Table of Contents
This page puts the seven sages of Sumer side by side with other groups of seven from around the world. It is this site’s own comparison. Each row pairs one Mesopotamian sage with a planet and with figures from Greece, India, China, the Hebrew Bible and other traditions, for example Uanna (Adapa) with Confucius and the Sun, Uannedugga with Solon and the Moon, and Enmegalamma with Moses and Mercury. The pairings are a way of reading the material, not a claim that ancient sources link these figures.
The seven sages in the cuneiform record
The Mesopotamian column rests on real texts. In the account of Helge S. Kvanvig (Primeval History: Babylonian, Biblical, and Enochic, Brill, 2011), the seven apkallu sages appear in two cuneiform lists: an incantation series called Bīt Mēseri, first published by E. Reiner in 1961 and reedited by R. Borger in 1974, and the Antediluvian King List from Uruk (W 20 030, 7), published by van Dijk in 1962. The Bīt Mēseri copies found at Uruk date to the fourth or third century, about the time Berossos wrote. The Uruk tablet pairs each sage with a king who reigned before the flood.
Kvanvig on how stable the list is:
The names of the apkallus and their successions are identical in Bīt Mēseri and the Uruk tablet, with small variations in spelling.
Helge S. Kvanvig, Primeval History: Babylonian, Biblical, and Enochic (Leiden: Brill, 2011), p. 108. © Brill. (short excerpt for review and study)
In Kvanvig’s translation of Bīt Mēseri, Uanna is the sage who completed the plans of heaven and earth, Utuabzu is the one who rose to heaven, and Anenlilda is a purification priest from Eridu. The incantation calls the seven pure carps from the sea, sages born in the river who keep the plans of heaven and earth in order (Kvanvig 2011, p. 108).
The table
| Sage Number | Mesopotamian (Apkallu/Abgal) | Ancient Greece | India (Saptarishi) | China (Confucian Sages) | Judaism (Seven Shepherds) | Buddhism (Seven Buddhas) | European (Seven Wise Masters) | Celestial Bodies | Main Characters/Attributes | Gnostic (Seven Archons) | Alchemy (Seven Metals) | Christianity (Seven Virtues) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uanna (Adapa) | Thales of Miletus | Kashyapa | Confucius | Abraham | Vipassi Buddha | Master of Masters | Sun | Wisdom, Leadership | Yaldabaoth | Gold | Prudence |
| 2 | Uannedugga | Solon of Athens | Atri | Mencius | Isaac | Sikhi Buddha | The Master of Hungary | Moon | Law, Ethics | Yao | Silver | Justice |
| 3 | Enmedugga | Chilon of Sparta | Vashishta | Zengzi | Jacob | Visvabhu Buddha | The Master of Rome | Mars | Warfare, Strategy | Sabaoth | Iron | Fortitude |
| 4 | Enmegalamma | Bias of Priene | Vishwamitra | Zisi | Moses | Krakucchanda Buddha | The Master of Alexandria | Mercury | Communication, Commerce | Adonaios | Mercury (Quicksilver) | Temperance |
| 5 | Enmebulugga | Cleobulus of Lindos | Gautama Maharishi | Yan Hui | Aaron | Kanakamuni Buddha | The Master of Babylon | Jupiter | Religion, Prosperity | Eloaios | Tin | Faith |
| 6 | An-Enlilda | Pittacus of Mytilene | Jamadagni | Duke of Zhou | Joseph | Kasyapa Buddha | The Master of Jerusalem | Venus | Love, Beauty | Oraios | Copper | Hope |
| 7 | Utuabzu | Periander of Corinth | Bharadvaja | (varies) | David | Shakyamuni Buddha (Historical) | The Master of France | Saturn | Time, Discipline | Astaphanos | Lead | Charity |
Reading the rows
The site groups the rows by theme. The first row, led by the Sun, stands for wisdom and the roots of civilization. The second, under the Moon, stands for law and ethics. The third, under Mars, for strategy and leadership in conflict. The fourth, under Mercury, for communication and teaching. The fifth, under Jupiter, for religious leadership. The sixth, under Venus, for love, compassion and hope. The seventh, under Saturn, for discipline and lasting foundations. The Gnostic column names the seven rulers, or Archons, and the last two columns pair each row with a metal and a virtue. The metals follow the alchemists’ planet names as M. M. Pattison Muir gives them in The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry (Project Gutenberg #14218, public domain): Sol gold, Luna silver, Mars iron, Mercury quicksilver, Jupiter tin, Venus copper, Saturn lead.
