Lugalbanda And The Anzu Bird (Anzud Bird) - Anzû - Imdugud

Описание: Anzû, before misread as Zû (Sumerian: AN.ZUD2, AN.ZUD, AN.IM.DUGUD.MUŠEN, AN.IM.MI.MUŠEN; cuneiform: AN.IM.MI-mušen), also known as Imdugud, is a lesser divinity or monster in several Mesopotamian religions. He was conceived by the pure waters of the Apsu and the wide Earth, or as son of Siris.[1] Anzû was depicted as a massive bird who can breathe fire and water, although Anzû is alternately depicted as a lion-headed eagle.
Stephanie Dalley, in Myths from Mesopotamia, writes that "the Epic of Anzu is principally known in two versions: an Old Babylonian version of the early second millennium [BC], giving the hero as Ningursu; and 'The Standard Babylonian' version, dating to the first millennium BC, which appears to be the most quoted version, with the hero as Ninurta". However, the Anzu character does appear more briefly in some other writings, as noted below.

Sumerian and Akkadian myth

Alabaster votive relief of Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, showing Anzû as a lion-headed eagle, ca. 2550–2500 BC; found at Tell Telloh the ancient city of Girsu, (Louvre)
In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology, Anzû is a divine storm-bird and the personification of the southern wind and the thunder clouds.[2] This demon—half man and half bird—stole the "Tablet of Destinies" from Enlil and hid them on a mountaintop. Anu ordered the other gods to retrieve the tablet, even though they all feared the demon. According to one text, Marduk killed the bird; in another, it died through the arrows of the god Ninurta.[3]


Anzu also appears in the story of "Inanna and the Huluppu Tree,"[4] which is recorded in the preamble to the Sumerian epic poem Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld.[5]
Anzu appears in the Sumerian Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird (also called: The Return of Lugalbanda).

Narrated by Megan Lewis
@ digital Hammurabi

I personally believe the Anzu Bird to be a preflood entity with perhaps a few surviving the deluge and dying shortly after. We have tales of massive birds throughout the world, including 2 in the Levant. We have the Sumerian Anzu Bird and we have the Hebrew Ziz Bird. Then over the Americas and we have the thunder bird with many many more throughout the ancient world.