Atra-Hasis
Also known as Atra-Hasis myth, Atrahasis epic, Atrahasis myth
Atra-Hasis () is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise'). The narrative has four focal points: An organisation of allied upper and lower gods shaping Mesopotamia agriculturally; a political conflict between them, pacified by creating the first human couples; the mass reproduction of these; and a great deluge linked to the intention of the upper gods to destroy their imperfect artificial creatures, as handed down in a remarkably similar manner in various other flood myths of
Book · Open Library
- Author
- W. G. Lambert
- First published
- 1999
- Editions
- 1
- Subjects
- Translations into English, Poetry, Deluge, Epic poetry, Assyro-Babylonian
via Open Library
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Bm-epic-g.jpg
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Myths and facts
- Overview
- Synopsis
- Tablet I
- Tablet II
- Tablet III
- Alterations and adaptations
- Lineage of Atra-Hasis
- Gilgamesh and the flood myth
- Alterations
- See also
- References
- Notes
- Citations
- Further reading
- External links
Atra-Hasis () is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise'). The narrative has four focal points: An organisation of allied upper and lower gods shaping Mesopotamia agriculturally; a political conflict between them, pacified by creating the first human couples; the mass reproduction of these; and a great deluge linked to the intention of the upper gods to destroy their imperfect artificial creatures, as handed down in a remarkably similar manner in various other flood myths of mankind.
Many modern scientists assume that these stories are based on real catastrophic events triggered by the relatively sudden rise in sea levels at the end of the last ice age. Large areas were flooded (cf. today's Mediterranean and Black Sea), the climate became warmer. This epoch also marks the beginning of agriculture and the associated increase in population density – two additional themes pertaining not just to the epic itself but also to the Neolithic Revolution more broadly.