Alternative History Of Anunnaki: Was Gilgamesh Giant A Nephilim?

In the world of Ancient history, the subject of Anunnaki has brought a new aspect to see the universe. A theory of the visit of highly advanced civilization to the Earth which created the human race is largely reliant upon the translations of Sumerian cuneiform tablets, supposedly made by ancient astronauts theorist Zecharia Sitchin. He purported a narrative according to which a group of intelligent beings, known as Anunnaki, infiltrated the DNA of pre-historic humans (Homo erectus). His book collection “The Complete Earth Chronicles” built the foundation of ancient aliens or gods that is behind the advancement humans achieved in the previous centuries.

According to Sitchin, Annunaki modified the DNA of prehistoric humans 450,000 years ago by mixing their genes with them and put them into labor for mining Earth’s natural resources, such as gold. He said that planet Nibiru has a long elliptical orbit and comes near to Earth every 3,600 years.

gilgamesh representation — A possible representation of Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyrian palace relief (713–706 BC), from Dur-Sharrukin, now held in the Louvre. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Further, he stated that the planet was inhabited by technologically advanced human-like species taller than us. Around 450,000 years ago, they got attracted by the gold reserves in southeast Africa. So, who were the Anunnaki and how does their representation in the ancient world is different from the mainstream media of Ancient Astronaut?

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It is claimed that the Anunnaki (translation: “princely offspring” or “offspring of An”) are the Sumerian deities who came down to Earth from heaven. They are a pantheon of gods who were the children of sky god “Anu” and earth goddess “Ki.” Some scholars such as William Klauser explain that the Anunnaki were more like demi-gods.

He writes: “Some authorities question whether Ki was regarded as a deity since there is no evidence of a cult and the name appears only in a limited number of Sumerian creation texts. Samuel Noah Kramer identifies Ki with the Sumerian mother goddess Ninhursag and claims that they were originally the same figure. She later developed into the Babylonian and Akkadian goddess Antu, consort of the god Anu (from Sumerian An).”

epic of gilgamesh — Gilgamesh, the king-hero from the city of Uruk, battling the ‘bull of heavens.’ Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

If this is the case, the Anunnaki beings could be the creation of sky god Anu and a mortal female. This similar concept of half-divine beings born from the union of gods and mortals can be traced in the Biblical text where they are known as Nephilims. From Genesis 6:4, it is known that Nephilims were the offsprings of “the sons of God” and the “daughters of men.”

The word Nephilim is found in the Bible two times, the first is in Genesis 6:1-6, and then again in Numbers 13:33. Scholars and commentators translate the word Nephilim as giants or fallen ones. In The Book of Enoch, there is a mentioning of 200 fallen angels known as the Watchers, led by an individual named Semyaza, descended upon Mount Hermon (mountain cluster that exists between Syria and Lebanon), where they swore an oath to father lineages with human women. Later, with the union of these angles and human women, great giants were born. Hebrew texts refer to the powerful beings born to the Watchers as the Nephilims.

According to Belgian scholar Edward Lipinski, Mount Hermon was known to the ancient world not only as of the secret dwelling place of the Anunnaki, it was the mountain of the divine assembly of the northwest Semitic god El, the creator god of their pantheon. Additionally, his interpretation of the Old Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh epic suggests that the Sumerian king journeyed to Mount Hermon.

From the Ugarit Epic of Gilgamesh: “He explored everywhere the seats of power, he knew the totality of wisdom about all things. He who traveled the distant road to Utter-napisti, who crossed the ocean, the wide sea, as far as the sunrise: he brought back tidings from the antediluvian age.” (Click here to read the full article on Gilgamesh)

Interestingly, there are several ancient sources (for example, Book of Giants version found at Qumran), which suggest that Gilgamesh himself was a giant demi-god. According to The Gilgameš epic at Ugarit, Gilgamesh would surpass other kings in bodily stature. He was estimated to have been between 4.8 to 5.4 meters tall (16 and 18 feet).

World history Encyclopedia writes: “Many literary texts, most famously the Epic of Gilgamesh, contemplate the meaning of death, recount the fate of the dead in the netherworld, and describe mourning rites. Other texts were probably composed in order to be recited during religious rites involving ghosts or dying gods. Of these ritual texts, the most notable are Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld; Ishtar’s Descent to the Netherworld; and Nergal and Ereshkigal.”

From the cuneiform tablets found in the ruins of Nippur, it was discovered that there are seven Anunnaki who reside within the Underworld and serve as judges. In Inanna’s Descent into the Netherworld, they fasten their “eyes of death” upon her, causing her to perish.

The Anunnaki deities are associated with the knowledge of the world before a great flood and were later assigned roles in the underworld. There are similar stories about them in Genesis Chapter 6, 1 Enoch, and other extra-biblical texts.

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