Adapa (Sumerian: A.DA.PA — "The Wise")

Sumerian name: A.DA.PA

Adapa (also known as Abgal or Adapa-Uan) was a legendary sage in Sumerian and Akkadian tradition, the son of Enki (Ea) and the first of the seven Apkallu (sages) who brought civilization to humanity. In Zecharia Sitchin's narrative, Adapa represents a "perfected" human — the model for the second generation of humanity.

The Adapa Myth

The myth of Adapa is preserved on a fragmentary tablet from the Amarna archives in Egypt (c. 14^th century BCE). The story:

1. Adapa is the son of Enki and serves as a priest in Eridu
2. He is a wise man, skilled in healing, incantations, and knowledge
3. While fishing, his boat is capsized by the south wind
4. Adapa curses the south wind, breaking its wing (stopping the wind)
5. Anu, the sky god, summons Adapa to Nibiru to account for his actions
6. Enki warns Adapa not to accept food or drink offered to him — it will be the "food of death"
7. Adapa appears before Anu and refuses the offered food and drink
8. Anu is impressed by Adapa's wisdom but disappointed — the food was the "food of life"
9. Adapa returns to Earth, losing the chance for immortality

Sitchin's Interpretation

"Adapa was the first perfected human — a hybrid with the full genome of the Anunnaki. But even he was denied the secret of immortality."

Sitchin read the Adapa myth as:

1. A Historical Account — Adapa was a real person, the son of Enki through genetic engineering or natural birth
2. The Flight to Heaven — Adapa actually traveled to Nibiru in a spacecraft
3. The "Food of Life" — The food and water offered were not literal but represented the genetic key to immortality
4. Enki's Deception — Enki intentionally misled Adapa, telling him the life-giving food was death, because the Anunnaki did not want to grant humans immortality
5. The First Astronaut — Adapa may have been the first human to travel to another planet

Adapa and the Apkallu

Adapa was the first of the seven Apkallu — the "sages" who taught humanity: - Writing and record-keeping - Medicine and healing - Law and justice - Agriculture and crafts - Astronomy and mathematics - Building and construction

Sitchin saw the Apkallu as a team of Anunnaki-appointed human overseers who transmitted knowledge from the gods to humanity.

Cuneiform Evidence

The name A.DA.PA (𒀭𒀀𒁕𒉺, "The Wise") is attested in Sumerian and Akkadian literary texts. The Adapa myth is one of the most significant Mesopotamian narratives concerning human wisdom and the quest for immortality.

• CDLI Corpus: A.DA.PA — Browse tablets mentioning Adapa
• Key tablet: The Adapa and the South Wind epic (CDLI P334592) — A fragmentary tablet from the Amarna archives in Egypt (c. 14^th century BCE), also known from copies found at Nineveh. The text describes Adapa's summons before Anu in heaven and his loss of immortality.
• Fragmentary Amarna tablet recording the myth of Adapa and the South Wind. (CDLI P334592)

See Also

• Enki — Adapa's father
• Adamu — The first human prototype
• Gilgamesh — Another human who sought immortality
• Etana — A human who flew to heaven
• Genetic Engineering — Genetic engineering
• Sumer — Sumerian civilization

Sources

• Sitchin, Z. (1980). The Stairway to Heaven. Chapter 8.
• Sitchin, Z. (1976). The 12^th Planet.
• Izre'el, S. (2001). Adapa and the South Wind. Eisenbrauns.