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Anzu / Zu Bird, monstrous divine bird
Mythic

Anzu / Zu Bird, monstrous divine bird

Fandor, giant passenger bird
UB

Fandor, giant passenger bird

Fandor, giant passenger bird = Anzu / Zu Bird, monstrous divine bird

Informed SpeculationStrong evidenceSumerian / Mesopotamian

The Connection

Anzu is a giant bird associated with divine power, often depicted carrying bulls or large animals. Fandor literally transported livestock and people. The image of a giant bird carrying bulls is exactly what Assyrian reliefs depict and what the UB describes fandors doing.

UB Citation

UB 66:5.6, 74:3.4

Academic Source

Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia (2000)

Historical Evidence(Strong evidence)

British Museum BM 124571: Alabaster relief from Nineveh depicting Ninurta pursuing the Anzu bird. The Imdugud Relief (Tell al-'Ubaid, c. 2600-2400 BCE, British Museum) shows a lion-headed eagle "gripping the haunches of two stags." ORACC: "The Anzu bird had been a mainstay of cuneiform culture from at least the third millennium BC." A giant bird carrying animals is exactly what fandors did.

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