Oannes (Adapa): The Mesopotamian Sage in Pasargad

Enki/Ea, the God of wisdom and deep had a prominent role in incantations and healing rituals. He was the creature of apkallus (the seven sages). These seven sages were distributing the wisdom and power of Enki/Ea among people. Oannes (Adapa) was one of the apkallus who was a hybrid of gish-man with the Enki/Ea ‘s power in healing and wisdom. Hence, the Mesopotamian priests who imitated Oannes and resorted to him, dressed in the bodies of fish hanging from their back, complete with caudal and dorsal fines, presented over the patients’ beds for healing rituals. Sometimes, induction of emesis, enema, and fumigation were also used by them. The presence of the fish-man hybrid of Oannes (Adapa), as one of the seven sages in the carving of Kourosh’s palace in Pasargad indicates a powerful influence of the Mesopotamian medicine on Achaemenid Empire.