Adapa and the South Wind
Also known as: Adapa Legend, Myth of Adapa, Adapa and the South-Wind
Adapa, sage of Eridu and priest of Ea, breaks the South Wind’s wing after it overturns his boat. Summoned before Anu in heaven, he obeys Ea’s warning to refuse food and drink—thereby rejecting the bread and water of life and forfeiting immortality for humankind.
Description
The tale follows Adapa, a divinely endowed but mortal sage who serves Ea (Enki) at Eridu. When the South Wind capsizes his fishing boat, Adapa shatters its wing and stills the wind for seven days, provoking a summons from Anu. Before ascending, Ea instructs him to don clean garments, accept anointment and clothing, but refuse any food or drink offered in heaven. In Anu’s court, Adapa declines the proffered bread and water—which are, unbeknownst to him, the provisions of life—thus remaining mortal. The narrative explores divine-human boundaries, the ambiguity of divine counsel, and the paradox that wisdom, prudently applied yet misinformed, can seal the human condition of mortality.
Historiography
The story survives in fragmentary Akkadian tablets, notably from the Amarna archive in Egypt (14th c. BCE) and from the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (7th c. BCE). Textual witnesses reflect variant sequences and speeches but preserve the core plot of Adapa’s ascent and refusal. Scholarly discussions emphasize its wisdom-text framing, priestly setting at Eridu, and thematic parallels with other Mesopotamian reflections on lost immortality. Modern editions collate multiple fragments to reconstruct a coherent narrative.
Date Notes
Attested in Akkadian on Amarna tablets (14th c. BCE) and later Assyrian copies from Nineveh (7th c. BCE); composition likely earlier in Old Babylonian period or before.
Major Characters
- Adapa
- Ea
- Anu
- South Wind
- Dumuzi
- Ningishzida
Myths
- Adapa Breaks the South Wind
- Adapa Summoned Before Anu
- Refusal of the Food and Water of Life
Facts
- Adapa is portrayed as a mortal sage and priest of Ea at Eridu.
- The South Wind overturns Adapa’s boat, prompting him to break its wing and halt the wind.
- Anu summons Adapa to heaven to answer for his act against a divine power.
- Ea advises Adapa to refuse food and drink but to accept clothing and oil.
- Anu’s court offers bread and water of life, which Adapa declines, remaining mortal.
- Dumuzi and Ningishzida appear as gatekeepers or intercessors at heaven’s entrance.
- The narrative explains, in part, why humans lack immortality despite divine favor.
- Key manuscripts come from Tell el-Amarna and the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh.
- The setting anchors Adapa in the cultic environment of Eridu, Ea’s city.
- The tale is often read as a wisdom narrative emphasizing limits of human knowledge.