Apkallu

The Apkallu, an Akkadian term also known as Abgal in Sumerian and often referred to as the Seven Sages in modern scholarship, were seven Mesopotamian demigods, sometimes described as part man and part fish or bird, closely associated with human wisdom. According to the account of the Babylonian priest Berossus, the first of them, Oannes, gave early humanity insight into letters and sciences and every kind of art, teaching people to build houses, found temples and compile laws; the sages as a group are credited with laying the foundations of major cities and passing down accounts of creation. They are closely tied to the god Enki, known to the Babylonians as Ea, described in various texts as originating from the Apsu, the freshwater domain associated with that god, and receiving their wisdom from him. The Apkallu appear across a range of Mesopotamian sources, including the Uruk List of Kings and Sages, the ritual text Bit meseri and the Epic of Erra, and were depicted in Neo-Assyrian art in hybrid forms, fish headed, bird headed, or wearing cloaks made from fish skins. Sages said to have lived after the Great Flood are considered fully human rather than demigods, and some scholars have suggested the Apkallu legends may have influenced later biblical accounts such as the Nephilim. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/