlilda was sage.
After the flood, during the reign of Enmerkar, the king, Nungalpirigal was sage, whom Istar
brought down from heaven to Eana. He made the bronze lyre [..] according to the
technique of Ninagal. [..] The lyre was placed before Anu [..], the dwelling of (his) personal
god.
During the reign of Isbi-Erra, the king, Sidu, a.k.a. Enlil-ibni, was scholar.
During the reign of Abi-esuh, the king, Gimil-Gula and Taqis-Gula were the scholars.
During the reign of Esarhaddon, the king, Aba-Enlil-dari was scholar, whom the Arameans
call Ahiqar.
† Note the root for this word is the same (Iu4-4+60) as that for the following sage Uanduga
(Iu4-4+60-du10-ga) ie the translation to Adapa is interpretive, not literally 'phonetic'
connect real (historic) kings directly to mythologic (divine) kingship and also does the same
connecting those real king's sages (ummanu) with the demi-godly mythic seven sages
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(apkallu).[22]
Though the list is taken to be chronological, the texts do not portray the Sages (nor the kings) as
genealogically related to each other or their kings. There is some similarity between the sages'
and kings' names in the list, but not enough to draw any solid conclusions.[23]
Bit meseri
A list (similar to the Uruk list) of the seven sages followed by four human sages is also given in an
apotropaic incantation the tablet series Bit meseri.[22] The ritual involved hanging or placing
statues of the sages on the walls of a house. A translation of the cuneiform was given by Borger:
the pure puradu-fishes, the puradu-fishes of the sea, the seven of them,
the seven sages, who have originated in the river, who control the plans of heaven and
earth.
Nungalpiriggaldim, the wise (King) of Enmerkars, who had the goddess Innin/Ishtar
descend from heaven into the sanctuary,
Piriggalnungal, who was born in Kish, who angered the god Ishkur/Adad in heaven, so that
he allowed neither rain nor growth in the land for three years,
Piriggalabzu, who was born in Adab/Utab, who hung his seal on a "goat-fish"† and thereby
angered the god Enki/Ea in the fresh water Sea, so that a fuller struck him dead with his
own seal,
fourth Lu-Nanna, who was two-thirds a sage, who drove a dragon out of the temple
E-Ninkiagnunna, the Innin/Ishtar Temple of (King) Schulgi,
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(altogether) four Sages of human descent, whom Enki/Ea, the Lord, endowed with
comprehensive understanding.
Translated to English in Hess & Tsumura 1994, pp. 230–231, original german translation
Borger 1974, p. 186
A text
Nudimmud became angry and summoned the seven sages of Eridu in high tones,
giving
the story "Bring the document of my Anuship that it may be read before me,
known as
the That I may decree the destiny for Mu'ait,
Twenty-
The son who makes me happy, and grant him his desire."
One
They brought and read the tablet of destinies of the great gods,
"Poultices" (ref. no. LKA No.76) contains duplications of much of the Bit meseir text concerning
the seven sages - it was analyzed by Reiner 1961. Another text from Uruk was later found that
duplicated and further completed the coverage of Reiner's text.[25]
In the twenty-one poultices text the seven sages (of Eridu) are entrusted with the reading "tablets
of destiny." Additionally the sage Anenlilda is the maker of the 'twenty-one poultices' -- these
items are then given to Nudimmud to bring to the "upper world" to gain merit.[26]
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According to Scott B. Noegel this epic also contains several clever etymological wordplays on the
names of apkallu, both textual and phonetic.[31]
This text appears to have a completely different role for the apkallu from that given in the lists of
sages and kings—essentially, Kvanvig proposes that the pre-deluge king-sage list was
retroactively inserted onto a Sumerian king list, so to combine the historical record with the flood
legend. In doing so it creates a pre-flood origin story for the Sumerian kings.[32]
Building stories
A Sumerian
The Seven Sages have enlarged it for you from the south to the uplands [north].
temple
hymn (Temple hymn) The house of Asarluhi at Kuar-Eridu; line 193.[33]
states the
seven
sages (here as abgal) enlarged a temple.[27]
The seven sages were also associated with the founding of the seven cities of Eridu, Ur, Nippur,
Kullab, Kesh, Lagash, and Shuruppak; and in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Gilg. I 9; XI 305) they are
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Berossus' Babyloniaca
Berossus wrote a history of Babylon in around 281 BC, during the Hellenistic period. According to
his own account, he was a Chaldean priest of Bel (Marduk). His Babyloniaca was written in Greek,
probably for the Seleucid court of Antiochus I.[35] His work gives a description of the wise men,
their names, and their associated kings.[36][21] Berossus' original book is now lost,[37] but parts
have survived via the abridgment and copying of historians including Alexander Polyhistor,
Josephus, Abydenus, and Eusebius.[38][37] Mayer Burstein suggests that Berossus' work was partly
metaphorical, intended to convey wisdoms concerning the development of man—a nuance lost
or uncommented on by later copyists.[37]
What remains of Berossos' account via Apollodorus begins with a description on Babylonia,
followed by the appearance of a learned fish-man creature named Oannes.[39] Truncated account:
This is the history which Berossus has transmitted to us. He tells us that the first king was
Alorus of Babylon, a Chaldaean; he reigned ten sari: and afterwards Alaparus, and Amelon
who came from Pantibiblon: then Ammenon the Chaldaean, in whose time appeared the
Musarus Oannes the Annedotus from the Erythraean sea. (But Alexander Polyhistor
anticipating the event, has said that he appeared in the first year; but Apollodorus says that
it was after forty sari; Abydenus, however, makes the second Annedotus appear after
twenty-six sari.) Then succeeded Megalarus from the city of Pantibiblon; and he reigned
eighteen sari: and after him Daonus the shepherd from Pantibiblon reigned ten sari; in his
time (he says) appeared again from the Erythraean sea a fourth Annedotus, having the
same form with those above, the shape of a fish blended with that of a man. Then reigned
Euedoreschus from Pantibiblon, for the term of eighteen sari; in his days there appeared
another personage from the Erythraean sea like the former, having the same complicated
form between a fish and a man, whose name was Odacon. (All these, says Apollodorus,
related particularly and circumstantially whatever Oannes had informed them of:
concerning these Abydenus has made no mention.) Then reigned Amempsinus, a
Chaldaean from Laranchae; and he being the eighth in order reigned ten sari. Then reigned
Otiartes, a Chaldaean, from Laranchae; and he reigned eight sari. And upon the death of
Otiartes, his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari: in his time happened the great deluge. So
that the sum of all the kings is ten; and the term which they collectively reigned an
hundred and twenty sari.
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Berossus via Apollodorus recorded in Eusebius and Syncellus (translated from the
Greek).[40]
It is said that the first king of the country was Alorus, who gave out a report that he was
appointed by God to be the Shepherd of the people: he reigned ten sari: now a sarus is
esteemed to be three thousand six hundred years; a neros six hundred; and a sossus sixty.
After him Alaparus reigned three sari: to him succeeded Amillarus from the city of
Pantibiblon, who reigned thirteen sari; in his time a semidaemon called Annedotus, very
like to Oannes, came up a second time from the sea: after him Ammenon reigned twelve
sari, who was of the city of Pantibiblon: then Megalarus of the same place eighteen sari:
then Daos, the shepherd, governed for the space of ten sari; he was of Pantibiblon; in his
time four double-shaped personages came out of the sea to land, whose names were
Euedocus, Eneugamus, Eneuboulus, and Anementus: after these things was Anodaphus, in
the time of Euedoreschus. There were afterwards other kings, and last of all Sisithrus: so
that in the whole, the number amounted to ten kings, and the term of their reigns to an
hundred and twenty sari. [follows an account of a deluge]
Berossus via Abydenus recorded in Eusebius and Syncellus (translated from the Greek).[41]
In the first year there made his appearance, from a part of the Erythraean sea which
bordered upon Babylonia, an animal (...) who was called Oannes. (According to the account
of Apollodorus) the whole body of the animal was like that of a fish, and had under a fish
head another head, and also feet below, similar to those of a man, subjoined to the fish tail.
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His (...) language was (...) human; and a representation of him is preserved even to this day.
This being in the day-time used to converse with men; but took no food at that season;
and he gave them an insight into letters and sciences, and every kind of art. He taught
them to construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the
principles of geometrical knowledge. He made them distinguish the seeds of the earth, and
shewed them how to collect fruits (...). From that time, so universal were his instructions,
nothing has been added material by way of improvement. When the sun set, it was the
custom of this being to plunge again into the sea, and abide all night in the deep; for he
was amphibious.
After this there appeared other animals like Oannes, of whom Berossus promises to give an
account when he comes to the history of the kings.
Moreover Oannes wrote concerning the generation of humans; of their different ways of
life, and of their civil polity; and the following is the purport of what he said:
In the second book was the history of the ten kings of the Chaldeans, and the periods of
each reign, which consisted collectively of an hundred and twenty sari, or four hundred and
thirty-two thousand years; reaching to the time of the Deluge. For Alexander, as from the
writings of the Chaldteans, enumerating the kings from the ninth Ardates to Xisuthrus,
[Accounts then follow of Abraham, of Nabonasar, of the Destruction of the Jewish Temple,
of Nebuchadnezzar, of the Chaldean Kings after Nebuchadnezzar, and of the Feast of
Sacea]
Berossus from Alexander Polyhistor recorded in Eusebius and Syncellus (translated from the
Greek).[42]
Summary
via Apollodorus via Abydenus via Polyhistor
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Musarus
Ammenon Ammenon
Oannes
Maglarus Megalarus
Euedocus,
Daonus the [4th fish- Daos the Eneugamus, he was followed by
Shepherd man] Shepherd Eneuboulus, and others similar
Anementus
Amempsinus [unnamed]
In summary, Berossus' Babylonian history recounts ten kings before a deluge (followed by the
reigns of later kings), with a record or myth of prehistoric man receiving civilization via the
Oannes; it also contains a paraphrasing of the myth the Enuma Elis, which was said to have been
recounted by the Oannes.[37] Though Berossus' history contains obvious historical errors, parts of
it have convincing matches with ancient cuneiform texts, suggest he was recreating accounts
known from ancient Mesopotamian texts. Mayer Burstein considers that the text was not well
written in a "Greek style", but was essentially a transliteration of Mesopotamian myths into Greek.
Helpfully for future historians, Berossus does not seem to have altered the myths or narratives to
suit a Greek audience.[43]
In terms of his relevance to the Apkallu: his lists match fairly well with the Uruk King/Apkallu list,
though there are differences and variations.[44] Oannes is paired with the king Alorus, and by
comparison can be considered equivalent to Adapa [Uanna].[45] Matches between Berossus and
the kings and apkallu in the Uruk King List have been proposed.[46]
Other references
Various other cuneiform texts have references to these seven sages. There are texts that
associates a set of seven sages with the city Kuar-Eridu or Eridu, while in the Epic of Gilgamesh
there is a reference to seven counselors as founders of Uruk. Another list of seven sages used in a
ritual differs from the description and names give in the Bit meseri text.[27]
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Several of named apkulla are listed on inscriptions as authors, notably Lu-Nanna is recorded as
author of the Myth of Etana.[47]
Gallery
Wall relief depicting an eagle-headed and winged man, Apkallu, from Nimrud.
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Nimrud Apkallu
Detail of the embroidered dress of a male Apkallu, showing a kneeling winged Apkallu. From Nimrud,
Iraq. 883-859 BC. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
Detail of the embroidered dress of an Apkallu, showing a kneeling winged eagle-headed Apkallu.
From Nimrud, Iraq. 883-859 BC. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
The spread of the 'seven sage' legend westwards during the 1st and 2nd millennia has been
speculated to have led to the creation of the tale of the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-4) as recounted in
the Old Testament,[50][51] and may have an echo in the text of the Book of Proverbs (Prov 9:1):
"Wisdom built her house. She set out its seven pillars." The story of Enoch ("seventh from Adam")
and his ascension to heaven has also been proposed to be a variant or influenced by the seventh
apkallu Utuabzu who is also said to have ascended to heaven in the bit meseri.[50]
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See also
• Dagon, Mesopotamian and Canaanite fish-like deity, associated with clouds and fertility
References
Citations
1. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, "Apkallu", page 72.
8. Conrad & Newing 1987, The Mespotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nepilim A. Draffkorn Kilner, pp.
39–.
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16. Kvanvig 2011, § 3.2 Bīt Mēseri and the Adapa Myth, pp. 117–129.
17. Sayce, Archibald H. (1898), "Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by the Religion
of the Ancient Babylonians", The Hibbert Lectures (5th ed.), Williams & Norgate, pp. 232, 368–9, 391
18. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, "Apkallu", p.72.
31. Noegel, Scott B. (2011), Heimpel, Wolfgang; Frantz-Szabo, Gabriella (eds.), " "Wordplay" in the Song of
Erra", Strings and Threads, pp. 161–194
34. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, "Apkallu", p.73, col.1.
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44. Mayer Burstein 1978, § A.4, pp.8-10; § C.1, p.18, Notes 26-.
48. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, "Apkallu", p.73, col.2 - p.74, col.1.
50. van der Toorn, Becking & van der Horst 1999, "Apkallu", p.74, col.1.
51. Conrad & Newing 1987, The Mespotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nepilim A. Draffkorn Kilner,
pp.39-.
Sources
• Cory, I.P. (1828), The Ancient Fragments; containing what remains of the writings of Sanchoniatho,
Berossus, Abydenus, Megasthenes, and Manetho (https://archive.org/details/ancientfragments00coryuoft)
• Mayer Burstein, Stanley (1978), "The babyloniaca of berossus", Sources from the ancient near east (SANE),
vol. 1, no. fasc.5, ISBN 0890030030
• Civil, Miguel; Gelb, Ignace J.; Landsberger, Benno; Oppenheim, A. Leo; Reiner, Erica, eds. (1968), The
Assyrian Dictionary (https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/cad_a2.pd
f) (PDF), vol. A part 2, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, ISBN 0-918986-07-9
• 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 (https://books.google.com/books?id=URe
3ugEQB00C) , Eisenbrauns, ISBN 978-0-931464-26-3
• Lenzi, Alan (2008), "The Uruk List of Kings and Sages and Late Mesopotamian Scholarship", Journal of
Ancient Near Eastern Religions, 8 (2): 137–169, doi:10.1163/156921208786611764 (https://doi.org/10.11
63%2F156921208786611764) , ISSN 1569-2116 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1569-2116)
• Borger, Rykle (1974), "Die Beschwörungsserie Bīt mēseri und die Himmelfahrt Henochs", Journal of Near
Eastern Studies (in German), The University of Chicago Press, 33 (2): 183–196, doi:10.1086/372352 (http
s://doi.org/10.1086%2F372352) , JSTOR 544732 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/544732) ,
S2CID 161593842 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:161593842)
◦ also reproduced in English translation in (Hess & Tsumura 1994, pp. 224–233)
• Lambert, W. G. (1959), "Three Literary Prayers of the Babylonians", Archiv für Orientforschung, 19: 47–66,
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• Hess, Richard S.; Tsumura, David Toshio, eds. (1994), "I studied inscriptions from before the flood" (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=g5MGVP6gAPkC) , Ancient Near Eastern, literary, and linguistic
approaches to Genesis 1-11, Eisenbrauns, vol. 4, ISBN 978-0-931464-88-1
• van der Toorn, Karel; Becking, Bob; van der Horst, Pieter W., eds. (1999), Dictionary of Deities and Demons
in the Bible (2nd ed.), Brill, ISBN 90-04-11119-0
• Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1998), An Illustrated Dictionary of Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient
Mesopotamia (2nd ed.), British Museum Press, ISBN 0-7141-1705-6
• Reiner, Erica (1961), "The Etiologicial Myth of the "Seven Sages" ", Orientalia, 30 (1): 1–11
• Kvanvig, Helge (2011), Primeval History: Babylonian, Biblical, and Enochic: An Intertextual Reading, Brill,
ISBN 978-90-04-16380-5
• Lambert, W.G. (1980), "The Twenty-One "Poultices" ", Anatolian Studies, 30: 77–83, doi:10.2307/3642779
(https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3642779) , JSTOR 3642779 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3642779) ,
S2CID 163242830 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:163242830)
External links
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