Etana, King of Kish
Etana, King of Kish, is a legendary figure from ancient Mesopotamian literature, recognized for his quest to secure an heir after a great flood. Believed to have ruled in the early third millennium BCE, Etana's struggles are central to a narrative where he seeks divine assistance from the sun god Šamaš due to his childlessness. Despite his wife's pregnancy, she is unable to give birth, prompting Etana to pray for help. The storyline unfolds as Etana encounters an eagle and a snake, leading to themes of suffering, punishment, and rebirth. The eagle, after being aided by Etana, vows to help him find a magical plant that would enable his wife to conceive. Their journey even takes them to the goddess Ištar for guidance. This tale not only reflects the challenges of leadership and the importance of dynastic succession but also serves as one of the oldest pieces of literature from the region, with fragments found dating back to the time of Sargon of Akkad. Although historical records indicate that Etana had a son, Balih, who succeeded him, the continuity of his royal lineage remains unclear, indicating the complex dynamics of power in ancient Mesopotamia.
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Etana, King of Kish
Author: Traditional Babylonian
Time Period: 2499 BCE–1000 BCE
Country or Culture: Mesopotamia
Genre: Legend
PLOT SUMMARY
Etana is the legendary king of the southern Mesopotamian city of Kish who assumes power after a great flood. King Etana is, however, childless and in search of an heir to his throne. The implication is that though his wife is pregnant, she does not possess the ability to give birth. As a result, Etana prays to the sun god Šamaš (Shamash) for assistance. Šamaš is simultaneously sought in prayer by two animals, an eagle and a snake.
The snake prays to Šamaš because the eagle has eaten his children. The sun god helps the serpent avenge the death of his children by maiming and imprisoning the eagle in a deep, mountainside pit. In response to Etana’s plea, the sun god then instructs that he go to the eagle’s aid in the hopes the bird will assist him in finding an heir.
Over a period of seven months, Etana nurses the eagle back to health and helps him learn to fly again. As a reward for his kindness, the eagle promises Etana he will help him find a magical birth plant that will help his wife produce him an heir. However, the eagle is unable to find the plant, and he and Etana fly to heaven to consult Ištar (Ishtar), the goddess of love and fertility.
SIGNIFICANCE
The ancient Mesopotamian tale of Etana illustrates the Sumerian king Etana’s struggle to find a successor to his throne. A historical figure named Etana ruled Kish in the first half of the third millennium BCE. References to the legendary Etana have been found on fragmented clay tablets from as far back as the reign of Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 BCE) as well as in later fragments from the First Dynasty of Babylon, Middle Assyrian period, and Neo-Assyrian period. Though the known fragments contain only an incomplete narrative, enough of it remains intact to make it one of the oldest remaining pieces of literature from ancient Mesopotamia.
One school of interpretation regards the legend of Etana as a kind of royal propaganda. The themes of suffering, punishment, and rebirth are prominent throughout. There is also some scholarly evidence to suggest a connection to an earlier Sumerian myth about the goddess Inana (Ištar’s precursor) quarreling with a serpent and eagle for the rights to the supply of wood from which she seeks to build a throne. The connection, if any, could imply that the author or orator was playing on a familiar narrative theme.
Regardless of what cultural or symbolic tactics Etana utilized, the king’s capability as a ruler is well established from literature and artifacts related to the period, as is his accomplishment of uniting the Mesopotamian city-states under one rule. The scene in which Etana is flown to heaven on the eagle’s back is believed to have a crucial significance to this era in ancient Mesopotamia. Ancient illustrations depicting the scene have been found on several archeological finds from the period. Historians have also pointed to Etana’s successful rehabilitation of the bird as an illustrative indicator of his ability to tackle complex tasks as a leader.
The outcome of the narrative has never been certain, since the fragments depicting the end have not survived. Analysis of myths that followed in the wake of the legend of Etana has led to a scholarly disagreement as to how the tale may have ended. Disjointed fragments indicate that the king never reached heaven and instead crashed to the ground, while others speculate that the king may have utilized his success in the tale to support his claim to the throne.
No matter how the story ended, the surviving narrative implies that the importance of finding Etana’s successor is crucial enough to involve collaboration between the human and animal kingdom, as well as divine counsel. Yet despite the story’s assertion of the importance of dynastic rule, historians have not unveiled a steady lineage of hereditary rule following Etana’s tenure as leader. While according to a manuscript known as the Sumerian King List, the historical Etana did have a son, Balih, who succeeded him as the ruler of Kish, their royal line seems to have ended there.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dalley, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Rev. ed. Oxford; New York: Oxford UP, 2008.
Ehrlich, Carl S. From an Antique Land: An Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Literature. Lanham: Rowman, 2011. Print.
Hallo, William W. The World’s Oldest Literature: Studies in Sumerian Belles-Lettres. Leiden: Brill, 2010. Print. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 35.
Horowitz, Wayne. Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography. 2nd rev. ed. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2011. Print.
Jacobsen, Thorkild, trans. The Sumerian King List. 1965. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1973. Print. Assyrological Studies 11.
Kinnier Wilson, J. V., ed. and trans. The Legend of Etana. New ed. Warminster: Aris, 1985. Print.
Novotny, Jamie R. The Standard Babylonian Etana Epic. Helsinki: Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2001. Print. State Archives of Assyria Cuneiform Texts 2.