Huwawa

Mesopotamian mythology

Also known as: Humbaba

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Last updated

June 29, 2026

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In Mesopotamian mythology, Huwawa (also known as Humbaba) was the divinely appointed guardian of a remote cedar forest. He is a figure in Sumerian poems and the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh. In the epic, the hero Gilgamesh, along with his companion Enkidu, journeys to confront Huwawa. The surviving fragments of the epic detail their expedition against him, but the full account of their engagement is not preserved.12

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Gilgamesh
…men set out together against Huwawa (Humbaba), the divinely appointed guardian of a remote cedar forest, but the rest of the engagement is not recorded in the surviving fragments. In Tablet VI Gilgamesh, who had returned to Uruk, rejected the marriage proposal of Ishtar, the goddess of love, and then,…
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…men set out together against Huwawa (Humbaba), the divinely appointed guardian of a remote cedar forest, but the rest of the engagement is not recorded in the surviving fragments. In Tablet VI Gilgamesh, who had returned to Uruk, rejected the marriage proposal of Ishtar, the goddess of love, and then,…
Read More