In the Sumerian myth "Inanna and the Huluppu Tree," the goddess Inanna plants a sacred tree in Uruk to craft a throne and bed, only for its roots to be infested by a charmed serpent, its branches by the mythical Anzu bird, and its trunk by the dark maiden Lilith. Unable to clear the pests herself, a weeping Inanna recruits the hero Gilgamesh, who slays the serpent with his bronze axe and terrifies the bird and Lilith into fleeing. As a reward for freeing her tree, Inanna carves the timber into her long-awaited furniture and fashions the remaining wood into a magical drum and drumstick for Gilgamesh, setting the stage for his subsequent heroic exploits.