00:11The story of Adapa centers on man's eternal quest to discover immortality.
00:18Indeed, a part of us all wants the immortality of our soul. We want more time to never age,
00:26nor die. For man's only greatness, is immortality. In ancient Babylonian mythology and tradition,
00:35there was a wise man called, Adapa. Adapa was a sage from the ancient Sumerian city of Eridu.
00:43The city of Eridu is recorded as one of the five cities that predate the flood. These early cities
00:50were ruled by eight legendary kings, each of whom reigned for one or more centuries. At that time,
00:58these kings had powerful sages and semi-divine beings, called Aphalu, as their counselors.
01:05The Aphalu, or sages were the ones who introduced learning and the arts to the early Sumerian cities.
01:13And the sage, Adapa, was one of these renowned Aphalu. According to legend, Adapa, had always been
01:21curious about the source of immortality, and sought to end the theme of human mortality. He often asked,
01:29why should humans be mortal, while the gods immortal? Adapa deemed it unfair that the gods could live on
01:37forever, while humans waned and died with time. Now, Adapa was described as an ideal human being.
01:45He strictly observed the rituals laid down by his mentor god, Ia, and was perfect in wisdom.
01:53As a servant of the god, Ia, Adapa performed the divine rites with great care, baking bread,
02:00bread, preparing food and drink, setting the table with clean hands, and catching fish for
02:06Ea's cult at Aradu. One fateful day, while Adapa was out fishing, a south wind came up and capsized his
02:15boat. Adapa was thrown overboard and spent the day in the home of the fish. Wet and angry, he so
02:23much
02:23cursed the wind, that the power of his spell broke its wings. For seven whole days,
02:29the wind was incapacitated, and the air did not blow over the land. This annoyed the supreme god,
02:37Anu. So Anu summoned Adapa to appear before him. Now, Ia, the mentor god, knew that Adapa would be
02:46granted an audience in heaven, and possibly, a permanent place there. Ia did not want to lose the
02:53services of his loyal servant, so, he gave Adapa a false advise, which to the human ears, sounded so
03:02right in every aspect, but had a hidden agenda. He advised Adapa to humble himself, and stand in
03:09mourning garb with his hair unkempt and disheveled, as a sign of grief, before Anu's gatekeepers,
03:16Dumuzi, and Jazida. Ia's plan was to sober muse these two deities that they would intercede on
03:24Adapa's behalf and plead his case before Anu. Ia also advised Adapa not to accept heaven's hospitality,
03:32and to reject any food or drink offered to him. For such offerings were the food and drink of death.
03:40Upon his arrival in heaven, Adapa followed Deir's advice. He so amused the gatekeepers that they
03:47interceded and pleaded his case. When Adapa appeared before Anu, the supreme god offered him food and
03:55drink, a rite of hospitality performed only for visiting deities. Adapa declined the offering,
04:02not realizing that the acceptance of heavenly food or drink would have granted him eternal life.
04:08Anu laughed at the sage's naivety and asked him why he did not eat nor drink. Adapa answered that
04:16Ea had advised him in the ways of heaven, and that he was merely following Ea's instructions. Anu told Adapa
04:24that Ea had lied to him. For in truth, the supreme god Anu had offered him eternal life in form
04:32of food
04:32and drink, and so his refusal meant that he would remain a mortal. He would grow old and die. And
04:41so,
04:41because of Adapa's choice. All humans, are mortal.
04:46you
04:52you
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