Adaba and the South Wind A Myth from El-Amarna. (14th century B.C.)

Authors

  • jihan mohammad Tishreen University

Abstract

The myth tackles constitutes one of the distinguished examples of Mesopotamian literature, and it tackles the quest for immortality, but the general situation of the currently known text of the myth is not sufficient to know its full details. What can be deduced from it is that Adaba was a man of wisdom from the Sumerian city of Eridu (Abu Shahren, southwest of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq). He was serving Enki, the Sumerian god of wisdom, loved by the people, supervising the preparation of food and hospitality during the practice of religious rites, and fishing from the nearby sea.

The god Enki endowed Adaba with great intelligence and wisdom, and provided him with instructions about the order of the universe.

Adaba set out one day on his boat near his city of Eridu (the Arabian Gulf now) hoping for abundant fishing that be served on the tables of religious rites, but he was surprised that a wind coming from the south, seemed to him in the form of a bird, blew so violently that he was thrown into the sea. In his rage he broke the wings of the south wind, which then ceased to blow. As a result, the sky god Anu (Sumerian: An) revolts against him, threatens him with punishment for his sin, and summons Adaba to appear before him in heaven.

‌The god Ea (Sumerian:Enki) showes mercy and advises Adaba to abstain from all that is offered to him of food and drink, because it would cause his death. But Anu, the sky god, offers Adaba what guarantees him immortality. however, ignorant of the truth, Adaba abstains and misses the opportunity of being immortal.

The Text was discovered at the Amarna site, near the city of Minya in southern Egypt, and dates back to the 14th century BC. It is evidence of the wide spread of Mesopotamian culture.

Downloads

Published

2023-05-18

How to Cite

mohammad, jihan. (2023). Adaba and the South Wind A Myth from El-Amarna. (14th century B.C.). Tishreen University Journal- Arts and Humanities Sciences Series, 45(2), 147–162. Retrieved from https://journal.tishreen.edu.sy/index.php/humlitr/article/view/14252

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 2 (2023): Tishreen University Journal for Research and Scientific Studies - Arts and Humanities

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

journal uses a CC BY-NC-SA license which mean

The authors retain the copyright and grant the right to publish in the magazine for the first time with the transfer of the commercial right to the Tishreen University Journal- Arts and Humanities Sciences Series

 Under a CC BY- NC-SA 04 license that allows others to share the work with of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.Authors can use a copy of their articles in their scientific activity, and on their scientific websites, provided that the place of publication is indicted in Tishreen University Journal- Arts and Humanities Sciences Series.  The Readers have the right to send, print and subscribe to the initial version of the article, and the title of Tishreen University Journal- Arts and Humanities Sciences Series  Publisher

You are free to:

  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
  •  
  • The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
 
  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  • ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.