Etana (, ''E.TA.NA'') was the probably fictional thirteenth king of the first dynasty of Kish. He is listed in the ''

Sumerian King List The ''Sumerian King List'' (abbreviated ''SKL'') or ''Chronicle of the One Monarchy'' is an ancient literary composition written in Sumerian that was likely created and redacted to legitimize the claims to power of various city-states and king ...

'' as the successor of Arwium, the son of Mashda, as king of Kish. The list also calls Etana "the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries", and states that he ruled 1,560 years (some copies read 635) before being succeeded by his son

Balih Balih of Kish was the fourteenth Sumerian king in the First Dynasty of Kish, according to the ''Sumerian king list''. His father was Etana Etana (, ''E.TA.NA'') was the probably fictional thirteenth king of the first dynasty of Kish. He is l ...

, said to have ruled 400 years. The kings on the early part of the ''SKL'' are usually not considered historical, except when they are mentioned in contemporary Early Dynastic documents. Etana is not one of them.

Myth of Etana

A Babylonian legend says that Etana was desperate to have a child, until one day he helped save an eagle from starving, who then took him up into the sky to find the plant of birth. This led to the birth of his son, Balih. In the detailed form of the legend, there is a tree with the eagle's nest at the top, and a serpent at the base. Both the serpent and eagle have promised Utu (the sun god) to behave well toward one another, and they share food with their children. But one day, the eagle eats the serpent's children. The serpent comes back and cries. Utu tells the serpent to hide inside the stomach of a dead bull. The eagle goes down to eat the bull. The serpent captures the eagle, and throws him into a pit to die of hunger and thirst. Utu sends a man, Etana, to help the eagle. Etana saves the eagle, but he also asks the bird to find the plant of birth, in order to become father of a son. The eagle takes Etana up to the heaven of the god

Anu Anu ( akk, , from wikt:𒀭#Sumerian, 𒀭 ''an'' “Sky”, “Heaven”) or Anum, originally An ( sux, ), was the sky father, divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the list of Mesopotamian deities, dei ...

, but Etana becomes afraid in the air and he goes back to the ground. He makes another attempt, and finds the plant of birth, enabling him to have Balih. So far, versions in three languages have been found. The Old Babylonian version comes from

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

and Tell Harmal, the Middle Assyrian version comes from Assur, and the Standard version is from

Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...

Analysis

Folklorist scholarship recognizes that the tale of Etana helping an eagle fits into the Aarne–Thompson–Uther tale type ATU 537, "The Eagle as helper: hero carried on the wings of a helpful eagle". It has also been suggested that the myth of Etana originated the folk-type of later oral tradition.Hasselblatt, Cornelius. ''Gedanken zur finnougristischen Literaturwissenschaft anlässlich eines gemeinsamen Motivs (ATU 301) in einem marischen und einem chantischen Roman''. Juuret marin murteissa, latvus yltää Uraliin. Juhlakirja Sirkka Saarisen 60-vuotispäiväksi 21.12.2014. Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen seura (Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne 270). 2014. p. 114.

References

External links

Etana epic
on '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' *
The Myth of Etana
{{Early Rulers of Mesopotamia Kings of Kish Sumerian rulers Legendary rulers ATU 500-559

Myth of Etana

Analysis

See also

References

Further reading

External links