Adapa Tablet Recreation (resin cast about 6 inches tall by 5 inches wide). The cuneiform is not very clear. Adapa, the first of the Mesopotamian seven sages, was a mythical figure who unknowingly refused the gift of immortality. Mesopotamian myth tells of seven antediluvian sages, who were sent by Ea, the wise god of Eridu, to bring the arts of civilisation to humankind. The first of these was Adapa who was a mortal man from a godly lineage, a son of Ea (Enki in Sumerian), the god of wisdom and of the ancient city of Eridu, who brought the arts of civilization to that city (from Dilmun, according to some versions). He broke the wings of Ninlil the South Wind, who had overturned his fishing boat, and was called to account before Anu. Ea, his patron god, warned him to apologize humbly for his actions, but not to partake of food or drink while he was in heaven, as it would be the food of death. Anu, impressed by Adapa's sincerity, offered instead the food of immortality, but Adapa heeded Ea's advice, refused, and thus missed the chance for immortality that would have been his. Vague parallels can be drawn to the story of Genesis, where Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden by God, after they ate from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thus gaining death. (wikipedia)