Interpretation of the Adapa Myth

The Adapa myth tells a remarkable story of testing and deception. It begins with the introduction of Adapa, a wise man who lived around 3300 BC in the city of Eridu. Adapa was a protégé of the wisdom god Enki, who had granted him deep insight into the secrets of the gods. As high priest, he had special privileges: nothing worked in Eridu without him. He administered the temple and sailed to sea.

One day a fateful incident occurred: When Adapa wanted to set out fishing, the south wind stood in his way, capsized his boat, and threw him back to shore. In his anger, Adapa cursed the south wind and broke its wing. The consequences were dramatic — for seven days no south wind blew over the land.

This attracted the attention of the highest god An, who inquired about the reason for the wind’s absence. When he learned that Adapa had broken the south wind’s wing, he summoned him to heaven. Now something unexpected happened: Enki, Adapa’s protective god, gave him detailed instructions for his appearance before An. He should wear mourning clothes and win over An’s guards. Above all, however, he urgently warned him against accepting the food and water that would be offered to him — they were the food and water of death.

Adapa followed Enki’s instructions exactly. However, when he stood before An, he deviated from the truth: He claimed he was already in the middle of the sea when the south wind capsized his boat, and had only broken the wind’s wing in self-defense. An reacted surprisingly: He offered Adapa the “bread of life” and the “water of life” and said they would grant him immortality — the exact opposite of what Enki had warned about. But Adapa remained true to his protective god’s instructions and refused. Thereupon An sent him back to Earth.

This story raises many questions: Why did Enki warn against food that promised eternal life? Why did Adapa lie to the highest god? And why was he not punished for it? The surprising turns of the myth suggest that more is happening than is apparent at first glance. A closer analysis reveals that Adapa was subjected not to just one, but to a whole series of tests — with surprising results.

Adapa’s first test takes place on the shore of Eridu when he wants to set out fishing. The situation initially appears everyday, but gains deeper meaning upon closer analysis. Adapa enjoyed extraordinary privileges as high priest of Eridu. He was not only someone who no one stood in the way of, but also had direct access to divine knowledge. The text emphasizes his special position:

“Enki granted Adapa insight into his plans, so that he might reveal the destinies of the land. He gave him wisdom, but not eternal life.”

This privileged position had apparently made Adapa arrogant. When the south wind capsizes his boat, he doesn’t react like a wise man who respects the forces of nature, but like an offended ruler whose authority has been questioned. His words reveal his anger:

“O south wind, on the way to you, you stand in my way? I will break your wing!”

The wording is revealing: Adapa feels it as a personal affront that the wind dares to “stand in his way.” He sees himself as so important that not even the forces of nature should oppose him. His reaction — breaking the wing — is not an act of self-defense, but a demonstration of power from wounded pride.

This was presumably exactly the reaction the test was supposed to provoke. The capsizing of the boat was no random event, but a deliberately staged test. The south wind that “stood in Adapa’s way” was probably acting on Enki’s instructions. He wanted to see how the privileged high priest would react to resistance.

The result was clear: Adapa proved incapable of controlling his anger. Instead of mastering the situation with the wisdom attributed to him, he reacted with an act of violence that disturbed the natural balance. The seven-day absence of the south wind symbolizes the far-reaching consequences of his overreaction: the merchant ships could no longer reach Eridu.

This first test thus reveals a fundamental character flaw in Adapa: Despite his wisdom and privileged position — or perhaps precisely because of it — he lacked the necessary humility and self-control. The gods had to recognize that their protégé, while possessing extraordinary abilities, did not pair them with the necessary character maturity.

This realization led to the second test, which no longer concerned anger control but an even more fundamental aspect: the ability to be truthful.

The summons before An placed Adapa before a fundamental decision: Should he stand by his deed and tell the truth, or try to relativize his transgression through a clever lie? The situation was delicate — after all, he had damaged an aspect of divine order. But precisely this difficult starting position made the situation a perfect test of his moral integrity.

Enki’s role in this phase is remarkable. He, who knew both An and Adapa well, gave Adapa very precise instructions:

“Adapa, you shall go before King An. You will ascend to An. […] They will set before you the food of death, do not eat. The water of death they will offer you. Do not drink.”

This warning initially appears as caring help from a protective god. But upon closer examination, it’s striking that Enki gave his protégé no advice on how to justify himself before An. He only warned him about the food and drink. He already knew that these would play a role.

When he arrived before An, Adapa decided on deception. He constructed a story that would make his action appear as self-defense:

“My lord, I was catching fish in the middle of the sea, for the house of my lord Enki. But he inflated the sea into a storm, and the south wind blew and sank me! […] In my anger I cursed the south wind.”

This account distorts the actual events: Adapa was not yet at sea when the wind capsized his boat. He also didn’t break the wind’s wing in self-defense, but from wounded pride. His story is a skillful attempt to justify his transgression.

But the gods are omniscient — a fact that should have been clear to Adapa. An immediately sees through Adapa’s lie and therefore decides to lie to Adapa in return: He offers Adapa “bread of life” and “water of life” — in truth the food and water of death. His reaction is direct retaliation: whoever lies to him, he wants to lead to death with a lie himself.

This situation reveals the deep significance of Enki’s original warning. He knew not only An well, as the text emphasizes, but also his protégé Adapa. He knew that Adapa would lie, and he also knew how An would react to this lie — with a deadly counter-lie. His warning about the food was therefore an attempt to save his protégé from the consequences of his own moral weakness. What developed from this — the third and final test — could only be fully foreseen by Enki.

The final test unfolds in a situation of highest dramatic tension. An offers Adapa the apparent chance of immortality:

“Bring him the bread of eternal life and let him eat!”

This is a moment of existential decision. Adapa stands before the choice between obedience to Enki’s warning and the temptation of eternal life. The text emphasizes the significance of this decision through the detailed description of the scene:

“They brought him the bread of eternal life, but he would not eat. They brought him the water of eternal life, but he would not drink.”

An is visibly surprised by this refusal:

“Come, Adapa, why did you not eat? Why did you not drink? Did you not want to be immortal? Woe to the enslaved people!”

This reaction is revealing. He had wanted to lure Adapa to death with the supposed offer of immortality, but Adapa’s obedience to Enki thwarted this plan.

Unlike the first two tests, which concerned self-control and truthfulness, this final test examines something much more fundamental: the ability to resist temptations and follow the instructions of one’s own protective god. That Adapa passes this test saves his life. Enki’s threefold test thus ends with a remarkable result:

Adapa does not act like a wise man who considers the consequences of his actions, but becomes angry like an offended ruler whose authority is questioned. He is also not truthful toward the gods, but he has unconditional trust in Enki, can resist temptations, and acts as instructed.