Adapa was an Ancient Sumerian king. He is also called Oanes (Greek name) and Alulim (Sumerian name). His name means "man" in Akkadian and is related to Adam. He was the son of Enki and the king-priest of the ancient city of Eridug (Eridu). Adapa, caretaker of Eridu, was an exorcist, with mighty powers to fight the demons that bedeviled the Mesopotamian imagination. He took his place among the apkallu the seven famous sages.

According to myth, he was a mortal from a godly lineage, like many liminal Greek heroes, who stood on the threshold between the two worlds. When he broke the wings of the South Wind that had overturned his fishing boat, Adapa was called to account before Anu. Ea, his patron god, warned him not to partake of food or drink while he is in heaven, and thus cheated Adapa of the immortality that would have been his. His story became an influence on the story of the biblical Adam.