Lugalbanda and the Anzu Bird
Also known as: Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird, Lugalbanda and the Anzu, Lugalbanda and the Anzud, Lugalbanda 2 (ETCSL 1.8.2.2)
Separated from Enmerkar’s army on the campaign toward Aratta, the young Lugalbanda survives illness in a mountain cave, discovers the nest of the mighty Anzu bird, and wins divine favor by feeding its chick. Rewarded with superhuman speed and protection, he returns to aid Enmerkar as a swift emissary, prefiguring his later kingship.
Description
This Sumerian poem follows Lugalbanda, a youthful retainer of Enmerkar, during the expedition against Aratta. Stricken with a fever and left in a mountain cave, he prays to deities—especially Inanna—and performs ritual acts of sustenance. In the highlands he encounters the nest of the formidable Anzu (Anzud) bird and, in the parents’ absence, prepares and offers food and drink to the hungry chick. When the Anzu returns, Lugalbanda’s generosity averts disaster: the bird blesses him with preternatural speed and safe passage. Endowed with these gifts, Lugalbanda becomes an ideal messenger, racing across the land to relay counsel and secure aid for Enmerkar. The poem interweaves themes of piety, compassion, and charismatic legitimacy, situating Lugalbanda within the sacred politics of Uruk and anticipating his later elevation in Sumerian tradition.
Historiography
Known from Old Babylonian tablets (often from Nippur) and later copies, the poem belongs to a cluster of Lugalbanda narratives paired with Enmerkar–Aratta traditions. Modern editions rely on collated manuscripts with lacunae and variant lines; the ETCSL provides a composite transliteration and translation. Kramer, Black, and other Sumerologists discuss its ritual motifs, royal ideology, and narrative unity with "Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave." The Anzu’s role here is distinct from the later Akkadian myth of Anzu and the Tablet of Destinies.
Date Notes
Composition often placed in the Ur III period; surviving Old Babylonian manuscripts from sites such as Nippur preserve the text.
Symbols
Major Characters
- Lugalbanda
- Anzu
- Enmerkar
- Inanna
- Utu
Myths
- Alliance with the Anzud Bird
- Miraculous Healing and Oath
- Swift Messenger of Enmerkar
Facts
- The poem is one of two major Lugalbanda narratives, paired with "Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave."
- Surviving copies are predominantly Old Babylonian, though composition is often set in the Ur III period.
- The narrative connects to the Enmerkar–Aratta cycle, embedding Lugalbanda within Uruk’s royal ideology.
- Lugalbanda’s compassion toward the Anzu chick averts conflict and earns divine-like gifts.
- The Anzu here functions as a numinous highland bird, distinct from the Akkadian Anzu theft-of-destinies myth.
- Superhuman speed marks Lugalbanda as an exemplary royal messenger and culture hero.
- Inanna’s favor and ritual piety are central to the hero’s survival and empowerment.
- Mountain and wilderness settings frame the hero’s liminal trial and transformation.
- The text exhibits formulaic Sumerian poetic style with parallelism and ritual language.
- The work contributes to Lugalbanda’s later status as a deified or semi-divine ancestor of Uruk kings.