In Ancient Mesopotamian religion, Humbaba (also known as Huwawa and Humbaba the Terrible) was a monstrous giant of immemorial age raised by Utu, the Sun. Humbaba was the guardian of the Cedar Forest, where the gods lived, by the will of the god Enlil, who “assigned Humbaba as a terror to human beings.” He is the brother of Pazuzu and Enki and son of Hanbi.

His face is that of a lion. “When he looks at someone, it is the look of death.” “Humbaba’s roar is a flood, his mouth is death and his breath is fire! He can hear a hundred leagues away any rustling in his forest! Who would go down into his forest!” In various examples, his face is scribed in a single coiling line like that of the coiled entrails of men and beasts, from which omens might be read. This has led to the name “Guardian of the Fortress of Intestines.”

Another description from Georg Burckhardt translation of Gilgamesh says, "he had the paws of a lion and a body covered in horny scales; his feet had the claws of a vulture, and on his head were the horns of a wild bull; his tail and phallus each ended in a snake's head."