i just checked
Civilizations of the Ancient Near East for
apkallu. There is a table with apotropaic figures and there it tells us that the
apkallu were first iconographically attested (in the form in your picture) during Kassite times, latest Selekuid times. That means this form of representation is kinda late. The Kassites ruled over Babylon from 1531 BC to ca. 1155 BC (short chronology).
from:
A
Dictionary of ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN MYTHOLOGY
by Gwendolyn Leick
Seven Sages
In Mesopotamian mythology the process of civilization had to be
gradually implemented by various deities (see Lahar and Ašnan, Ninazu
and Ninmadu, Inanna and Utu etc.). In another tradition, the task of
teaching mankind the achievements of culture was ascribed to Seven
Sages (Akk. apkallu). References to these Sages are found in several
myths. In the Erra-Epic, Marduk asks ‘Where are the Seven Sages of the
Apsu, the pure puradu fish, who just as their lord Ea, have been endowed
with sublime wisdom?’ A bilingual ritual from Nineveh (Reiner) begins
with a mythological introduction, referring to the Seven Sages. They are
called ‘the seven apkallu grown in the river, who ensure the correct
functioning of the plan of heaven and earth, Nunpiriggaldim, the apkallu
of Enmerkar, who brought down Ištar from heaven to É-anna,
Piriggalnungal, from Kish, who angered Adad…so that he let no
vegetation be in the country for three years, Piriggalabzu, from Eridu,
who angered Ea […], LU-name is only 2/3 apkallu, he drove the
ušumgallu-dragon from É-ninkarnunna, the temple of Ištar of Shulgi…’
(the names of the other three Sages are lost). The gist of the story is that
all these Sages angered the gods and were therefore banned to the Apsu.
Berossus also reports that before the flood, fish-like monsters were sent
by Ea to teach mankind. The names of the Sages vary in the different
texts; some also include Adapa (whom Berossus calls Oannes).
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