The Mesopotamians were obsessed with Mermaids and Mermen! But why?

Like most urban-educated people, I had always assumed that mermaids were a Disney invention, and not deserving of serious inquiry. But that perspective changed when I came across the global tradition of the Seven Sages - a group of sages possessing astonishing wisdom and powers, who traveled across the world and imparted the skills of civilization to the people of the antediluvian times. 

I had discussed about the enigmatic Seven Sages in an earlier article titled, “The Mystery of the Seven Sages: Were they Visitors from the Stars?”

In Mesopotamia, the Seven Sages were collectively called the apkallu, which means “sage” or “wise”. Intriguingly, in palace art, the apkallu were depicted as fish-men and bird-men hybrid beings. 

The first of the apkallu was called Oannes or Uanna. He had emerged from the Erythraean Sea (Indian Ocean) in the antediluvian times. He conversed with the people during the daytime, when he imparted to them the knowledge of the sciences, arts and letters. At night, however, he dived under the sea and lived in the deep, for he was an “amphibious being”. 

According to the Chaldean astrologer Berossus, the teachings of Oannes was so complete that nothing new was added by way of improvement since the antediluvian times till the time of Berossus at around 300 BCE.

Figure 1: Impression of an Assyrian cylinder seal (Morgan Seal 773) depicting fish-skin cloaked apkallu attending a sacred tree. 7th – 8th century BC. Source: The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York

Figure 2: Enki (Ea) flanked by a pair of fish-apkallus. Carving on a basalt water basin from Assur, Iraq, 7th century BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, CC BY-SA 4.0

In the Mesopotamian texts, the apkallu were referred to as the “puradu-fishes of the sea”, “who have originated in the rivers”, and as “creatures of the apsu”. They came from the "apsu" – a Sumerian term which means the underground freshwater aquifers. 

Apparently, there are passages and tunnels that lead from the apsu to the rivers and the seas that allowed the apkallu to move freely between the water bodies of the world. The apkallu were sent by the god Enki, who was the “Lord of the apsu”, and the protector of mankind. Enki was the god of wisdom, waters, abundance, fertility, civilization and crafts.

We know that the underground aquifers of our planet are enormous. They extend nearly 30,000 feet below the surface, and are divided into many vertical levels by layers of porous rock. It is reminiscent of the “watery underworld” of nine levels in Maya cosmology, and the “Patala” of Hindu-Buddhist beliefs. We know nothing about the ecosystem of the aquifers. Zero. 

How can we claim that the places we have not yet explored cannot hold any mysteries? That would be extremely presumptuous; and yet, that’s the attitude that most mainstream scholars have adopted towards this phenomenon.  

Figure 3: Multiple levels of underground aquifers, separated by confining beds of rock. Credit: United States Geological Survey, Public Domain Image.

The Mesopotamians made no secret of their fascination with mermaids and mermen. Many carvings show mermaids or mermen in close association with Enki and the apkallu. 

One of the earliest such depictions is on an Old Babylonian (2004 - 1595 BCE) sculpture of Enki, the “Lord of the apsu”. The statue shows Enki enthroned, holding a pot containing life-giving waters in his left hand. The waters may signify the waters of the “apsu” or underground aquifers, which is the main source of water for all the freshwater bodies of the earth –rivers, lakes, glaciers etc. 

At the base of Enki’s throne, you can spot a pair of reclining mermen, holding water pots in their hands. The figures are clearly those of mermen and not the apkallu. The apkallu have a distinctive fish-head cap and a fish-skin cloak fused with their human bodies, whereas mermen have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish. 

Figure 4: God Enki (Ea), seated, holding a cup. Old-Babylonian period, 2004-1595 BCE. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The fact that the pair of mermen have been shown in such close association with Enki suggests that their real home must be in the apsu i.e. the freshwater aquifers. Like the apkallu, they could be making use of hidden tunnels and passages to find their way to the seas and rivers – where they have been spotted on many occasions in the past.

A Mesopotamian seal depicts Enki - with twin streams of water cascading from his shoulder - flanked by a pair mermen on either side, who are floating in water. Surely, this scene can only be set in the “apsu”, for Enki is the “Lord of the apsu”. 

Figure 5: Enki, the “Lord of the apsu”, flanked by a pair of mermen. 

During the Old Babylonian period, mermen were called kulullu (fish-man), and mermaids were called kuliltu (fish-woman). Clay figurines of the kulullu were made by the people for performing apotropaic rituals to prevent the entry of evil in the house. The figurines were smeared with bitumen and clad in white paste, and buried under the floor of the house after the rituals were completed. 

F. A. M. Wiggerman wrote in Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts that the mermen were believed to bring prosperity and blessings to the house: 

“The orders put into the mouth of the kulullu characterize him as one concerned with attracting prosperity and divine benevolence to the house.” 

As per the ritual texts, kulullu icons were placed at the gate of Marduk’s shrine, for warding away evil influences. Clearly, mermaids and mermen were viewed in a very positive light by the Mesopotamians and they invoked them for their blessings. 

The kulullu were said to be spawned by the enormous sea-serpent called Tiamat, who had been killed by the thunder-god Marduk, the leader of the Babylonian pantheon. This brings up an interesting thought. Perhaps, the mermaids and mermen of Mesopotamian art are no different then the nagas and naagins of Indian sacred art? 

After all, nagas rarely appear in Mesopotamian art, while mermaids and mermen are very scarce in Indian art. Moreover, the nagas of Indian legends are also associated with protection and prosperity, apart from controlling weather and rainfall.

Figure 6: A cylinder seal depicting an apkallu, along with a merman and mermaid, c. 7th century BCE. Credit: British Museum CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. 

A cylinder seal from the Late Babylonian period (c. 7th century BCE) depicts an apkallu along with a merman and a mermaid. They are shown on either side of a palm-tree, in an act of paying homage to the tree. The British Museum website provides the following description of the seal:

“A naturalistic palm-tree is flanked by an 'apkallu' in a fish-cloak with cone and bucket on the left and by a bearded merman and a mermaid on the right… The merman and mermaid both raise their right hand and extend the other downwards; they wear round-topped horned head-dresses and the mermaid has a band hanging down the back which ends in three drill-holes.” 

The palm-tree in this image could represent the Mesopotamian Sacred Tree (or Tree of Life) – a symbol of fertility, prosperity and cosmic order. This scene must also set in the apsu, since both the apkallu and the merfolk live in apsu! 

In which case, we have to wonder, how is a tree growing inside the underground aquifers? Could it be that there are “islands of green” inside the subterranean aquifers, where plants and trees grow? Is this the underworld paradise of Enki, where he lives with the departed ancestors? 

The representation of mermaids in Mesopotamian art and architecture continued throughout the Neo-Assyrian period (c.900 – 600 BCE). Wall reliefs at the palace of King Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin, shows Assyrians transporting timber by boats. In addition to various known aquatic animals, the wall reliefs depict a pair of mermen, swimming in the waters. Their hands are raised in an act of blessing, as if they are wishing the mariners a safe journey. 

This reflects a folkloric belief held across the world that mermaids and mermen have prophetic powers and they can warn sailors about bad weather and impending storms by singing or throwing rocks into the sea. Their blessings were deemed vital for a safe oceanic voyage.   

Figure 7: Merman depicted on timber transportation wall relief from the palace of Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin, Khorsabad, Iraq. On display at the Louvre. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Gary Todd, Public Domain

Figure 8: Merman depicted on timber transportation wall relief from the palace of Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin, Khorsabad, Iraq. Sketch by Botta, 1949. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

The artistic output and the ritual beliefs of the Mesopotamians clearly reveal that they believed in the existence of mermaids and mermen, and thought of them as divine beings. Their outlook towards them was very positive, and they invoked their blessings for prosperity, benevolence and for warding away evil influences. 

The merfolk were often depicted in close association with Enki and the apkallu, which suggests that the primary habitat of the merfolk was in the apsu i.e. the underground freshwater aquifers. There must be hidden passages that connect the apsu with the seas and the rivers. Since mermen were also depicted waving to sailors, it suggests that mermen sightings were a routine affair in those days. Sailors may have been warned of bad weather or impending storms by the merfolk.

The mermaids and mermen are yet another class of mystical beings that our ancestors seemed to have been in contact with. The nature of reality that the ancients were exposed to seems to have been very different from that of the present day. 

It is not unlikely that we share our planet with other mystical beings of great power, who live in places that are as yet unexplored by us. There seems to be no logical reason why ancient cultures across the world would “invent” the same kind of mystical beings and assign to them the same kind of magical powers. A global conspiracy to fool the future historian? Not very convincing.