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Wiggermann Defines the Lamassu

“The limited number of candidates available for identification with e’ru, libbi gišimmari and urigallu enables us to choose a denotation, even when the results of philology are not unequivocal in each case. The sages and the lesser gods of NAss art share attributes and therefore functions: goat, sprig, greeting gesture, cone, bucket and mace. Both […]

Published: July 16, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, apkallū, ara gišimmari, banduddû, BiOr, bucket, bīt mēseri, e'ru, e'ru-stick/mace, F.A.M. Wiggermann, feather, Foxvog, gamlu, gamlu-curved staff, god of the house, greeting gesture, Groningen, Heimpel, horned tiara, il bīti, it bīti, kamsūtu, Kilmer, Kneeling Ones, Kolbe, libbi gišimmari, mace, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, mullilu, One Cubit, Reade, Reliefprogramme, Rituals, sprig, Spycket, Syria, tamarisk, The Winged Ones, urigallu, Weapon Men, Winged Ones, ša ištēt ammatu lān-šu, šūt kakkī, šūt kappī
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Apkallu Details (Excerpt from Wiggermann)

An excerpt on the three kinds of apkallu from Wiggermann. The apkallu are perplexing entities portrayed on Sumerian and Neo-Assyrian artworks, combining bird heads with human bodies, and human heads on fish bodies. They are attested throughout Sumerian and Assyrian literature, and the so-called Seven Sages of Sumeria were apkallu.

Published: July 5, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, a-šá-red-du-tú, Anthropomorphic, Apkallu, Ashurnazirpal, ÉN at-tú-nu NU NUN.ME ma-sa-ri, ÉN UDUG HUL EDIN.NA DAGAL.LA, ÉN VII NUN.ME.MEŠ, banduddu, bird-apkallū, bītu šanû, cleaner, cornel, cornel(-stick), e'ru, F.A.M. Wiggermann, fish-apkallū, Groningen, ina I DIB.É.NUN, ina MÚRU É ina IGI-[at]gis GU.ZA, ina SUHUŠ É II-i ina SAG gis NÁ, ina tar-si KÁ ina EGIR gil GU.ZA, Incantation, JRAS, MAss/NAss, Mesopotamian Protective Spririts: The Ritual Texts, mullilu, Seven Leading Sages, ummiamu, umū-apkallū, ša bīti šanî
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Dalley: Apkallu-6, IDD 2011

Iconography of Deities and Demons (IDD). Apkallu (continued).  Type 3 Bird-of-Prey-Headed Apkallu, Problematic Identifications.  “The three types are identified from ritual texts and labels on figurines, but because the evidence is uncommon and sometimes ambiguous there are uncertainties. Change over time may also account for some difficulties. Some overlap in the iconography with Tiamat’s composite […]

Published: August 29, 2015
Filed Under: 1932, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2011, 800 BCE, A. Green, Abzu Temple of Enki, Amulets, Anshar, Anzu, Apkallu, Apsu, Assyria, Babylonia, banduddu, Dalley, Eisenbrauns, Enuma Elish, Epic of Creation, Eridu, Gods Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, Green, H.W.F. Saggs, Iconography of Deities and Demons, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (IDD), IDD, J. Black, John D. Rockefeller, John Malcolm Russell, Kalhu, Kishar, Lahamu, Lahmu, Lamashtu, London, Mesopotamia, Metropolitan Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, MM 32.143.3, mullilu, Nabu, Northwest Palace of Assurnasirpal II, Ornan, Pazuzu, Russell, Stephanie Dalley, Sumeria, Swiss National Science Foundation, Tablet of Destinies, The British Museum Press, The Writing on the Wall. Studies in the Architectural Context of Late Assyrian Palace Inscriptions, Tiamat, umu-apkallu, University of Zurich, Wiggermann
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Dalley: Apkallu-5, IDD 2011

Iconography of Deities and Demons (IDD). Apkallu (continued).  Type 3 Bird-of-Prey-Headed Apkallu, Phenotypes.  “This hybrid sage (7, 21, 36*, 39*, 67–80), also called griffin-demon, Nisroch, or simply genie, is a human body with the head of a bird of prey (perhaps an eagle or a vulture). It usually appears with one or two wings, each […]

Published: August 28, 2015
Filed Under: 1977, 1990, 1992, 2007, 2010, 2011, ANE 124568, Anu, Apkallu, Assur, Assyria, Assyrisch-babylonische Kleinplastik magischer Bedeutung vom 13-6. Kh. v. Chr. München, banduddu, British Museum, Cambridge University Press, Dalley, Dessa Rittig, fleur-de-lis, human-headed sphinx, Iconography of Deities and Demons, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (IDD), IDD, London, Matthews, Mehmet-Ali Atac, Mesopotamia, Moon God, mullilu, Nimrud, Nineveh, Nisroch, Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, poppy bulbs, Sin, sprig, Stephanie Dalley, Swiss National Science Foundation, The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art, umu-apkallu, University of Zurich, Wiggermann
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Dalley: Apkallu-2, IDD 2011

Iconography of Deities and Demons (IDD). Apkallu (continued). “The deities Ea, Damkina, Gula, Enlil, Adad, Marduk, Nabu, and Gerra were all called “sage of the gods” in texts on particular occasions; the link with Ea is apparent for type 2 from 40, 47–48, and with Marduk and Nabu from 63. A link between type 2 […]

Published: August 25, 2015
Filed Under: 1957, 1992, 2007, 2010, 2011, Adad, ANE 124531, ANE 124564, ANE 124568, Anu, apkallatu, Apkallu, Arabia, Assurbanipal, Assyria, Atrahasis, banduddu, Berossos, bird-apkallu, Borger, British Museum, Cambridge University Press, Dalley, Damkina, Ea, Enlil, feather, Gerra, Gula, horned tiara, Iconography of Deities and Demons, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (IDD), IDD, kid goat, Marduk, Mehmet-Ali Atac, Moon God, mullilu, Nabu, Naqia, Nimrud, Nisroc, Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, poppy bulbs, puradu-fish, rosette headband, Sennacherib, Sin, situla, Stephanie Dalley, Swiss National Science Foundation, The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art, umu-apkallu, University of Zurich, Wiggermann, Ziusudra
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Nakamura: The Figurines as Magical Objects

“While such apotropaic figures appear in grand scale and idealized form on wall reliefs flanking entrances of kingly palaces purifying all who passed through the gates, the figures standing guard in floor deposits performed an additional task.”

Published: July 25, 2015
Filed Under: 1974, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2005, Apkallu, apkallū, Archaeologies of materiality, Bašmu, Bird ApkallūFish Apkallū, Black, Bottéro, bull-human, Carolyn Nakamura, copper axe, Deleuze, Demons, Derrida, dogs, Ellis, Enki, Exorcists, god in lion pelt, Green, Hybrids, Incantations, Kulullû, Lahmu, Latarak, lion-demon, Magic, Mastering matters: magical sense and apotropaic figurine worlds of Neo-Assyria, Mesopotamia, Michael Taussig, Monsters, Ninšubar, Richards, Russell, sage, Sages, Six-Curled Lahmu, Smiting-god, snake-dragon, spade, Staff, Susan Stewart, Tiamat, Underworld, Wiggermann, āšipu
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Nakamura: Clay Pit Ritual

“The crafting of clay figurines begins similarly, but what is notable here is the portrayal of the ritual scene that evokes a distinct sensory landscape in the enactment of certain requisite and standardized actions: when you make the statues, creatures of Apsû, in the morning at sunrise you shall go to the clay pit and consecrate […]

Published: July 23, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, 1998, 2005, Anu, Apsû, Archaeologies of materiality, Carnelian, Carolyn Nakamura, Clay Pit Ritual, Deleuze, Ea, Enlil, figurines, Gold, hulā, lu-stone, Mastering matters: magical sense and apotropaic figurine worlds of Neo-Assyria, Menke, pīt pî, Ritual, Silver, Washing of the Mouth, Wiggermann, Šamaš
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Gane: Review of the Literature on Monsters, Demons and gods

“When a monster is associated with an anthropomorphic deity, it operates in the same field of action or part of nature as that of the deity. Whereas the deity functions in the entire domain of his or her rule, the monster’s activity is limited to only part of the god’s realm. Thus, a monster that […]

Published: October 22, 2015
Filed Under: 1939, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2007 CE, 2012, 2500 BCE, 800 BC, A History of the Animal World in the Ancient Near East, A. Green, Akkad, Amulets, Anatolia, Animals in the Art of Ancient Iran, Anthony Green, Anzu, AO 22205, Apkallu, Assyria, Attribute Creatures, Austin, Babylonia, Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, Beneficent Spirits and Malevolent Demons: The Iconography of Good and Evil in Ancient Assyria and Babylonia, Berlin, Billie Jean Collins, Brigitte Groneberg, Brill, Brill Academic Publishers, Clermont-Ganneau, Collins, Composite Beings in Neo-Babylonian Art, Constance Ellen Gane, Deities, Die Welt der Götterbilder, E. Douglas Van Buren, Ea, Early Dynastic Period, Egypt, Enlil, Faucher-Gudin, Frans A. M. Wiggermann, Gane, Green, H.W.F. Saggs, Handbook of Oriental Studies, Hermann Spieckermann, History of Religions Chair, Hybrid Creatures, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East, IDD, Imdugud, Institutum Biblicum, Iran, Iraq, J. Black, Jürg Eggler, Jeremy A. Black, Joan Goodnick Westenholz, Lamashtu, Lamp of Nusku, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, Leiden, Louvre, Lulal, M. de Clercq, M. Peretie, Margaret Cool Root, me, Mesopotamia, Mischwesen. B. Archäologie, Monsters, Myth of Anzu, Ningursu, Ninutra, Nusku, Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, Oxford, Oxford University Press, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, Pazuzu, Puradu, Reallexikon der Assyeriologie, Rome, Smiting Posture, Some Demons of Time and Their Functions in Mesopotamian Iconography, Stephanie Dalley, Sumer, Sumeria, Switzerland, Syro-Palestine, Tablet of Destinies, Tell-Al-Ubaid, Temple of Goddess Ninhursag, Tessa Richards, The British Museum, The Fauna of Ancient Mesopotamia as Represented in Art, The Pantheon of Uruk during the Neo-Babylonian Period, University of California at Berkeley, University of Texas Press, University of Zurich, Uruk, Visible Religion, Walter de Gruyter, Wiggermann
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Gane: Neo-Babylonian Monsters, Demons & Dragons From a Narrow Slice of Time & Space

A number of scholars have already correlated Mesopotamian iconography with cuneiform texts to identify and illuminate composite beings over a wide range of periods in terms of their historical development, association with deities, and impact on humans within ancient systems of religion and mythology. The present research draws heavily on their work, but uniquely focuses […]

Published: October 20, 2015
Filed Under: 1986, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2012, Amsterdam, and Fabulous Beasts, Animal Symbolism in Mesopotamia: A Contextual Approach, Babylonian Prophylactic Figures: The Ritual Texts, Bible Lands Museum, Chikako E. Watanabe, Composite Beings, Deities, Demons, Dragons, Evil Spirits, Frans A. M. Wiggermann, Free University Press, Gane, Gods, Groningen, Horned Crown of Divinity, Hybrid Beings, Iconography, Institut für Orientalistik der Universität Wien, Jerusalem, Joan G. Westenholz, K 2987B+, K2987B+, K9968+, KAR 298, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Mischwesen. A. Philologisch. Mesopotamien, Monsters, Neo-Assyrian Period, Reallexikon der Assyriologie, Rituals, RLA, Styx & PP, Subdivine Creatures, Superhuman Creatures, Supernatural Creatures, utukkū lemnūti, Vienna, Wiggermann
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Selz: Connects the Apkallu with the Fallen Angels

“The correspondance between Enmeduranki, for a long time considered to be the Mesopotamian Enoch, with an apkallū named Utu-abzu, proved highly informative. (See W.G. Lambert, “Enmeduranki and Related Matters,” JCS 21 (1967): pp. 126-38; idem, “New Fragment.”) In 1974 Borger observed in an important article, that in tablet III of the omen series Bīt Mēseri (“House of […]

Published: October 9, 2015
Filed Under: 1 Enoch, 1832, 1866, 1874, 1883, 1967, 1992, 2011, apkallū, Armin Lange, Assyria, Babylonia, Berossos, Berossus, Beschwörungsserie, bird-apkallū, Book of Giants, Borger, Brill, Cuneiform Monographs, Ea, Enki, Enmebu-lugga, Enmedugga, Enmeduranki, Enmeduranki and Related Matters, Enmegalamma, Enoch, Eridu, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Fallen Angels, Gebhard J. Selz, genii, genius, Groningen, JCS, John Milton, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Michael, Milton, Nephilim, New Fragment, Nisroch, Oannes, Of Heroes and Sages–Considerations of the Early Mesopotamian Background of Some Enochic Traditions, Paradise Lost, Paul Gustave Doré, purādu, purādu-fish, Selz, Seven Sages of Sumeria, Shemihazah, Styx, The Dead Sea Scrolls in Context, U -anna, U-anne-dugga, Uruk List of Kings and Sages, Utu-abzu, Utuabzu, W.G. Lambert, Wiggerman
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Izre’el: Origins of the Adapa Myth

“Adapa the Sage Adapa was known in Ancient Mesopotamia as The Sage. The original etymology of the name Adapa may not have reached us. A lexical text lists a term adapu as meaning “wise” (Igituh I: 107), an attribute that is further attested in another late text (Lambert 1962: 74). This adjectival noun is undoubtedly […]

Published: September 13, 2015
Filed Under: 1911, 1961, 1962, 1974, 1978, 1986, 1992, 2001, Accad, Adapa, Adapa and the South Wind: Language Has the Power of Life and Death, adapu, Akkad, An, apkallus, Apsu, Ayyalu, ù.tu.a.ab.ba, Berossus, Borger, British Museum, Burstein, bīt mēseri, Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum, Denning-Bolle, E.A. Wallis Budge, Eisenbrauns, Eridu, Greek, Igituh, Izre'el, K 5519, Lambert, London, Mesopotamia, Oannes, puradu-fish, Reiner, Schlomo Izre’el, South Wind, Sumeria, The Babyloniaca, The Sage, Uan, Uanna, Utua-abba, Utuabzu, van Dijk, Wiggermann
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Kvanvig: The ilū mušīti Are the Stars of the Night

“How the actual connection between the earthly exorcist and his heavenly counterpart was imagined is vividly portrayed on an Assyrian bronze tablet from the first millennium. The image depicts the universe of an ill man. In the basement lurks the demon Lamaštu, ready to attack; in the upper room are divine figures supporting the heavens, […]

Published: September 4, 2015
Filed Under: 1959, 1984, 1992, 1995, 1st Millennium BCE, 2007, 2011, A. Green, Abwehrzauber und Behexung, Allat, Anu, AO 22205, Apkallu, Apotropaic Ritual, Assur, Assyria, Astral Magic in Babylonia, êru, Babyonia, Brill, Clermont-Ganneau, D. Schwemer, Darmstadt, Delebat, Demons, Die Welt der altorientalischen Bildsymbolik und das Alte Testament, Enlil, Ereshkigal, Erica Reiner, Faucher-Gudin, fish-apkallu, G. Lambert, Girra, god of fire, god of lamp and fire, Helge Kvanvig, ilū mušīti, Ishtar, J. Black, KAR, Kvanvig, Lamaštu, Lamp, London, Lulal, M. de Clercq, M. Peretie, massartu, massarātu ša mūši, Mesopotamia, Moon God, Mīs pî, nasāru, Nergal, Nusku, O. Keel, Pazuzu, Philadelphia, Prayer to the Stars, Psalm of Penitence, Ra, Sin, stars of the night, TAPhs, ugallu, Venus, Wiesbaden, Wiggermann, āšipū
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Dalley: Apkallu-7, IDD 2011

Iconography of Deities and Demons (IDD).  Apkallu (continued). Sources. Chronological Range. “All three types begin to appear in the late 2nd millennium. Some possible antecedents are noted by GREEN (1993-97: 252; see also nos. 66-70 belonging to the early Atlantid series, which MATTHEWS 1990: 109 dates to the 14th century). They could, however, have had […]

Published: September 3, 2015
Filed Under: 14th Century BCE, 1976, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2007, 2011, 2d Millennium BCE, 681 BCE, 704 BCE, 704-681 BCE, 859 BCE, 860 BCE, 865 BCE, 883 BCE, 883- 859 BCE, 884 BCE, 890 BCE, 890-884 BCE, Achaemenid, Amulets, Anthony Green, Apkallu, Aramaea, Assurbanipal, Assurnasirpal II, Assyria, Babylonia, Calah, Carchemish, Dalley, Emar, Gods Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, Green, Hittite, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (IDD), IDD, Iran, Iraq, Jeremy Black, Kalhu, Kassite, London, Malatya, Matthews, MCEWAN, Mesopotamia, Nimrûd, Nimrud, Nineveh, Ninurta, Ninurta Temple, Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, PALEY, Pasargadae, puradu-fish, Ronald Wallenfels, Sacred Tree, Sakce-gözü, Seleucid, Sennacherib, Seven Sages, Southwest Palace, Stephanie Dalley, Swiss National Science Foundation, Tell Ashara, Temple of Ninurta, Terqa, The British Museum, Tukulti-Ninurta II, University of Zurich, Urartu, Uruk, winged disc
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Dalley: Apkallu-3, IDD 2011

Iconography of Deities and Demons (IDD). Apkallu (continued). Type 1 Human-figured Apkallu, Phenotypes.  “The human-figured sage (1* – 39*), sometimes called winged genie, should probably be identified with Akkadian ūmu–apkallu. If so, it is the only sage-figure that has a distinguishing term. Alternatively, ūmu-apkallu may be an extension of apkallu in which ūmu refers to […]

Published: August 27, 2015
Filed Under: 1977, 1987, 1996, 2010, 2011, 705 BCE, 721 BCE, 859 BCE, 883 BCE, Ada Cohen, Akkad, Aladlammu, Albenda, ANE 124564, ANE 124565, Anu, Apkallu, Assur, Assurnasirpal II, Assyrian Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II. A Cultural Biography, British Museum, Dalley, Dessa Rittig, Eye of Horus, Hebrew Seal, Iconography of Deities and Demons, IDD, Khorsabad, London, mace, Mehmet-Ali Atac, Nakamura, Nimrud, Nineveh, Northwest Palace, Oannes, PALEY, poppy bulbs, Rittig, Sargon II, Sennacherib, SOBOLEWSKI, Stephanie Dalley, Steven E. Kangas, The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art, ummiânū, ummiānum, UPNE, Ur, winged disc, ūmu, ūmu-apkallu
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Kvanvig: Discrepancies Between the Lists

“The Sumerian concept of me, “cosmic ordinances,” has a wide range of meanings connected to culture and human conditions. The myth Inanna and Enki has a list which gives good illustration of what is regarded as me: human relations, cultural relations, political relations, occupations, sciences, crafts, arts, deeds, etc. —in short, all the human characteristics […]

Published: August 13, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, 1999, 2011, 9th Century BCE, AMD, Antediluvian King List, Asshur, Assyria, Berossos, Boston, Brill, en-me-bulùg-gá, en-me-du-ga, en-me-galamma, Enmerkar, F. Wiggermann, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Gilgamesh, Groningen, Helge Kvanvig, Inanna and Enki, K. van der Toorn, Kish, Marduk, Marshall Jones Company, me, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Mushhushshu, Nungalpiriggal, Stephen Herbert Langdon, Sumeria, Sumerian King List, T. Busch, The Mythology of All Races, Tiamat, Uruk, W. van Binsbergen
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Lenzi: Human apkallū are a Later Inclusion

Lenzi states that human apkallū in lists deriving from rituals were artificially grafted onto ancient texts.

Published: July 28, 2015
Filed Under: 1937, 1966, 1974, 1992, 2002, 2008, Alan Lenzi, Ancient Magic and Divination, apkallū, apkallē sūt Eridu likpidūšunūti ana lemuttim, apkallē sūt Eridu lipaššihū zumuršu, Archiv für Orientforschung, Archiv für Orientforschung Beiheft, Benjamin Foster, Berlin, Brill, bīt mēseri, Die assyrische Beschwörungssammlung Maqlû, Ea, Eisenbrauns, Emanuel Tov, Enmerkar, Gerhard Meier, Incantations, JANER, Leiden, Maqlû, May the seven sages of Eridu give his body relief, May the seven sages of Eridu plan evil for them, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits, Mesopotamian Witchcraft: Toward a History and Understanding of Babylonian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature, Michael Fishbane, Nungalpirigal, nēmeqi nikilti Ea iqbû, Orientalia, Ritual and Incantation: Interpretation and Textual History of Maqlû, Sanders, Shaharei Talmon, Studien zur Beschwörungssammlung Maqlu, Styx, The Uruk List of Kings and Sages and Late Mesopotamian Scholarship, Tzvi Abusch, ULKS, Weston W. Fields, Wiggerman, Winona Lake, Wisdom and the Gods in Ancient Mesopotamia, ši-ma apkallē ša Apsî
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Nakamura: The Common Terrain Shared by Myth and Iconography

“After this “enlivening,” the āšipu then molds this clay into various figures of power and protection, in effect reenacting the divine creation of humans from the clay of the apsû, the primordial underground freshwater ocean. (Similar narratives of the creation of humankind reiterate a trope of the divine formation of being from clay. In the […]

Published: July 23, 2015
Filed Under: 1903, 1904, 1983, 1992, 1993, 2005, Archaeologies of materiality, Assyria, Black and Green, Carolyn Nakamura, Ea, Enki, Enki and Ninmah, Green, Incantation, Magic, Magician, Mastering matters: magical sense and apotropaic figurine worlds of Neo-Assyria, Mesopotamia, Myth, Taussig, Thompson, Utukki Limnuti, Wiggermann, āšipu
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Nakamura: Magic’s Perception and Performance

Bodily Sense: Magic’s Perception and Performance Mimesis asserts a gesture of expression that “retrieves the world and remakes it” (Merleau-Ponty 1973:78), and I am interested in how the Neo-Assyrian figurine deposits, as such gestures, retrieve and remake a protected world. Figurines, as miniature bodily forms petrified in clay or stone, are distinct works of wonder; […]

Published: July 23, 2015
Filed Under: 1957, 1973, 1979, 1992, 1993, 2005, Archaeologies of materiality, Benjamin, Carolyn Nakamura, exorcist, figurines, Frazer, Magic, Magical Correspondences, Mastering matters: magical sense and apotropaic figurine worlds of Neo-Assyria, Merleau-Ponty, Myths of Babylonia and Assyria, Priest, Taussig, Walter Benjamin, Wiggermann, āšipu
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Nakamura–Rimbaud’s Derangement of All the Senses, Magic, and Archeology

“Curiously, archaeological research has not fully exploited the evocative cooperation between text, iconography, material, and deposition in this apotropaic practice. Rather, it has been the art historical and Assyriological traditions that have provided the most thorough deliberations on the ritual. Iconographic analyses present detailed visual descriptions of the figurines (Klengel-Brandt 1968; Rittig 1977; Van Buren […]

Published: July 19, 2015
Filed Under: 1931, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, A General Theory of Magic, Archaeologies of materiality, Assyria, Brandt, Carolyn Nakamura, Deleuze, Ellis, figurines, Gosden, Green, Klengel, Klengel-Brandt, Magic, Mastering matters: magical sense and apotropaic figurine worlds of Neo-Assyria, Mauss, Meskell, Mesopotamia, Neo-Assyrian, Pels, Rimbaud, Rittig, Ritual, Van Buren, Wiggermann
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Carolyn Nakamura on the Figurines

Mastering Matters: Magical Sense and Apoptropaic Figurine Worlds of Neo-Assyria Introduction: Magical Figures from the Past “When contemplating certain deposits unearthed during the excavations at Nimrud in the 1950s, Max Mallowan remarked, “this magical practice had an immensely long survival, as witness the nursery rhyme: Four corners to my bed, Four angels round my head, […]

Published: July 19, 2015
Filed Under: 1800 CE, 1926, 1935, 1950, 1966, 1977, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2005, 612 BCE, 858 BCE, apkallū, Assur, Assyria, Aššur, Babylonia, Carolyn Nakamura, Curtis, Curtis and Read, fantastical beings, figurines, fish-apkallū, Fort Shalmaneser, Gurney, horned snakes, human-beast hybrids, KAR 298, Khorsabad, Magical Figures from the Past, Mastering Matters: Magical Sense and Apoptropaic Figurine Worlds of Neo-Assyria, Max Mallowan, mid-1900's CE, Neo-Assyria, Nimrud, Nineveh, Oates, Read, Rittig, Ritual, Room S57, Shalmaneser III, Sin-shar-ishkun, Smith, sun-dried clay, Ur, Wiggermann, Woolley, šēp lemutti ina bīt amēli parāsu
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On the Fish-Apkallu

“Lamaštu amulets: The fish-apkallū on Lamaštu amulet 2 (and 4?), exactly like the ūmu-apkallū on Lamaštu amulets 3 and 61, has his left hand on the bed of the sick man. The right hand is slightly damaged, but probably greeting. Wrong hand: Occasionally apkallū are attested holding the bucket in their right hand: AfO 28 57f. 30 (above IIiI/6), Lamaštu […]

Published: July 15, 2015
Filed Under: 1926, 1992, 3d Millennium, ActAntHung, Adapa, AfO, Amulets, Anenlilda, Angular Object, AnSt, apkallū, ASKT, Assyriology, AWL, Babyloniaka, BaMB, Barton, Bauer, Benito, Berossos, bird-apkallū, Borger, bīnūt apsî, bīt mēseri, Cagni, Calmeyer, CANES, carp of the sea, Cone, creatures of apsû, Dish, Enki, Enki and Ninmah, Enki and the World Order, Enkum, Erra, F.A.M. Wiggermann, FGrH, Finkelstein, Fish-Man, Foster, Frond, FuB, Groningen, Hallo, hemidaimones, HSAO, IIISET, Iran, Jacoby, JAOS, JCS, JNES, JRAS, Kassite, KAT, Kawami, Kleinplastik, Kolbe, Komoróczy, Kulullû, Lamaštu, Lamaštu Amulets, Lambert, Lugalbanda, Maqlû, MBI, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, MSL, Ninkum, NUN.ME.KA X ME/GANA2f, Oannes, OrNS, PBS, Picchioni, purād tāmti, Reade, Reliefbronzen, Reliefprogramme, Rittig, S. Mayer Burstein, SANE, Seven Antediluvian Sages, Seven Apkallū of Eridu, Seven Children of Apsû, Smith, Staff, Stick, Sumerian, TCL, TCS, UET, Ukg., Ur, UVB, van Dijk, van Dijk-Mayer, VAS, who were grown in the river, Wiggermann, Wilcke, ZA, Zimmern, ša ina nāri ibbanú, ūmu-apkallū
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Bird Apkallu, Characterized as Griffin Demons

Excerpt: “…the griffin-demon does not stem from Babylonia; there he is attested first on the assyrianizing robe of Nabû-mukîn-apli holding cone and bucket…”

Published: July 15, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, 1st Millennium, Assyria, Babylonia, Babylonian Magical Texts, bit mēseri, Brinkman, Collon, Cone, Essays Wilkinson, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Frond, Griffin Demon, Groningen, King, Kleinplastik, Klengel Brandt, Kolbe, Madhloom, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Nabû-mukîn-apli, Parker, Reade, Rittig, Staff, Sumer, Syria
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On the Names of the Umu-Apkallu

“History. The name-like designations of the ūmu-apkallū are artificial and systematic; they do not even pretend to be historical realities. The names all start with ūmu / UD and may have been grafted on the u4- and p i r i g – names of other apkallū (Güterbook ZA 42103, Hallo JAOS 83 175, Reiner […]

Published: July 6, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, Antediluvian Sages, apkallū, Assyria, Babylon, Bad-tibira, balātu, Berossos, bird-apkallū, Eridu, Euphrates, Exorcism, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Finkelstein Memorial Volume, Güterbook, Groningen, Hallo, Iraq, J. Bottéro, JAOS, JSC, Keš, Kleinplastik, Kullab, Lagaš, Larak, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, nadānu, Nippur, nūru, nūru rabû ša apsî, Oannes, OrNS, pirig, Pirig-gal-abzu, Postdiluvian Sages, r a, Reiner, Rittig, s a g - g i š - r a, S. Mayer Burstein, SANE, Sippar, sum, Sumeria, umu-apkallu, Ur, UVB, z i, z i - u d - s ù - r a, ZA, Šuruppak, š e ES, šagšu, še, ūmu, ūmu ša ana šagši balāta inamdinu, ūmu-apkallū
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Things that Apkallu Hold

” … we present a survey of the objects in the hands of apkallū on reliefs, seals, and in the Kleinplastik. The survey is not meant to be complete. It is based on the recent treatments of Rittig (Kleinplastik), Kolbe (Reliefprogramme), and Reade (BaM 10 17ff.). Lamaštu amulets: Occasionally on Lamaštu amulets (2, 3, 5, 20 […]

Published: July 6, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, agê ramāni-šunu, agû, Amulets, Anthropomorphic, Apkallu, banduddū, bird-apkallū, bucket, CAD, CANES, deer, e'ru, F.A.M. Wiggermann, fish-apkallū, front, greets, greets/sprig, Groningen, Horns of Divinity, Hrouda, il bīti, Incantations, Iraq, Kleinplastik, Kolbe, Kulturg., Lamaštu, mace, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Ra, Reade, Reliefprogramme, Reliefs, Rittig, Rituals, Seals, sprig, VAR, Ward, Winged, Zwangerschap en Geboorte, ūmu-apkallū
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On the Mullilu, the “cleaner,” the Purification Instrument of the Apkallu Exorcist

“–mullilu, “purification instrument” (literally: “cleaner”). When it is agreed upon that a word denoting the cone, the most common object in the hands of the bird-apkallū and the fish-apkallū, must appear among the terms denoting objects held by the apkallū in ritual I/II, this word can only be mullilu. The identification of mullilu as denoting the […]

Published: July 5, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, AASOR, AcOR, AfOB, Akkad, Apkallu, Bam, banduddu, bird-apkallu, Bleibtreu, CAD, cleaner, Cone, cornel, Date Palm, Date-Palm, e'ru, Essays Wilkinson, F.A.M. Wiggermann, fish-apkallu, Flora, FuB, Genge, Groningen, Hrouda, Kleinplastik, Klengel-Brandt, Kolbe, Landsberger, libbi gisimmari, libbi gišimmari, Lugal, Madhloon, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, mullilu, Parker, Porada, Purification Instrument, Purification Ritual, Purifier, Reliefprogramme, Reliefs, rikbu, Rittig, Sacred Tree, Seals, Stearns, Sumer, Syncretism, terinnu, umu-apkallu, urigallu, van Dijk
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On the Banduddu, or Bucket

“–banduddû, “bucket”. Banduddû unquestionably denotes the bucket held by many figures of the reliefs, cf. Frank LSS III/3 671, Zimmern ZA 35 151, Smith JRAS 1926 70913, Hrouda Kulturgeschichte 77, Madhloom Chronology 109ff., Kolbe Reliefprogramme Type IIA, VI, IIB, IIC. The object is attested also in the hands of clay figures: Rittig Kleinplastik 70ff. (bird-apkallu), […]

Published: July 5, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, a ù - m u - e - s ù, Accad, AfOB, Akkad, b a - a n, b a - a n- dug - dug, Babylon, banduddu, BBR, bird-apkallu, breast, bucket, CAD, Chronology, Civil, clay, cornel, d ug, dug - patāru, e'ru, Ea, Eames, Ensimah, exorcist, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Falkenstein, fish-apkallu, flowing vase, Frank, gi b a - a n - dug - dug, gi ba-an-dug-dug gi a-1á gliš-GAMI -m a šu u m-ti-en / í d ka - min - na a, Gottertypentext, Groningen, hegallu, Hrouda, Incantations, irigallu, JRAS, KAR, Kleinplastik, Kolbe, Kulturgeschichte, kusarikku, libbi gisimmari, LSS, Madhloom, Marduk, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, MIO, mouth of the twin rivers, mullilu, NSGU, Oppenheim, OrNS, ptr, Reliefprogramme, Rittig, Smith, Spells, Stearns, Steinkeller, Studies Oppenheim, to caulk, umu-apkallu, urmahlullu, VAS, wax, ZA, Zimmern
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Statues in Private Rooms, the apkallū, “Sages.”

“In the bedroom (kummu, cf. III.B.6), the “place of life” (AAA 22 88:146f.), at the head of the bed of the threatened man, the seven anthropomorphic ūmu-apkallū, the “leading sages” (cf. II.A.3.1), are stationed. The seven bird-apkallū are buried against the wall at the head of the bed, but in an adjoining room (uncertain, cf. […]

Published: July 5, 2015
Filed Under: 1992, 612 BCE, 860 BCE, 865 BCE, 911 BCE, AO 19849, AO 22198, Apkallu, Assyria, banduddu, Biblical Calah, bird-apkallū, BM 098061, bone of divinity, buckets, bīnū šamê, bīnūt apsê, cornel, creatures of apsû, creatures of heaven, Datepalm, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, DIA 47.181, dwarf ash, e'ru, Ea, Eames, F.A.M. Wiggermann, fish-apkallū, France, Genava, gis HUL.DÚB.BA GIŠ NAM.TI.LA, gis TUKUL MA.NU, Glasgow, Grayson, Groninegen, I. Finkel, Iraq, K. Dellar, Kalhu, kummu, kussiu, Landsberger, Ledgers and Prices, London, Lorbeer, Louvre, Lurel, mace the hits evil, Marduk, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Michigan, mullilu, Nimrud, Oppenheim, Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, Paris, Sacred Tree, Sages, salmū sākip lemnūti ša Ea u Marduk, salmī annūtu, Salonen, Seven Leading Sages, Seven Sages, seven ūmu-demons, Snell, Sollberger, Sumeria, tamarisk, Temple of Ninurta, The British Museum, the creatures of apsû, the mace of e'ru, the mace of Marduk, Thompson, tree cone, UDUG HUL EDIN.NA DAGALLA, VII u4-mu gis TUKUL dAMAR.UTU, Wasserfahrzeuge, wood of life, ūmu-apkallū
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Mesopotamian Apotropaic Gods and Monsters

“It remains, however, that art expresses theological development less clearly than the written sources. The types of art and their contexts were fixed in the third millennium, and only minor changes are allowed through time. Most of the supernatural beings treated in this book become defeated adversaries of gods at some point in their history, but […]

Published: June 29, 2015
Filed Under: 1985, 1986, 1992, 1st Millennium BCE, 3d Millennium BCE, AAA, Accession Number 1984.348, Amulet, Assyrisch-babylonische Kleinplastik magischer Bedeutung vom 13.-6. Jh. v Chr, bīt mēseri, D. Kolbe, D. Rittig, Demons, Die Reliefprogramme religiös-mythologischen Characters in neu-assyrischen Palästen, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Groningen, Hanpa, Iran, Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux, James N. Spear, JEOL, K 2987B+, KAR, KAR 298, Lamashtu, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, O. R. Gurney, Pazuzu, Plague, Ritual for the Substitute King, Studies in Babylonian Demonology, The Hairy One, The Staff of Ninšubura: Studies in Babylonian Demonology II, Underworld, West Wind
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Lahmu, “The Hairy One,” is Not Apkallu

“The Babylonian scientific and religious texts reveal the names of over three thousand gods and demons, members of local and national pantheons. Most, if not all, play a part in cult or magic, and must have been represented in some form. Gods and demons, cult and magic, are the main subjects of Babylonian art, but generally […]

Published: June 29, 2015
Filed Under: 1936, 1941, 1953, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1st Millennium BCE, 2014, 2d Millennium BCE, 800 BCE, Abzu, Akkad, Alasdair Livingstone, Amulets, Anshar, Apkallu, Apsu, Assyria, B. Landsberger, Babylonia, Boundary Stones, British Museum, Bull Man, Bull-Son-of-the-Sun, bīt mēseri, Cult, Demons, Die Unterweltsvision eines assyrischen Kronprinzen, E. Eberling, E. Köcher, E. Rochberg-Halton, Eisenbrauns, Enki, Enuma Elish, Epic of Creation, Eridu, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Göttertypentext, Groningen, GUD.DUMU.dUTU, H.W.F. Saggs, Helsinki, hero with six curls, JEOL, K 2987B+, K. Frank, Kishar, kusarikku, Lahamu, Lahmu, Lakhmu, Lamashtu, Lamaštu, Lamaštu: An Edition of the Canonical Series of Lamaštu Incantations and Rituals and Related Texts from the Second and First Millennia BC, Language, London, Magic, MAOG, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Mitteilungen des Instituts für Orientforschung (MIO), Naked Hero, Pazuzu, Reallexikon der Assyriologie (RlA), Ritual, State Archives of Assyria (SSA), The Hairy One, Tiamat, Unterweltsvision, W. von Soden, Walter Farber, ZA
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Editorial Note on the Apkallu and the Roadmap Ahead

I am breaking the narrative stream to speak directly to the process emerging from our reading on the apkallū, the antediluvian and postdiluvian sages of ancient Mesopotamia. If you are reading along over my shoulder, you noticed that we digressed from Martin Lang, “Mesopotamian Early History and the Flood Story,” in a post titled On the Date of the Flood. Martin […]

Published: June 22, 2015
Filed Under: 1939, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, About Samizdat, Adapa, Adapa and the South Wind: Language Has the Power of Life and Death, Adapa Myth, Ahiqar, Alan Lenzi, Anat, Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, Antediluvian Medical Tablet, Anthony Green, Anu, Anu Cult, Apkallu, Archaeologies of materiality, Armin Lange, Ashirah, Ashurbanipal, Astarte, Athirat, Babylonia, Bel, Berossos, Brill, Burnt Palace, Cain, Carolyn Nakamura, Children of El, Chouser, Christoph Auffarth, Clay Pit Ritual, Composite Beings in Neo-Babylonian Art, Constance Ellen Gane, D.T. Tsumura; Sources for Biblical and Theological Study, David P. Melvin, Dedicating Magic--Neo-Assyrian Apotropaic Figurines and the Protection of Assur, Dedicating Magic: Neo-Assyrian Apotropaic Figurines and the Protection of Assur, Derangement of All the Senses, Divine Mediation and the Rise of Civilization in Mesopotamian Literature and in Genesis 1-11, E. Noort, Edgar W. Conrad, Edward G. Newing, Eisenbrauns, Enoch, Erica Reiner, F. Garcia Martinez, F.A.M. Wiggermann, Fort Shalmaneser, Francis I. Andersen, G.P. Luttikhuizen, Gane, Gebhard J. Selz, Genesis, Great Year, Greek, H.S. Kvanvig, Helge Kvanvig, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (IDD), Interpretations of the Flood, Iraq, Izre'el, JANER, Johannes Haubold, K.4023, Kephalon, Lahmu, Lamassu, Library of Ashurbanipal, Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Martin Lang, Mastering matters: magical sense and apotropaic figurine worlds of Neo-Assyria, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian Early History and the Flood Story, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits--The Ritual Texts, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts, Mischwesen, Mischwesen A, Mischwesen B, Nakamura, Neo-Assyrian Apotropaic Figures, Neo-Babylonian Period, Nephilim, Nikarchos, Nimrod, Odakon, Of Heroes and Sages--Considerations of the Early Mesopotamian Background of Some Enochic Traditions, On the Date of the Flood, Orientalia, Origins of the Adapa Myth, Pausanias, Perspectives on Language and Text: Essays and Poems in Honor of Francis I. Andersen’s Sixtieth Birthday, Pliny, Primeval History, R.S. Hess, Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie (RLA), Rimbaud, Ronald Hendel, Roots of Apocalyptic: The Mesopotamian Background of the Enoch Figure and the Son of Man, Rykele Borger, Samizdat, Schlomo Izre'el, Seleucid, Seleucids, Seven Sages of Sumeria, Stephanie Dalley, Strabo, Sumeria, Sumerian King List, Swiss National Science Foundation, The Conflagration, The Dead Sea Scrolls in Context, The Deluge, The Etiological Myth of the "Seven Sages", The Fall of the Angels, The Flood, The Hairy One, The Incantation Series Bīt Mēseri and Enoch’s Ascension to Heaven, The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, The Mesopotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nephilim, The Nephilim Were on the Earth: Genesis 6:1-4 and its Ancient Near Eastern Context, The Stories of the Great Flood: Notes on Genesis 6:5-9:17 in its Context of the Ancient Near East, The Uruk List of Kings and Sages, The Uruk List of Kings and Sages and Late Mesopotamian Scholarship, The World of Berossos, Thorkild Jacobsen, Ugarit, University of California, University of Chicago Press, University of Zurich, Wiggermann, Winona Lake, WMANT, World Archeology, āšipu
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