Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual TextsWiggerman's study of Mesopotamian monsters bridges the gap between text and image. Wooden and clay figures of monstrous spirits such as Hairy-One (lahmu), Bison-Bull (kusarikku), and Furious-Snake (mushussu) stand guard at the entrances to buildings to protect the inhavitants from demonic intruders. Deriving his information from the ritual texts that describe the production and installation of these figures, the author identifies the monsters of the texts with objects from the archaeological record and presents a detailed discussion of the identities and histories of a variety of Mesopotamian monsters. |
Common terms and phrases
Akkadian Amiet GMA2 amulets Angim anthropomorphic Anzû apkallu apotropaic Apsû attested bašmu bedroom BiOr bison bison-man bīt mēseri Borger clay collated Cooper AnOr 52 date palm denotes Dijk DINGIR e'ru Enki Enlil evil exorcist figures fish-apkallu girtablullû giš GIŠIMMAR gods Green Iraq 45 Gudea Gurney I/iv identified incantation incipit inscription Iraq JNES 33 Kolbe Reliefprogramme kulullû kusarikku lab-šú lahmu Lamaštu Lambert Landsberger Latarak lion-demon lion-dragon Lugal Lugalbanda Lugalgirra Lulal mace Marduk Meslamtaea monsters mušhuššu myth mythology naked hero Narudda NAss Neo-Assyrian Ninazu Ningirsu Ninurta NU.MEŠ OrNS outer gate palace Porada prescribed Reade BaM Rittig Kleinplastik ritual I/II šá Šamaš SbTU scorpion-man seals Sebettu šēp lemutti snake statues suhurmāšu Sumerian tablet tamarisk text I/II text II Obv Tiamat Tišpak ugallu ūmu ūmu-apkallū uridimmu urigallu urmahlullû Uruk Uruk ex weather-beasts Wiggermann