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PDF Version of Article ( () 'l 'i t( {) Z \ I li t{ I t: \ \ I_ I s }. ( z \ \'. l'. st,l :, 118{) PIOTR MICHALOWSKI (l'hilaclell.lria) Adapa and the Ritual Process Lile rirtrrrr',ltr' i1s r.crr.L'ssrnrr., rcsisl. ilttL.ltlirt\ri lriclt tl oLrltltr-r. trr lrssigrrfintt), 'l'irris Ltllivcrsellllr'ilnlllgs to te\t5. it got. ..r'ith,)u1sii\ ing tlr.rt ani lrnltlt'sis,ti a s1-rcc- rrlrttirt' t orrrlrositiontirrr ,rnlr constitutt l slt I i1i tlrt nrver- t,ntlinq sclrclr tilr finrtl trlltl). Itt tlrt. s1to111'5,<111 J slrrrrrl.i like to oifLr':rn:rnllr:is ol lr ^\lesopotanrirtnliterarr- tt'tt. litt :tort ol -\tiaP:r,u irit'lt rroriltl ur't'r,ur)tlor tlre iact thet thc ltcrri ()f thc stor\- ts ril.,r t'ttcotttttercti in otlrrr corttllositions.rr lrcrc irc lrolrls tltr, strltus tf :r sagc (a,b- httllul.\rrntcrorrs prcri,rrrsilttr.rllrL.tJti,,tr- rrl tllr: st()rVltare lteen propose(lr.'l'hc l)rcselltstrrtiv is intcntlccl as:r fLrrtlrcrl.lrritorrrtion r't tirc nork alreatlt'done <tn thc .\tluprr storl rtncl bl tto lllrrlns rrclurlcs intcrprt:trrtionslrlrea(l\-proposecl. lt gives llle grcat lrieasLtrerto bc able to olicr this srrrrrll[rit oi specr-rlatiolr:rsa svrnbol of nir' gratitrttle rlttd narrrr feelings tourrrtis l'rol-. Rrrrlolt' I{ e n o s z c li, ntv iirst initiator into .\ssvriologt. .\claprr is ir uniclue irrotaqnrrist in \lcsopot.rrnirrn literatr-rre.l;or no other hero of a canonical text is so oftcn crlcollntere({ in otlrcr cornpositions. Betore proceeding with the analvsis of the Ailrrpa stor\' \\'e shall brieflr sumnlarize the nrain plot of the cor.t-rposition ancl discuss the othcr rcfe renccs to tltc rr-rain protagonist. Since ail _' For a thorougl.r exarnination of thc problcnis involved see l]. F o s t e r, Wis- dom and the Gods in Ancient -llesopotania, or\S +3,197+, pp. 34+,3-i4, rvith prer-ious literature. Since then the follorving rclevant stuclies har.e uppeured: G. B ii c c e I - lati, Adapa,-,()enesis,and the itlittrontf Faith, UIr 5, 19i3, pp. 6I-66; B. K i e - n a s t' Die trVeisheitdes ,ldapa t;on Eridu, in: Svmholae bibliiae et mesopotamicae Itrancisco J'lario Ther,tdorode Liagre Bijht dedicatae,\I. A. B e e k el a/. eds., I-eiden -1?i3,^!l 234-239; \\'. r-o n S-o d e n, Ilemerkungenzun Adapa-II1,thos, .\OAf' 25, 1976, pp. 428-'133; P. X e lla, Probleni det-rIito nel viiino driente Antico. \aples 1976,pp. +7,60. 78 i'to;'11"1111 11.11.()\\sKI of triis rnaterial has bcen rccentr\, srrr'eyetr br. 13. Ir o s t e r, *.e slralr onry skctclr tltt' nccessarvdata hcre2. '\ll the extant referencesto .'\tlapa connect him *,ith thc citv god EnkirEa of Erid' and ir: and u.ith the knou.lcclgeof u.isclorn.Ilr u.isdour I mean here technical term b.rro*'ecl not tht frorr IJiblical sttrtrics, ;..;, ;;" ;r;;;c ing practical, literal mean- of the rvord. In the case of -{dapa,-}ror.r.e\rer, this pr*t;.ul knowlecrge to ntore esotericmatters. extcnds f.he uisdorrrof the hero of nu..ro.u rvith is closeh.connecti.(l the cultic aspecrsof magic, u ith the nreans"f h";r;";';nd of things s'hich being able to scc other ordinarv mortals cannot grasp. It is in connection rvith this of knorvledge that the kind Neo-Assvrian r.;,.,1 A,r;; is in tt,"ir inscriptions3. It also the source for thc late t.a,lition l.,r.or." *'hich identifies Adapa as sagesr'r'ho served "ad'isors" one of the ser.e.rr as to ancient kingsa. 'fhe is knorvleclgeof hidclen matters also '.'ell clemonstratedin the polemical context of the so-called '.verse of Nabonidus" Account where a horrible siatue of_.Sin,unu.."ptJi.-,o ,t" traditional is describedas one which "...not clergv, 1.u.nj Ea-I,Iummu learned could have formed, not (even) Adapa kno*'s his name"s' in thl'.ru*. tcxr Adapa is ref'erredto as thc author of an astrologicalomen serieso. Cumulativel,r-,it is this traditi u'trichis the sourceof the.famousp;r;" in B er o s s u. -Ldapa as ,.,f,lnt'it".tJill,i,"r:::: the fish-man lvho carne from the sea anrl pror-iclecirnankind ivith cutrements of cultr thc ac- tradition*,hich ,,1:"::ii{i{:,,;;:-;,',?:.:[l::;..i1;., ',.;th illi],i*l*".: ;:.i]':::',ff:,:,:il;'',|;'rtl';,'iiion, otherarcanc ..i.n.....,.h,. *-.gi. f'he basic dornain of '{tlapa, ho*'c'er, is nragic. ailv It is in this sensetlrat he is origin- attestedas a ser'ant of "\\-eidncr bnki,e" in'ir,. chroniclc..e in other magical ancl is rnentionetl contextsro"l'l'rcre seenrs to be goori rcason to belicr,e that the old Babylonianperiod 'p t. magic *as u..p,.r," institutio., cult''riris clistinctfrom the official matter cannot be frill,vdiscrrssecl herc but certain basicfacts mav be pre- o_st c r, "f l. I op. crr. ('.\t) .\til, p. a il2. f'hcrc ii a larg-eliterature on this sub-ject.For trre nrost R' Il o r g c r' Die E^eschuir;;;tt;;;ri,i rcccnt rnaterial sce ,rre.".i und die ti;ntiltyatrt 33, pp.. Henochs,JNES .197+, lg3_196. l ranslatronbv -{. L. Opp c n lr c inr, .\\El.:, p. il.l. I I" _t R.,K r a u s. n.r'dg,iv,t+. p1., ,)l qj. rransrationbvs. rr.riul"i#ut]thenen IJurnsrcin, rieBar-ryloni.itcao.frJeros.cus, 8 0n certain asnects-of this rate tradition see Cltronlclesand Berolssus, R. I) r e rv s, ,.he lJahyronian Iraq 37, 1975,pp. 37_-i-5. r Cttronic,re.r,r.octrst yauev re75, irti:'" u:'o?;'ii";l;.7:!!;;;";'i'la'jinr,lion'iitn Dec' lor cxample, the ietter from Aclapa tn s'I"f 2, p- incorporatcd into an incantatio' 176 ana trie ..f.;;;;; ;::;;r" a-da-pa NLr\.116 creation of ,\crapa,sage of Ericlu,,(e_pr.r, ,riudfu,,,i]i';" ir.] I_a-.rt t,, incantation pBS 1 12,113:ii rifl. \t) \t)\ .\\i) I-iJt:IU't.L'.\t. I'R()(.tiss 79 setltctl' Iiirst <if all it sl.rotrltlbe nrterl that oltl rJab-r'lonianrncantatirns \\.crc ir n)rUor(.on)Poncnt of the school nor crrrriculunr.\-.rr fJn sucjr texts \ippur and are knou-n frrrnr cven fc*'er fr.tn Lrr. llore'r'r'r, r.herc i" irrr"';naication of the presrncc ,f cletnentsfrom thc so-called"Ericlu \lvthologr'" in th" .ut, io'ia'times' 'I-he n"rn.. \Iicldle Ilabv_ r'arginal, separatestatrrs of nragic \\'as one of the forces *,hich sar-cit po\\ cr. .\ftcr thc end of the old llabr-lonianperiod i, .pp.n.. po\\'cr'f that the separate thc nragicaltr:rdition u.asin , *"n.. .r.ur.rur*.i tt_,.n.,ghabsorption tlre r.ainstreatlt of the tra(lition. 'l'hus into a figure like ^\ciapa, havc . *.ho originallv r.r.Lrlcl been a citizen of a different clom: and "t a largeru'orrcr or 'l'his!1,usht acquiresother attributes ,l';.,Xlil"l';T: h'potrresis l';" is, adnri*eclrr,,difficult to. pro\-e ar present:u|ffrff;gJ:jr,::-;; this line of argument is nrrt lcccptctl one thing does ,"-ri., uncontested: is stronglv that Ac.lapa connectcd *-ith nragicancrthe traaitions centeredaround the citv of Eri.tr and its gods. Having noted these facts r .t {trapais connectecr*.ith these tracrit,":: T; LXirlT,"t[i:':,T,'l1",;-., Let .s norv in'estigate the structural composition of the through Adapa story, the stages rvhich thc- nlrratir-c progrcsscs, anci the transitional signals thematic changes. rvhich mark At the outset i th" text -\crapa is describcd as pure antr crean, a servant in the c,rt of Ea at Ericru. \\'hcn hc.is out fishing for the south offerings for the gocr rvind clestrovshis boat. Here thc first climax "iir.., the hero in utters a curse,threatening his rage to break the u,ing of the happens- the wind. At this 'ftlltiijitli cursecomcs true, the rving of the $-indis phvsical action ,i:il:i precipitates this event, ;t l. l a n g , ;* ; u,hich is the \\-eapon uscd bv Adapa' -\ncl alreacl'herc the magical u..n"iutiorr. of the to' For thc hero are alludcd onlv other context u'herc a sirnilar event takesplace rs fbund in incanta- the rlcmon Pazuzull. \\,e shall rcturn ;:L[.,.".r:-|tbing to tl," significance of this ^{t this trirn of events thc gocr Anu beconres furio.s and demancrsthat Adapa be brought before him in r.,""''in. -.\, thr. point Ea instructs bread the hero not to acccpt and $'ater in heaven ancl tells t-,in',to garb himself in rnourning appeasethe 'egetation clothes to gods u'ho guarded the doors of tamia hea'en. In ancient \Iesopo_ mourning clothes u'ere dirti . -n.k.,l sign of contrasl to at the outsct the state of Aclepa of thc story..'l'hus tie change of crothing is used in the tcxt as a tran_ sitional marking <Jevice,rvhich is rneant a i.r.ri.u," thematic changes. arrives in hea'en Norv -{tiapa ancr refuses the bread and n,ater interpretations offered to rrim by Anu. rlost take this to be the most significant part of the stor1., Adapa, the "primal clepicting hou, man", lost his chance for imrnortalitl.. For the food offered by '\nu is the source of eternar rife. Although Adapa, on the instruction l-:t:t'n" food' of Ea, re_ gi'en a change "i.i"r}rirg and is scnt back to earth together lls Lambert, rnscribedPazuzu r{eads no.'ir]Irl' frrm Babyron,f;B 12, 1970, 8t) I'l(rf R \l lcil.\t,olfstii n'ith tliseasesand the means to cornbat thern -- 'l'hc incantationsrr.
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