The Legend of Etana

The Legend of Etana is an ancient Mesopotamian myth from the Sumerian and Akkadian world. It belongs to the wider body of Mesopotamian myth and literature and goes back to at least the early second millennium BCE. It is best known from Assyrian and Babylonian texts, though it probably has older Sumerian roots.

The story survives on cuneiform tablets in Akkadian, found in the ruins of cities such as Nineveh and Ashur. Three versions are known: an Old Babylonian one from Susa and Tell Harmal, a Middle Assyrian one from Assur, and the Standard version from Nineveh. The tablets are broken and much of the story is lost, but it has been pieced together from the surviving fragments.

Etana is also a king in the Sumerian King List: the thirteenth king of the first dynasty of Kish. The list calls him “the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries”, and says he ruled 1,500 years before his son Balih took over.

Summary of the Legend

The legend tells of Etana, a king of Kish, a city in ancient Mesopotamia. He is a just ruler, but his kingdom has a serious problem: the goddess Ishtar has held back the power of fertility, so crops do not grow and women do not bear children. Etana has no son, and he prays to the gods for help.

Etana begs Shamash for the plant of birth.

Shamash, the sun god, sends Etana to a pit where an eagle has been thrown by a serpent.

The eagle and the serpent had sworn to Shamash to live in peace, but the eagle ate the serpent’s young. The serpent hid inside a dead bull, caught the eagle when it came to feed, and threw it into the pit to starve. Etana rescues the eagle, and in return the eagle agrees to help him find the “plant of birth”, so that his wife can have a child.

The eagle carries Etana up toward the heavens, higher and higher. As they rise, Etana looks down and sees the earth shrink below him, until they reach the heaven of the gods. In some versions Etana grows afraid of the height and asks the eagle to take him back to the ground.

At the third league, Etana asks to go home.

In other versions he reaches his goal and gets the plant of birth. His son Balih is born.

Folklorists class the tale as type ATU 537, “The Eagle as helper: hero carried on the wings of a helpful eagle”.

Scenes from the Legend of Etana

The scenes below have long been given on this page in a short, loose wording. They follow the story, but they are not exact quotes from any one translation.

1. Etana’s Prayer to the Sun God Shamash:
   • “Shamash, may I behold the plant of birth, Show me the plant of birth, Bring to me the power of its fruit, Grant me a son.”
2. The Conversation Between the Eagle and Etana:
   • Eagle: “My friend, let me carry you to the sky, Place your hands on my wings, place your arms on my sides.”
   • Etana: “To the sky, take me, my friend, To the dwelling of Anu, where we can find the plant of birth.”
3. Etana’s Ascension with the Eagle:
   • “When they had ascended one league, the land appeared as a hill, When they had ascended a second league, the land appeared as a garden, When they had ascended a third league, the land appeared as a stream.”
4. Etana’s Fear During the Flight:
   • “My friend, I am not able to go up to heaven, Set me down, let me return to my city.”
5. The Eagle’s Response:
   • “Hold on, my friend, do not let go, To the dwelling of Anu, we will reach our goal.”
6. Etana’s Return to Earth:
   • “When they had descended one league, the land appeared as a garden, When they had descended a second league, the land appeared as a hill, When they had descended a third league, the land appeared as a city.”

In Foster’s translation, the way down is different. The eagle drops Etana one league at a time and plunges to catch him in its wings each time, until they are within three cubits of the ground. There the tablet breaks off.