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Lamassu

Lama,Lamma,orLamassu(Cuneiform:𒀭𒆗,an.kal;Sumerian:dlammař; later inAkkadian:lamassu;sometimes called alamassus)[1][2]is anAssyrianprotective deity.[3]

Lamma, protective winged deity,SumerianIsin-Larsa period(2000–1800 BC)
Lamassu,Neo-Assyrian Empire,c. 721–705 BC

Initially depicted as a goddess in Sumerian times, when it was calledLamma,it was later depicted from Assyrian times as a hybrid of a human, bird, and either a bull or lion—specifically having a human head, the body of a bull or a lion, and bird wings, under the nameLamassu.[3][4]In some writings, it is portrayed to represent a goddess.[5]A less frequently used name isshedu(Cuneiform:𒀭𒆘,an.kal×bad;Sumerian:dalad; Akkadian,šēdu), which refers to the male counterpart of alamassu.[6]Lamassurepresent thezodiacs,parent-stars orconstellations.[7][8]

Goddess Lama

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Lamassuat theIraq Museum,Baghdad.

The goddess Lama appears initially as a mediating goddess who precedes theoransand presents them to the deities.[3]The protective deity is clearly labelled as Lam(m)a in aKassitestele unearthed atUruk,in the temple ofIshtar,goddess to which she had been dedicated by kingNazi-Maruttash(1307–1282 BC).[9]It is a goddess wearing a ruffled dress and wearing a horned tiara symbolizing the deity, with two hands raised, in sign of prayer.Agnès Spycketproposed that similar female figures appearing in particular in glyptics and statuary from the Akkadian period, and in particular in the presentation scenes (common especially in the Paleo-Babylonian era) were to be considered as Lam(m)a.[10]This opinion is commonly followed and in artistic terminology these female figures are generally referred to as Lam(m)a.[3]From Assyrian times, Lamma becomes a hybrid deity, half-animal, half-human.[3]

Iconography

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Human-headed winged bulls fromSargon II's palace inDur-Sharrukin,modern Khorsabad (Louvre)

From Assyrian times,lamassuwere depicted ashybrids,with bodies of eitherwingedbullsorlionsand heads of human males.[3]The motif of a winged animal with a human head is common to the Near East, first recorded inEblaaround 3000 BC. The first distinctlamassumotif appeared in Assyria during the reign ofTiglath-Pileser IIas a symbol of power.[11][12]

Assyrian sculpturetypically placed prominent pairs oflamassuat entrances in palaces, facing the street and also internal courtyards. They were represented as "double-aspect" figures on corners, in highrelief.From the front they appear to stand, and from the side, walk, and in earlier versions have five legs, as is apparent when viewed obliquely. Lumasi do not generally appear as large figures in the low-relief schemes running round palace rooms, wherewinged geniefigures are common, but they sometimes appear within narrative reliefs, apparently protecting the Assyrians.[13]

The colossal entrance figures were often followed by a hero grasping a wriggling lion, also colossal in scale and in high relief. In the palace ofSargon IIatDur-Sharrukin,a group of at least sevenlamassuand two such heroes with lions surrounded the entrance to the "throne room", "a concentration of figures which produced an overwhelming impression of power."[14]They also appear oncylinder seals.Notable examples include those at theGate of All NationsatPersepolisin Iran, theBritish Museumin London, theLouvrein Paris, theNational Museum of Iraqin Baghdad, theMetropolitan Museum of Artin New York, and theUniversity of Chicago Oriental Institute.Several examples leftin situin northernIraqwere destroyed in the 2010s by theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levantwhen they occupied the area, as werethose in the Mosul Museum.

Terminology

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Lamassurepresent the zodiacs, parent-stars, or constellations.[7][8]They are depicted as protective deities because they encompass all life within them. In the SumerianEpic of Gilgamesh,they are depicted as physical deities as well, which is where the lamassu iconography originates, physical representations or embodiments of divine higher principles associated with specific celestial origins. Althoughlamassuhad a differenticonographyand portrayal inthe culture of Sumer,the terms "lamassu","alad",and"shedu"evolved throughout the Assyro-Akkadian culture from the Sumerian culture to denote the Assyrian-winged-man-bull symbol and statues during theNeo-Assyrian Empire.Eventually, femalelamassuwere identified as "apsasû".[4]

Cast from the original in Iraq, this is one of a pair of five-leggedlamassuwith lion's feet inBerlin

The motif of the Assyrian-winged-man-bull calledAladlammuandLamassuinterchangeably is not thelamassuor alad of Sumerian origin, which were depicted with different iconography.[clarification needed]These monumental statues were called aladlammû orlamassuwhich meant "protective spirit".[4][clarification needed]In Hittite, the Sumerian formdlammais used both as a name for the so-called "tutelary deity",identified in certain later texts with the goddessInara,and a title given to similar protective deities.[15]

Mythology

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ThelamassuinPersepolis

Thelamassuis a celestial being fromancient Mesopotamian religionbearing a human head, symbolising intelligence; a bull's body, symbolizing strength; and an eagle's wings, symbolizing freedom. Sometimes it had the horns and the ears of a bull. It appears frequently inMesopotamian art.Thelamassuand shedu were household protective spirits of the common Assyrian people, becoming associated later as royal protectors, and were placed as sentinels at entrances.[16]The Akkadians associated the godPapsukkalwith alamassuand the godIšumwithshedu.

To protect houses, thelamassuwere engraved in clay tablets, which were then buried under the door's threshold. They were often placed as a pair at the entrance ofpalaces.At the entrance of cities, they were sculpted in colossal size, and placed as a pair, one at each side of the door of the city, that generally had doors in the surrounding wall, each one looking toward one of thecardinal points.

In modern culture

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TheBritish 10th Army,which operated inIraqandIranin 1942–1943, adopted thelamassuas its insignia. A bearded man with a winged bull body appears on the logo of theUnited States Forces – Iraq.[citation needed]

A man with a bull's body is found among the creatures that make up Aslan's army inThe Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobebyC. S. Lewis.He appears at the Stone Table, challenging the White Witch "with a great bellowing voice". In the filmAlexander(2004),lamassuare seen at theIshtar GateinBabylon.In the Disney filmAladdin(1992), a goldlamassucan be found in the scene where Aladdin and Abu enter the cave in the desert to find the lamp.[citation needed]

Michael Rakowitz,aNorthwestern Universityprofessor of Art Theory & Practice, won aFourth Plinthcommission to recreate theLamassuthat stood in Nineveh, Iraq, from 700 BC until it was destroyed by ISIS in 2015. Rakowitz's sculpture was displayed in London's Trafalgar Square from 2018 to 2020.[17]

Games

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Lammasu [sic] andsheduare two distinct types of good-alignedcreatures in therole-playing gameDungeons & Dragons,with lammasu having the bodies of winged lions and shedu depicted as human-headed winged bulls.[citation needed]

Lammasu appear in theMagic: The Gatheringtrading card game as thewhite cardHunted Lammasu[18]in theRavnicaexpansion, as well as thewhite cardVenerable Lammasu found in theKhans of Tarkirexpansion.[19]

In the Games Workshopminiatures wargame,Warhammer Fantasy Battle,the Lamasu was a mount for theChaos Dwarf army.It has since returned as part of theStorm of Magicexpansion release.[citation needed]

In the video gameHeroes of Might and Magic VI,the lamasu [sic] is a recruitable elite creature of the necropolis faction (undead).[citation needed]

A Lamassu appears inPrince of Persia 3Dat the end of the Floating Ruins level, where the prince rides on it to the Cliffs. It is also appears in the ending of the game, where the Prince and Princess ride it to an unknown destination.[citation needed]

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External videos
Assyrian Human Headed Winged Lion and Bull (Lamassu),Smarthistory[20]
  • TheBritish Museum– human-headed winged lions and reliefs fromNimrudwith the Gates ofBalawat
  • The British Museum – human-headed winged bulls fromDur-Sharrukin
  • The British Museum – human-headed winged lion and bull fromNimrud,companion pieces inMetropolitan Museum of Art
  • Louvre– human-headed winged bulls from Dur-Sharrukin
  • Louvre – human-headed winged bulls, sculpture and Reliefs from Dur-Sharrukin.
  • Louvre – human-headed winged bulls and reliefs from Dur-Sharrukin, in their wider setting of reliefs
  • Louvre – human-headed winged bulls and reliefs from Dur-Sharrukin
  • TheMetropolitan Museum of Art– human-headed winged lion and bull fromNimrud,companion pieces to those in theBritish Museum
  • Detail, University of Chicago Oriental Institute. Possibly gypsum, Dur-Sharrukin, entrance to the throne room,c. 721–705 BC
  • Cuneiform scripton the back of a lamassu in the University of Chicago Oriental Institute
  • Modern impression ofAchaemenidcylinder seal,fifth century BC. A winged solar disc legitimises the Achaemenid emperor, who subdues two rampant Mesopotamian lamassu figures
  • Seal ofUnited States Forces – Iraq
  • Insignia of theBritish 10th Army
  • Insignia of theSAVAKof Iran
  • The entrance of afire templein Fort Mumbai displaying a lamassu
  • Head of lamassu. Marble, eighth century BC, from Assur, Iraq.Museum of the Ancient Orient,Istanbul.
  • Head of a lamassu from the palace ofEsarhaddon,from Nimrud, Iraq, seventh century BC, the British Museum
  • Lamassu from the Throne Room (Room B) of the North-West Palace at Nimrud, Iraq, ninth century BC, the British Museum, London
  • Lamassu on anAssyrian Genocidememorial inYerevan

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^Kriwaczek, Paul.Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization,p. 37.
  2. ^"Kaskal: Rivista di storia, ambiente e culture del vicino oriente antico. Volume 6, 2009 - LoGisma editore".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-08.Retrieved2015-05-06.
  3. ^abcdefLeick, Gwendolyn (2002).A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology.Routledge. pp. 109–110.ISBN978-1-134-64102-4.
  4. ^abc"Livius.org".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-06-01.Retrieved2020-03-26.
  5. ^Beaulieu, Paul-Alain(2003).The Pantheon of Uruk During the Neo-Babylonian Period.Brill.ISBN90-04-13024-1.
  6. ^Black, Jeremy;Green, Anthony (2003).An Illustrated dictionary, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia.The British Museum Press.ISBN0-7141-1705-6.
  7. ^abHewitt, J.F.History and Chronology of the Myth-Making Age.p. 85.
  8. ^abW. King, Leonard.Enuma Elish Vol 1 & 2: The Seven Tablets of Creation; The Babylonian and Assyrian Legends Concerning the Creation of the World and of Mankind.p. 78.
  9. ^"The deity which we have here called the Babylonian Goddess has been identified as the goddess Lama thanks to an inscription found at Uruk. Agnes Spycket has discussed the textual references to this interceding deity, and the way she is represented in art."Collon, Dominique (1975).The seal impressions from Tell Atchana/Alalakh.Butzon & Bercker. p. 181.ISBN978-3-7887-0469-8.
  10. ^Spycket, Agnès (1960). "La Déesse Lama".Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale.54(2): 73–84.ISSN0373-6032.JSTOR23294909.
  11. ^"History – Mesopotamia".BBC.Archivedfrom the original on 2007-07-13.Retrieved2019-12-22.
  12. ^"Lamassu".ancientneaeast.net.Archivedfrom the original on 2008-06-28.Retrieved2010-07-17.
  13. ^Frankfort, 147–148
  14. ^Frankfort, 147–148, 148 quoted
  15. ^McMahon, John Gregory (1991).The Hittite State Cult of the Tutelary Deities.Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.ISBN978-0-918986-69-6.
  16. ^Castor, Marie-José."Winged human-headed bull".Louvre.fr.Archivedfrom the original on January 28, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
  17. ^"The Lamassu, Resurrected".Archivedfrom the original on 2017-04-15.Retrieved2017-04-14.
  18. ^"Hunted Lammasu".Archived fromthe originalon March 11, 2007.
  19. ^"Venerable Lammasu".Archivedfrom the original on 2014-12-17.Retrieved2014-12-18.
  20. ^"Assyrian Human Headed Winged Lion and Bull (Lamassu)".SmarthistoryatKhan Academy.Archivedfrom the original on January 17, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 8,2013.

General references

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toShedu.
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