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Origins | Sumeria
It’s no wonder people who are interested in the Watchers and Nephilim are drawn to Sumerian mythology, it features rich, dramatic stories, many of which provided inspiration for later Biblical canons.
I have been fascinated by mythology and storytelling for as long as I can remember. Initially drawn to Egyptian and Greek myths, like many people, I devoured the tales of goddesses, monsters and heroes facing life and death on epic adventures. When I discovered the ancient stories of the Sumerians, Akkadians and Assyrians, it felt like home to me, like I had found the origin of many of the tales I had already read - tales retold again and again across different cultures - pantheons of gods and goddesses, creation and flood myths, and an underworld where it was believed that your actions during life could determine your fate in death.
The Anunnaki, translated to “princely seed” are gods of ancient Sumeria, including Enlil, Enki, Inanna, Sin, Ninhursag and Shamas, among others. In the Enuma Elish, the Sumerian creation epic, the god Marduk rules over 600 Anunnaki, 300 who live in heaven, and 300 who live on Earth. However, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, there are also seven Anunnaki in the underworld to judge the dead. It would seem the Anunnaki have the ability to traverse all worlds, but are assigned to one specific realm to perform their duties.
Believed to be the offspring of the sky god An and Ninhursag, or Ki, the ancient mother goddess of the mountains, the Anunnaki are a complex and fascinating group of gods. Said to possess great strength and power, they were also believed to be large in stature, giants compared to the humans they ruled over. The Anunnaki wore horned caps, and their clothing was said to be made of a strange material called melam that surrounded them in "terrifying splendor" and caused a tingling of the flesh of those who were near them. They were gods, after all, although not as powerful as An or Ki. In fact, in one myth, “The Dispute between Cattle and Grain”, the Anunnaki were somewhat primitive themselves before the coming of man:
They (the Anunnaki) know not the eating of bread
Know not the dressing of garments
Ate plants with their mouths like sheep
Drank water from the ditch
In the Sumerian myths, the gods reside in various elemental places, such as Abzu (apsû), a primordial freshwater ocean where Enki and some other Anunnaki live.
The Adda Seal, featuring Enki, Inanna, Shamash
Authors Zacharia Sitchin, Michael Tellinger, Robert Temple, Eric von Daniken and others theorise that the Anunnaki were ancient astronauts who used humans to mine for gold. We may never know the true origins of the Anunnaki, but what is their link to the Watchers / Nephilim? In the apocryphal Book of the Watchers, the Watchers descended from heaven and taught humans astrology, weapon crafting, cosmetics, writing, along with magic and sorcery. In the mesopotamian myths Enki is the creator of mankind and the god of magic. There were Anunnaki on Earth as well as in heaven and the underworld, and although significant gods like Enki did not normally deal directly with humans, they had emissaries and sages, to act as their intermediaries in teaching humans writing, science, magic and other knowledge.
According to Mesopotamian mythology, Enki created the Apkallu to act as intermediaries between the divine and human realms. Their primary purpose was to impart wisdom, knowledge, and cultural achievements to humanity, thereby facilitating civilization's development. Enki was also in charge of the me’s (it is said he “rides” and directs the me’s), which are important divine decrees between humanity and the gods. They cover many topics, from kingship and sexuality to crafts and music, but also laws, war, counsel and lamentation.
The Apkallu were divine Sages with faces of birds, and wings, carrying in their right hand a “purifier” (mullilu cone) and in their left a banduddu bucket. Some Apkallu were also cloaked in the skins of fishes. This combination of human, bird, and fish elements reflects their role as intermediaries between the land, sky, and water—a reflection of the interconnectedness of the natural world in Mesopotamian belief. Flight is also a key theme of the Christian Watcher mythology along with luminosity, and we explore these concepts further in our page on Wings of Lightning, if you want to delve further.
Apkallu from the Temple of Ninurta
You see what Asael has done, who has taught all iniquity on the Earth, and has revealed the eternal mysteries that are in heaven
Book of the Watchers 1 Enoch 9:6
The Apkallu are seen as offspring or servants of the Anunnaki, carrying out their will and assisting in the divine plan for humanity. The Apkallu were revered for their wisdom and were believed to have taught various aspects of civilization to humanity, including agriculture, craftsmanship, law, and writing. They were considered the custodians of sacred knowledge, passing down teachings that were essential for human progress and prosperity. This is very similar to the knowledge passed to humans from the Watchers, but of course that was “forbidden knowledge”, rather than essential knowledge that would help humankind progress and prosper.
Could the Apkallu have inspired the writers of Biblical texts? Certainly the wings and the teaching of "forbidden knowledge" are good inspiration, and the appearance of the Apkallu could easily be demonised - misinterpreted as evil rather than beneficial to mankind.
