Dragons of Fame

Humbaba / Hubaba / Hum-ba / Humhum / Huwawa / Kumbaba / Khumbaba

Type/Species: Dragon Beast
Origin: Sumerian Mythology, Akkadian Mythology, Babylonian Mythology, The Epic of Gilgamesh

History: Humbaba was the terrifying guardian of the Cedar Forest of Amanus, also called the Mountain of Cedars.^1,4 Enlil, a powerful Mesopotamian god, placed Humbaba there to guard the Cedars and to kill any human that dare disturb its peace.³

Humbaba was a giant, terrifying to look at. He had a large, humanoid body with scale plates all over it. His powerful legs looked like that of a lion, but with the talons of a vulture. His head had bull's horns, and his tail had a serpent's head at the end of it.²

Other sources claim that Humbaba took the form of a dragon who spits fire, though he was a giant at other times. His breath raged on like a hurricane, and his voice spilled over the world as a storm.⁴

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the heroes Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the Cedar Forest to defeat Humbaba, in some versions for glory² and in other versions because of a dream Enkidu had that, being interpreted, set them on the path to slay the dragon.³ In tablets three through five of the epic, the heroes enter the forest, and Gilgamesh cuts down huge trees that he uses to ensnare Humbaba. Humbaba begs for his life, saying that he will serve Gilgamesh, and he asks Enkidu to plead for his life to Gilgamesh as well. Enkidu, however, does not wish to spare him; instead, he counsels Gilgamesh, then lops off Humbaba's head. This prideful act becomes Enkidu's eventual downfall, and the two heroes of the epic become the object of Enlil's curse.³

Symbolism: Despite being demoted to terrifying monster guardian, Humbaba still had been placed in the Forest by a god, whose wrath condemns Enkidu and, eventually, Gilgamesh. This particular battle is set at the beginning of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and it is clear that the young hero acts without a true understanding of mortality. This prideful act sends him and Enkidu down a path of self-understand and realization; in short, the first act of self-realization is prideful, vain, and even immature.

Physical Description: Some sources describe Humbaba as a giant with a huge, humanoid body covered in scales. He had horns, talons, and a tail with the head of a serpent.² Other sources claim that Humbaba was a giant who took the form of a dragon who spits fire.⁴

1. Rose [Monsters] 180
2. Rose [Monsters] 181
3. Leeming 190
4. Turner [Deities] 270

For more information about footnotes and references, please see the bibliography.