Adapa and the Mythical Foundations of Sumer

Adapa is an illustrious figure of the Ancient Sumerians, whose impact was so great that he resounded through thousands of years of Near East history and religion.

Although Adapa was originally a Sumerian figure, stories were told of him for over a thousand years after the nation of Sumer had ceased to exist. Records of Adapa were preserved in the extensive archives of Akhenaten at the Ancient Egyptian city of Amarna centuries after the Babylonian Empire replaced Sumer in the region, and a thousand years after that Adapa can be found in the Assyrian Library of Ashurbanipal.

The myth of “Adapa and the South Wind” (which might have been originally called Adapa Into Heaven) is one of the most ancient accounts that we have of a man being brought to heaven and meeting with the gods.

So great was the influence of Adapa that elements of his story were even retained in the story of Adam — the first man created by god in the Biblical tradition — both Adapa and Adam being associated with the immortality of humanity, and whose actions caused humanity to be punished with disease and suffering.

The Role of Adapa In Early Sumerian History

While Adapa himself is not certainly an historical person — many scholars regard him as a purely mythical figure, but in reality, we do not actually know whether he was mythical, historical, or some combination between for certain — but what cannot be denied is that he played a significant role in the mythical foundations of Sumer.

According to the Sumerian King List, the Sumerians remembered a progression of kings who ruled in antediluvian times before the great flood, and the kings who ruled afterwards. Depending on which version of the traditions surrounding Adapa that we refer to (the Sumerian, Sumero-Akkadian-Babylonian, Egyptian, or Assyrian) Adapa was anything from a divine sage, a priest of Enki in Eridu, an advisor of early kings, or an early king of Sumer himself.

It truly is impossible to say what he was exactly. All that we can say is that on the one hand he was an important figure in Mesopotamian religion, but on the other hand, that his wisdom and intelligence were renowned.

Adapa The Sage, Advisor, Priest, and King

The one thing that we can really take away from the traditions involving Adapa (since there is such variation from one tradition to the next) is the fact that in every case Adapa plays a role in early Sumerian culture.

Whether he was an early Sumerian King around (or even before) 3000 BCE, a high priest, or an advisor to another king — or even if Adapa is a dim memory from a truly antediluvian hero before 10,000 BCE — he was a leader among the Sumerian people or their ancestors. Adapa was said to have been favoured by the gods, blessed, and helped to guide the people on their path of evolution, ultimately into the illustrious, revolutionary culture of Ancient Sumer.

Whether he was an historical person, purely mythical, or something inbetween, it doesn’t matter — to the Sumerians he was a cultural hero. An important figure remembered by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Sumerians.