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Humbaba
Humbaba (Ḫumbaba; 𒄷𒌝𒁀𒁀, Ḫumbāba, with an optional determinative 𒀭), originally known as Ḫuwawa in Sumerian (𒄷𒉿𒉿, Ḫuwāwa), was a figure in Mesopotamian mythology. The origin and meaning of his name are unknown. He was portrayed as an anthropomorphic figure comparable to an ogre or giant. He is best known from Sumerian and Akkadian narratives focused on the hero Gilgamesh, including short compositions belonging to the curriculum of scribal schools, various versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and several Hurrian and Hittite adaptations. He is invariably portrayed as the inhabitant or guardian of the cedar forest, to which Gilgamesh ventures with his companion Enkidu. The subsequent encounter leads to the death of Humbaba, which provokes the anger of the gods. Humbaba is also attested in other works of Mesopotamian literature. Multiple depictions of him have also been identified, including combat scenes and apotropaic clay heads.
It has been suggested that the iconography of Humbaba influenced depictions of the gorgons in Greece, in particular scenes of Perseus slaying Medusa with the help of Athena. A late derivative of Humbaba also seems to be found in both Jewish and Manichaean versions of the Book of Giants, where one of the eponymous beings is referred to as Ḥôbabiš, Ḥôbabis or Ḥōbāīš. While it is agreed the name is derived from his own, the context in which it appears shows no similarity to known myths involving him. Traces of Ḥôbabiš have also been identified in a number of later works belonging to Islamic tradition, such as religious polemics. A number of connections have also been proposed between Humbaba and figures such as Kombabos from the works of Lucian or biblical Hobab, but they are not regarded as plausible.
The name Humbaba (Ḫumbaba) first occurs as an ordinary personal name in documents from the Ur III period. The modern spelling reflects the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian copies of the Epic of Gilgamesh, where it is consistently written in cuneiform as Ḫum-ba-ba, but this variant is not attested before the first millennium BCE. The oldest attested form is conventionally rendered as Ḫuwawa, though multiple cuneiform spellings are attested: Ḫu-wa-wa, Ḫu-ba-ba and Ḫu-Ú-Ú, the last of which has two possible readings due to the sign Ú standing for both ba6 and wax. In texts from Mari and Tell Harmal, in which the scribal conventions reflect the closely related traditions of the Middle Euphrates and the Eshnunna-influenced Diyala area, the name is instead spelled as Ḫu-bi-bi, which seemingly reflects the pronunciation /Ḫuppipi/. On lexical grounds it is presumed that similar reading of the name, even when it was written as Ḫu-wa-wa, might have also been the norm elsewhere in Syria, for example in Alalakh, as well as in Hittite and Hurrian sources, which might indicate Ḫuppipi was the default form in both north and west of the Mesopotamian cultural sphere of influence. Unique forms showing inflection are attested in copies from Ugarit (nominative Ḫu-ba-bu, genitive Ḫu-ba-bi) and from Assyria from the Middle Assyrian period (accusative Ḫu-ba-ba and genitive Ḫu-be-be). Additionally abbreviated forms, Ḫuwa and Ḫu, are known from an Old Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh presently belonging to the Schøyen Collection.
Many of the variants of Humbaba's name are attested both with and without the so-called "divine determinative" (dingir). Examples of its use have been identified in texts from Kish, Ur, Nerebtum, Susa and possibly Larsa and Shaduppum. A fragment of a Hurrian literary text using it is also known. However, no sources indicate that Humbaba was necessarily regarded as a god. In modern literature, he is variously described as an "ogre", "demon" or "giant". In a passage from one of the Old Babylonian copies of the Epic of Gilgamesh, he is described as ḫarḫaru, based on context presumably "ogre", "monster" or "freak". He is generally portrayed as anthropomorphic.
Humbaba’s name shows no obvious signs of specific linguistic affiliation and its meaning is unknown. Similarly structured names are sometimes referred to as “banana names” in Assyriology. It is sometimes assumed that they belong to a linguistic substrate, but this view is not universally accepted, and it is not certain if all of them come from the same language. Frans Wiggermann instead suggests that Humbaba’s name might have originally been an onomatopoeia: he argues he was in origin an apotropaic grinning face hung on doors to ward off evil, with his name being a representation of the sounds he was believed to make. He assumes the myths involving him served as an etiology meant to explain this custom.
The phonetically similar names of a stone, na5ḫúb-be-be, and a lizard, ḫuwawītum, were both derived from Humbaba's own.
While such a possibility has been suggested in older scholarship, the name Ḫumḫum does not refer to Humbaba, but to an unrelated minor god worshiped in Dūr-Šarrukku, as attested in a text from the reign of Esarhaddon mentioning the return of his statue.
It has also been argued that Humbaba was derived from the Elamite god Humban, but according to Andrew R. George this proposal is not plausible in the light of available evidence, and the most recent attempt at justifying this connection, undertaken by John Hansman in the 1970s, rests on "unsafe historical conclusions".
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Humbaba
Humbaba (Ḫumbaba; 𒄷𒌝𒁀𒁀, Ḫumbāba, with an optional determinative 𒀭), originally known as Ḫuwawa in Sumerian (𒄷𒉿𒉿, Ḫuwāwa), was a figure in Mesopotamian mythology. The origin and meaning of his name are unknown. He was portrayed as an anthropomorphic figure comparable to an ogre or giant. He is best known from Sumerian and Akkadian narratives focused on the hero Gilgamesh, including short compositions belonging to the curriculum of scribal schools, various versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and several Hurrian and Hittite adaptations. He is invariably portrayed as the inhabitant or guardian of the cedar forest, to which Gilgamesh ventures with his companion Enkidu. The subsequent encounter leads to the death of Humbaba, which provokes the anger of the gods. Humbaba is also attested in other works of Mesopotamian literature. Multiple depictions of him have also been identified, including combat scenes and apotropaic clay heads.
It has been suggested that the iconography of Humbaba influenced depictions of the gorgons in Greece, in particular scenes of Perseus slaying Medusa with the help of Athena. A late derivative of Humbaba also seems to be found in both Jewish and Manichaean versions of the Book of Giants, where one of the eponymous beings is referred to as Ḥôbabiš, Ḥôbabis or Ḥōbāīš. While it is agreed the name is derived from his own, the context in which it appears shows no similarity to known myths involving him. Traces of Ḥôbabiš have also been identified in a number of later works belonging to Islamic tradition, such as religious polemics. A number of connections have also been proposed between Humbaba and figures such as Kombabos from the works of Lucian or biblical Hobab, but they are not regarded as plausible.
The name Humbaba (Ḫumbaba) first occurs as an ordinary personal name in documents from the Ur III period. The modern spelling reflects the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian copies of the Epic of Gilgamesh, where it is consistently written in cuneiform as Ḫum-ba-ba, but this variant is not attested before the first millennium BCE. The oldest attested form is conventionally rendered as Ḫuwawa, though multiple cuneiform spellings are attested: Ḫu-wa-wa, Ḫu-ba-ba and Ḫu-Ú-Ú, the last of which has two possible readings due to the sign Ú standing for both ba6 and wax. In texts from Mari and Tell Harmal, in which the scribal conventions reflect the closely related traditions of the Middle Euphrates and the Eshnunna-influenced Diyala area, the name is instead spelled as Ḫu-bi-bi, which seemingly reflects the pronunciation /Ḫuppipi/. On lexical grounds it is presumed that similar reading of the name, even when it was written as Ḫu-wa-wa, might have also been the norm elsewhere in Syria, for example in Alalakh, as well as in Hittite and Hurrian sources, which might indicate Ḫuppipi was the default form in both north and west of the Mesopotamian cultural sphere of influence. Unique forms showing inflection are attested in copies from Ugarit (nominative Ḫu-ba-bu, genitive Ḫu-ba-bi) and from Assyria from the Middle Assyrian period (accusative Ḫu-ba-ba and genitive Ḫu-be-be). Additionally abbreviated forms, Ḫuwa and Ḫu, are known from an Old Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh presently belonging to the Schøyen Collection.
Many of the variants of Humbaba's name are attested both with and without the so-called "divine determinative" (dingir). Examples of its use have been identified in texts from Kish, Ur, Nerebtum, Susa and possibly Larsa and Shaduppum. A fragment of a Hurrian literary text using it is also known. However, no sources indicate that Humbaba was necessarily regarded as a god. In modern literature, he is variously described as an "ogre", "demon" or "giant". In a passage from one of the Old Babylonian copies of the Epic of Gilgamesh, he is described as ḫarḫaru, based on context presumably "ogre", "monster" or "freak". He is generally portrayed as anthropomorphic.
Humbaba’s name shows no obvious signs of specific linguistic affiliation and its meaning is unknown. Similarly structured names are sometimes referred to as “banana names” in Assyriology. It is sometimes assumed that they belong to a linguistic substrate, but this view is not universally accepted, and it is not certain if all of them come from the same language. Frans Wiggermann instead suggests that Humbaba’s name might have originally been an onomatopoeia: he argues he was in origin an apotropaic grinning face hung on doors to ward off evil, with his name being a representation of the sounds he was believed to make. He assumes the myths involving him served as an etiology meant to explain this custom.
The phonetically similar names of a stone, na5ḫúb-be-be, and a lizard, ḫuwawītum, were both derived from Humbaba's own.
While such a possibility has been suggested in older scholarship, the name Ḫumḫum does not refer to Humbaba, but to an unrelated minor god worshiped in Dūr-Šarrukku, as attested in a text from the reign of Esarhaddon mentioning the return of his statue.
It has also been argued that Humbaba was derived from the Elamite god Humban, but according to Andrew R. George this proposal is not plausible in the light of available evidence, and the most recent attempt at justifying this connection, undertaken by John Hansman in the 1970s, rests on "unsafe historical conclusions".
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