ANZU

The Anzu or Imdugud was the Mesopotamian giant bird with the head of a lion and a saw-like beak. It stole the tablet of destinies from Ea and was eventually killed by Nunurta. Gudea, the ruler of Lagas, dreamt that Ningirsu, an early form of the god Nunurta, commanded him to rebuild a temple E-ninnu (‘House of the Fifty Mes’ – a me is a power). But Ningirsu appeared in the form of the Anzu bird. This seems to be an early legend told before the theft of the tablet of destinies.