The following version of the myth is essentially taken from
Foster, B. (1995). From distant days... Myths, tales and poetry from Ancient Mesopotamia. CDI Press, Bethesda.
Some passages from other versions, such as the Morgan tablets, have been added for explanatory purposes, missing passages have been meaningfully supplemented, and the text has been put into prose form to improve readability.
The great Anunnaki gods, the ordainers of destinies, deliberated in their council over the land. The Igigi, elevated to the status of gods for the people (according to the Morgan tablets), had already erected the walls of the city. The Anunnaki, the creators of the four regions of the world, the creators of all physical forms, ordered the Igigi to organize a festival for the people.
The gods had not yet appointed a king over the teeming peoples. At that time, no headdress or crown had yet been put on. Nor was the sceptre tipped with lapis, nor had they yet built a throne. They barred the gates to the inhabited world. The Igigi had surrounded the city with ramparts.
Inanna (Ishtar) came down from heaven to look for a shepherd. She searched everywhere for a king. Enlil examined the career of Etana, the man Inanna had been incessantly searching for.
"Let kingship be established in the land.
Let the heart of Kish be joyful.
Let the kingship, the shining crown, the throne be established."
In memory of the High Waters, he [Etana?] had built a tower: a shrine to Adad the god. A poplar tree [the huluppu tree] grew in the shelter of this shrine. The eagle [Anzu] settled in its crown, and the serpent [Usumgallu] at its root. Every day they watched the wind beasts [the Lilith].
The eagle prepared to speak and said to the serpent:
"Come, let us make friends, let us be comrades, you and I."
The serpent prepared to speak and said to the eagle:
"If you are indeed bent on friendship, then let us swear a mighty oath to Utu (Shamash). Come, let us set out and go to the high mountain to hunt, but let us first swear an oath to the underworld."
Before Utu the warrior, they swore the following oath:
"Whoever transgresses the limits of Utu, may Utu deliver him into the hands of the executioner.
Whoever crosses the limits of Utu, may the mountains withdraw their praise from him. May the approaching weapon head straight for him. May the trap and the curse of Utu overthrow him and bring him to justice!"
Together they were pregnant, together they gave birth. The serpent gave birth in the shade of the poplar tree, while the eagle gave birth in the crown. Then they set off and climbed the high mountains. Every day they would take turns looking out for the wild animals to hunt.
The eagle would hunt wild oxen and gazelles.
The serpent would eat, turn away, and then his children would eat.
The eagle would hunt wild sheep and aurochs.
The serpent would eat, turn away, and then his children would eat.
The serpent would hunt the beasts of the field, the creatures of the earth.
The eagle would eat, turn away, and then his children would eat.
The eagle's children grew up and flourished. After the eagle's children had grown up and flourished, the eagle's heart made evil plans. Indeed, his heart was plotting evil! He thought of eating his friend's young!
The eagle prepared to speak and said to his children:
"I will eat the serpent's children. Then, the serpent [will be subject to me?], so that I can ascend and dwell in heaven. When I come down from the crown of the tree [to eat his children, I will be the serpent's?] king"
The smallest bird, who was very wise, said these words to his father, the eagle:
"Don't eat, my father! The net of Utu will hunt you,
The net and the oath of Utu will overthrow you and hunt you down. Whoever transgresses the limits of Utu, Utu will give him into the hands of the executioner!"
He did not heed or listen to the words of his son. He descended and ate up the serpent's children.
In the evening of the same day, the serpent came carrying his burden. At the entrance to his nest he threw down the meat. He looked around, his nest was gone. He looked down, his children were no longer there! The eagle had torn up the ground with his talons. The cloud of dust in the sky darkened the sky.
The serpent wept before Utu. In front of Utu the warrior, his tears ran down:
"I trusted in you, O warrior Utu. I was the one who gave provsions to the eagle. Now look at my nest! My nest is gone, while his nest is safe. My young are destroyed while his young are safe. He has descended and ate up my children!
You know, O Utu, what he has done to me. Truly, O Utu, your net is the whole earth, your snare is the sky. The eagle must not escape from your net, this malicious Anzu, who does evil to his friends!"
When he had heard the serpent's lament, Utu prepared to speak and said to him:
"Go your way and cross the mountain. I have caught a wild ox for you. Open its entrails, tear open its belly. Lay an ambush in its belly. All the birds of the sky will come down to devour the flesh. The eagle will come down with them to devour the flesh because he will not recognize the evil that awaits him. He will look for the juiciest meat. He will run around the ox. He will work his way into the casing of the intestines.
When he enters, seize him by his wings. Cut off his wing feathers and his tail feathers. Pluck him and throw him into the abyss. There he shall die of hunger and thirst."
As Utu the warrior commanded, the serpent went and crossed the mountain. Then the serpent reached the wild ox. He opened its insides and tore open its belly. In its belly he laid an ambush. All the birds of the sky came down to eat the flesh.
Did the eagle know of the disaster that awaited it? He didn't want to eat the meat with the other birds! The eagle prepared to speak and said to his children:
"Come, let us go down and we too will eat the flesh of the wild ox."
The little bird, who was very clever, said to the eagle, his father, these words:
"Don't go down, father, no doubt the serpent is lurking inside the wild ox."
The eagle said to himself,
"Are the other birds afraid? Then how can it be that they eat the meat in peace?"
He did not heed it, he did not listen to the words of his son. He descended and perched on the wild ox. The eagle looked at the meat, searched in front of it and behind it. A second time he looked at the meat, searching in front and behind. He went around the outside and worked his way into the covering of the entrails. When he got inside, the serpent grabbed him by the wings:
"You have entered... you have entered...!"
The eagle prepared to speak and said to the serpent:
"Have mercy on me! I will give you as much as a king's ransom!"
The serpent prepared to speak and said to the eagle:
"If I release you, how shall I answer to Utu? Your punishment would fall on me. On me, who should punish you!"
He cut off his wing feathers and tail feathers. He plucked him and threw him into a pit to die of hunger and thirst.
As for him, the eagle, he beseeched Utu day after day:
"Shall I die in a pit? Who knows how your punishment was imposed upon me? Save my life. Save me because I am the eagle! Let me praise your name for all time!"
Utu prepared to speak and said to the eagle:
"You are evil and have committed a heinous deed. You have committed an abomination against the gods, a forbidden deed. Had you not sworn an oath? I will not come near you. But behold! A man I will send to you will help you."
Etana, the king of Kish, beseeched Utu day after day:
"O Utu, you have dined from my fattest sheep! O Netherworld, you have drunk the blood of my sacrificed lambs! I have honored the gods and revered the spirits. The dream interpreters have used up my incense. The gods have used my lambs as sacrifices.
O Lord, give the command!
Grant me the plant of birth!
Reveal to me the plant of birth!
Relieve me of my burden, grant me a successor!"
Utu prepared to speak and said to Etana:
"Find a pit, look into it. There has an eagle been thrown into it. He will reveal the plant of birth to you."
Etana went his way. He found the pit, he looked inside. The eagle had been thrown in. There he was to bring him up!
The eagle looked at Etana. He said to him:
"You are Etana, the king of the wild animals. You are Etana, [ ] among the (?) birds. Bring me up from this pit. Give me your hand. I will sing your praises for all time."
Etana said to the eagle these words:
"If I save your life, if I get you out of the pit, from this moment on we must be united. You work for me from sunrise to sunset. ..... [ ]"
The eagle replied:
"I will give you the plant of life".
When Etana heard this, he filled the front of the pit with earth. He kept throwing earth in front of him. The eagle came out of the pit, flapping his wings. A first time and a second time... And he flapped his wings ..... A third time and a fourth time... And he flapped his wings. A fifth and a sixth time....
The eagle ate like a ravenous lion. He gained strength. The eagle prepared to speak and said to Etana:
"My friend! Let's be friends, you and I! Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you."
Etana prepared to speak and said to the eagle:
"My vision is obscured. Show me what is hidden from me."
Etana and the eagle become friends. Etana has dreams, which he tells the eagle about.[ ] The eagle makes Etana understand the first dream:
"Your dream is auspicious, the burden is delivered. It will [be taken from you]. You have done [the will of] the people. You will take [your fate] into your own hands. The sacred bond [to heaven] above, [it lies] at your feet."
Etana said to him, to the eagle. My friend, I had a second dream:
"[There were] reeds in the house, in all [houses], the whole land. They were heaping up a lot of them. [The reed stalks] were enemies, they were evil serpents, they blocked my way, they lay at my feet."
The eagle also made Etana understand this dream. [...] Then the eagle had a dream. The eagle prepared to speak and said to Etana:
"We passed through the gates of An (Anu), Enlil and Enki (Ea). We passed through the gates of Nanna, Utu, Adad and Inanna. We paid homage to them together, you and I. I saw a house with windows, it had no seal. I [looked through the window] and went inside. Inside sat a remarkable young woman [Inanna?]. She was imposing and beautiful of feature. A throne had been set up, but the ground was trodden down. Lions crouched under the throne. When I went in, the lions sprang at me. I woke up, winced and shuddered [ ]."
The eagle said to him, to Etana:
"My friend, the [signs] are obvious. Come, let me take you to heaven. Put your breast to my chest, put your hands to my wing feathers, put your arms to my sides."
He put his chest to his chest, he put his hands to his wing feathers, he leaned his arms against his sides. Great indeed was the burden that lay upon him. When he had carried him up a leuge, the eagle spoke to Etana:
"Look, my friend, what the land is like now. See the sea, seek its borders.The land is hilly...The sea has become a stream."
When he had carried him up a second leuge, the eagle said to Etana:
"Look, my friend, what the land is like now! The land is a hill."
When he had carried him up a third leuge, the eagle said to him, said to Etana:
"See, my friend, what the land is like now! The sea has become a moat."
After ascending into the sky of An, they passed through the gates of An, Enlil and Enki.The eagle and Etana both bowed. Arriving at the gate of Nanna, the eagle and Etana both bowed.
The end of the story is missing, but the passage through the gates presumably continues in this way until they finally arrive at the gate of Inanna, where Etana then goes into the unsealed house with the empty throne, where Inanna is already waiting for him.
The story is laid out as a riddle. Etana asked for the plant of birth, so he only asked for a successor. Instead, the eagle gave him the plant of life, which meant that he was granted immortality. For doing this, he carried Etana to the heaven of the gods, where an unsealed house with an empty throne was already waiting for him. Another interpretation is that Etana was already immortal, but had forgotten this. The eagle helped him to remember and then brought him to the heaven of the gods.
The plant of life, also known as the tree of life, is probably the poplar tree that stands under the protection of the shrine to Addad. The tree was there the whole time, but it needs its inhabitant, the eagle, to fulfill its purpose. It could not fulfill its purpose earlier because the eagle was thrown into a pit. For further interpretations see Wellmann (2023).
