Adapa

Surviving fragmentary tablets (Sumerian Me-Turan/Tell Haddad material, an Amarna copy, and Neo-Assyrian library copies) present Adapa as a post-diluvian mortal associated with the temple of Ea at Eridu. In the principal tale he is a fisherman whose boat is capsized by rough water; after an episode in which he 'broke the wings of the south wind' and prevented it from blowing for seven days, he is summoned to heaven and brought before Anu, passing gates guarded by Dumuzid and Gishzida. Some Sumerian compositions and king lists link Adapa to postdiluvian rulership and to legendary figures such as Alulim and Enmerkar. The tradition is fragmentary, with variant versions and later copies attesting long transmission but no single complete original text preserved in the supplied materials.

The surviving accounts depict Adapa as a human male—specifically a fisherman and a priestly sage serving in the temple of Ea at Eridu. Textual summaries emphasize his human, mortal status rather than non-human or monstrous form. Comparative wisdom traditions in Mesopotamia also include the Apkallu figure Uanna/Oannes, often represented as half-fish; some texts and scholars sometimes conflate or overlap the two traditions, but the sources at hand distinguish Adapa as a mortal fisherman-priest while noting debated conflation with the semi-divine Apkallu.

Primary attributes are exceptional wisdom and priestly skill, described as a gift from the god Ea (Enki). In mythic narrative Adapa performs a notable act—he 'broke the wings of the south wind,' stopping that wind for seven days—an episode presented as a one-time, narrated control of a natural force rather than an ongoing dominion. In ritual practice Adapa's authority functions performatively: exorcists and ritual specialists invoked the identity formula 'I am Adapa!' to claim his wisdom and legitimacy during incantations and rites. The texts do not attribute immortality to him; rather, he is portrayed as mortal who unknowingly refused offered food of life in the heavenly episode.