At the beginning of recorded history, around 2,750 B.C.E., a king named Etana ruled over the city of Kish and was lord over the kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad. The primary source for the historical King Etana is found in a set of ancient clay tablets known as the Sumerian King Lists. This list was compiled around 1900 B.C.E in the city of Isin, and it identifies Etana is one of the twenty three kings who ruled during the First Dynasty of Kish. In the King List, Etana is named as the “the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and conquered all the foreign countries.”
The Serpent And The Eagle
The Myth of Etana does not mention this ancient king's status as a shepherd, or his conquests, but instead focuses on Etana’s “ascent to heaven.” The tale begins as typical of a fable, and recounts how a Serpent and an Eagle both live as neighbors in a tree. They enjoy a peaceful coexistence until one day the Eagle eats the Serpent’s offspring. The Snake is enraged, and brings its grievance to the sun god Utu/Shamash, who is the god of justice.
Shamash listens to the Snake’s complaint, and devises a plan to help the Serpent to take revenge on the Eagle. Shamash advises the Serpent to hide in the body of a dead ox and lay in wait for the Eagle. Then, when the Eagle lands to eat the dead ox, the snake, as the god suggested, leaps forth and surprises the Eagle and “breaks its heel.” The wounded Eagle is plucked and thrown into a pit to lament.
The Plant Of Birth
Meanwhile, according to the story, Etana, the King of Kish, has also gone to Shamash seeking advice on another matter. Etana has been unable to produce an heir for his throne, and he is seeking a special herb of fertility, known as the plant of birth, to aid him. Unfortunately for Etana, the plant can only be found in heaven amongst the gods. Shamash, however, has a plan.
Shamash tells Etana about the Eagle who was trapped in a pit, and he councils the king to rescue and befriend the bird. Etana follows the god’s advice and rescues the Eagle. Etana then befriends the Eagle, and nurses it back to health. Once recovered, the eagle was then able and willing to fly Etana up to heaven so that he might complete his quest for the fertility plant.
The Gates Of Heaven
In the story Etana rode upon the Eagle with his arms outstretched on its wings and with his breast placed upon the Eagle’s breast, in an altogether different position than one might expect from someone riding an animal. Thus, holding onto the Eagle in this fashion, Etana flew upwards and passed the various gates that lead to heaven. These gates were named after Sumerian/Akkadian deities such as An, Enlil, and Inanna/Ishtar.
After passing through these gates into heaven, the pair soared even higher. However, upon looking back the king saw that the earth had shrunk below to the size of a bread basket and the sea and land were no longer visible. Etana panicked, let go of the wings, and began plummeting towards the earth. The Eagle reverses his course abruptly and hastily follows the falling monarch and makes a valiant attempt to catch him.
The Cliffhanger
At this moment, mid plummet, the clay tablets break off and we do not know Etana’s ultimate fate. Although, we can presume that he was somehow extracted from his predicament, as he did go on to produce an heir named Balikh and is listed as having ruled Kish for 1,500 years.
When this story is placed in the context of the First Dynasty of Kish, and its exceptional rule of twenty three consecutive kings, it can be seen as more than a tale of fantasy. Earlier dynasties in the King Lists show only a few kings ruling in succession. It is possible that the success of the First Dynasty of Kish could be owed in part to a new tradition of passing the monarchy on to a male heir of the previous king. The myth of Etana served as a colorful reminder that it is was the king’s duty to go to any lengths, or heights as the case may be, to produce that heir.
Sources:
Roaf, Michael, Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia, (Andromeda, Oxfordshire, 2004.)
Roux, George, Ancient Iraq, (Penguin Books, London, 1966.)
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