The Sumerian King List Says One King Flew to Heaven — His Mysterious Flight Was Carved on Seals 4,000 Years Ago

The Sumerian King List records it in the same flat administrative tone it uses for every ruler: Etana, a shepherd, “ascended to heaven” — listed as biographical fact, right next to his 1,560-year reign.
His flight wasn’t just written down. Akkadian cylinder seals carved around 2300 BC — centuries before the oldest surviving tablet — show a man rising on an eagle’s back while shepherds stare up from below.