Divine Natural Order

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 174-175

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

That the figure of the major or principal goddess is often depicted in generic form may have enabled each ethnic or local group or individual to ‘see-in’ their own deity. The ‘scribe’ with the Semitic name Ili-Ištar could
see Ištar in the en face goddess on his seals (fig. 20), while a Sumerian viewer could see an image of Inana. The goddess with grain-like plants could be seen as Akkadian Ašnan or Sumerian Ezina. 730 This also applies to other images of grain goddesses (figs. 22-24) or the goddess with a child on her lap (figs. 27-29) who would be Nintur or Ninḫursaĝa for Sumerians or Mama/i for Akkadians. Visual flexibility of diffuse, generic forms of deities– e.g., goddess with flowing vase (figs. 20, 25), and/or with plants sprout ing from her shoulders or dress (figs. 20. 23, 25) or holding a plant (figs. 21, 24)
or a mace (fig. 19), or with cup in her hand (fig. 33) – may have facilitated syncretism and fusion of deities, especially those who were “not fully distinct from each other, and had fluid selves”. 731

Goddesses are relatively often shown in presentation, libation or offering scenes, or a combination of these rituals. The presentation scene in which a human and a deity meet face to face is an Akkadian invention but still relatively rare (figs. 16, 18, 25, 26). 732 When the theme first appeared in images it was, according to Henriette A. Groenewegen-Frankfort, “startling and original … when seen against the foil of early Sumerian art”. 733 In some scenes the worshipper is ‘presented’ by a Lamma goddess, 734 who may stand behind...

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[727 This seal was found in grave PG 35 at Ur, dated by Nissen (1966: 49) to the Neo-Sumerian period; it may have been a heirloom dating to the transitory period between the end of the Akkadian dynasty in 2193 BCE and the beginning of Ur III in 2112 BCE (cf. Ludovico
2008). Cf. also presentation scenes with principal goddess in Woolley 1934: pl. 211 nos. 294, 295 from PG 1859, dated by Nissen (1966: 51) to the Neo-Sumerian period. See further in this Chapter section 3 n. 816.
728 A goddess without attribute or symbol before whom a man pours libation is depicted on a seal from a private grave at Ur: Collon 1982: no. 226.
729 Boehmer 1965: 97 with n. 16.
730 Ezina is an old major goddess; on Ezina/Ašnan, see Chapters II.B.1, II.B.2 and II.B.3 in this volume.
731 Sommer 2009: 12. See also Chapters II.A and II.B.3 in this volume.
732 Haussperger 1991: 120-140.
733 Groenewegen-Frankfort 1987: 166.
734 On Lamma goddesses, see below section 3.2.]
..a woman pouring a libation (fig. 18), or lead a man with a sacrificial kid before Inana/Ištar (fig. 16). Worshippers can also be shown pouring a libation (fig. 17) or bringing an offering (fig. 19) for a goddess without being accompanied by a Lamma. In Early Dynastic images it is often a n**e priest who pours the libation (fig. 6) or holds the spouted libation vessel, 735 but on Akkadian seals the n**e priest is a rare figure, more common are a clothed man or woman pouring a libation (figs. 15, 17, 18, 19). 736 Although altars are
occasionally depicted in Early Dynastic offering scenes, 737 Akkadian images show not only a greater variety of altars but also a specific association between altar and type of offerings: meat and other foods as well as incense burners are placed on stepped altars (figs. 16, 17, 18?), incense and libations are set or poured on an hour-shaped altar (figs. 15, 19). Libation can also be poured over a stepped altar (figs.17, 18). These altars were movable as temples had no permanent offering altars. 738
pg. 174-175

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 173-174

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

The majority of goddesses are shown in profile, enthroned as major or principal figure in ritual scenes (figs. 17-19, 21, 25-29, 32-34), and/or receiving a single deity or a group of deities (figs. 12, 22, 23). 723 The seated deity may be positioned on the left or right side; the latter becomes normative on Neo-Sumerian seals. Occasionally the principal goddess, in particular Inana/Ištar, is shown standing (figs.12, 13, 20, 35). 724 A standing instead of seated principal goddess is occasionally shown in post-Akkadian presentation scenes. 725 When the principal goddess has one or both hands free she usually acknowledges the presence of other deities and/or mortals by raising one hand (figs. 15-18, 20, 21, 26). Into the Old Babylonian period the enthroned goddess raising one hand remains the canonical image of major goddess. Rare are images of a Lamma-type goddesses leading or standing behind a worshipper (figs. 16, 18, 25, 26).

Except for those deities with specific iconography (e.g., Inana/Ištar, the sun-god Utu/Šamaš, the god of wisdom Ea/Enki, the storm-god Iškur/Adad, images are frequently diffuse and may not depict an individual deity in the Akkadian or Sumerian pantheons but rather a ‘type’ of deity whose function or domain may be indicated by attribute(s) or symbol(s). 726 For example, the seated goddess in the upper register on a seal from a private grave at Ur (fig. 18) may be Ningal as the only symbol is a crescent, the symbol of...

________________________
[...Amiet 1976; 12 fig. 7, 125 no. 6; Nigro 1998. Of the deity only the lower part of the garment, a small part of foot and pedestal, an outstretched left hand, and part of a staff with mace head are preserved.
721 Boehmer 1965: figs. 352, 378, 379. Compare also Frankfort 1939: 116; Amiet 1976, 53, 57, 136 no. 102.
722 For identification as Ištar, see Boehmer 1965: 55, 65.
723 Many of these scenes may represent an audience where a high ranking deity receives lower ranking ones; cf. Zgoll 2006a: 108.
724 For more examples, see Boehmer 1965: pl. 32; Colbow 1991.
725 E. g., Legrain 1951: nos. 516, 524.
726 Boehmer 1965: 45-46; Boehmer classified Akkadian seals accordingly.]
..her spouse, the moon-god Nanna. 727 Occasionally a goddess is shown without any attribute or symbol as on the seal owned by a woman named Šaša (fig. 17). 728 Offerings (perhaps bread and leg of an animal729) and an incense bowl from which rise flames (or perhaps smoke) stand on an altar over and upon which flows the liquid poured by Šaša. On another seal an incense bowl is placed on an altar in front of Inana/Ištar (fig. 16), while on a second seal smoke or flames rise from the altar in front of a goddess holding a scepter (fig. 19).
pg. 173-174

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 172-173

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

That the Akkadian pantheon is more androcentric than Sumerian pantheons is reflected in narrative images largely centering on gods and in the pre-ponderant number of seals featuring gods rather than goddesses. Although images with a principal goddess or several goddesses do not exhibit gender bias, Akkadian influence is evident not only in style and iconography but also in new concepts of representation. 717 This is particularly valid for images of Ištar, Akkad’s only goddess of importance and the goddess most frequently depicted on seals. 718 To accentuate her status, various frontal views (en face, partial or full frontality) are the most common visual forms. Furthermore, the lion becomes her attribute, either decorating her throne (figs. 15, 16) or as a trampled animal on which she sets one or both feet (figs. 12, 16). 719 Ištar is nearly always shown with maces on her shoulders (figs. 12, 15, 16, 20), signs of her warrior aspect; some images show her also with wings (fig. 12). 720 In...

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[714 On myths, epics and legends depicted on seals, see Collon 1987: 178-181; on Early Dynastic mythological and narrative images, see Frankfort 1939: 62-79; Amiet 1980; Karg 1984. Steinkeller (1992) suggests that some motifs on Akkadian seals originate from unknown Semitic mythology.
715 On Akkadian divine headdresses, see Collon 1982: 30-31.
716 On furniture, see Collon 1982: 32.
717 On differences between Akkadian and Sumerian pantheons, see Chapters II.B.2 and II.B.3 in this volume.
718 The goddess most often named in the royal inscriptions of Sargon, Naram-Sîn and Šarkališarri is Ištar; she does not occur in the inscriptions of Rimuš and Maništušu (Frayne 1993 [RIME 2]); Inana only occurs once in an inscription of Sargon (Frayne 1993: 27-29 [RIME 2.1.1.11: 46]) ‘Inana.ZA.ZA in Ur’ once in an inscription of Sargon’s daughter Enḫeduana (Frayne 1992: 35-36 [RIME 2.1.1.16]). The only deities occurring
in inscriptions of all kings of Akkade from Sargon to Šarkališarri are Enlil and Šamaš. In Naram-Sîn’s inscriptions more gods and goddesses are mentioned than by any other king of Akkade. The goddesses occurring in Naram-Sîn’s inscriptions are Ašnan, Nisaba, Ninkarrak, Ninḫursaĝa and Nintur together, Ninḫursaĝa in Keš (Frayne 1993: 113-114 [RIME 2.1.4.10 lines 35-36]); Ninḫursaĝa in ḪA.A is mentioned once by Maništušu
(Frayne 1993: 79-80 [RIME 2.1.3.5]. Other goddesses occurring in Akkadian royal inscriptions are Bēlet-Aya, Nin-Isina (Maništušu: Frayne 1993: 79-80 [RIME 2.1.3.4 and 2.1.3.5]), Ninĝidru and Sud (Rimuš: Frayne 1993: 72-73 [RIME 2.1.2.2001]).
719 On the association of Inana/Ištar with lion, see Groneberg 2000; 304-308; Cornelius 2009.
720 Boehmer 1965: pl. # # ; Colbow 1991: pls. 3, 4; A. Westenholz 1999: 78-85. Presumably the fragmentary figure of the deity opposite Sargon of Akkade on a victory stele is the goddess Ištar enthroned, rendered en face and holding a net with captives; see...]
..one image Ištar holds a ring-like object and stands next to scenes of theomachy (fig. 13); other images show her participating in the battle of gods. 721
Although the combination of theomachy and warrior goddess is not unusual, in one image her throne and weap on are exceptional (fig. 14): 722 she sits on a ‘theomorphic’ mountain from which protrude head, one arm and feet of a slain god; the weap on in her right hand is composed of three maces and two
spearheads, two further maces sprout from her back. In front of the goddess stands a small hour-glass-shaped altar over which a minor god extends his hands apparently asking Ištar for help. This is one of the few scenes showing Ištar in profile with a weapon in her hand, and not as goddess venerated by other deities and/or humans.
pg. 172-173

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 171-172

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

Wilfred G. Lambert (1997c: 2) argued “that art forms of the time did not allow a differentiation of gods by physical, facial appearance”. But such differentiation was never an aim – physical appearance of deities in image always emphasizes divinity over individuality. Consequently, the basic visual forms in representation of deities remained rather stable for centuries as they
became established and immediately recognizable as divine image. 710 Resistance to substantially change such images is also found in pre-Renaissance and Eastern Christian religious art. Stability in form (repetition) guaranteed instant recognizability of divine or holy figures for both Mesopotamian divine images and images of Christ, Madonna and saints. 711

As discussed, cross-cultural visual recognizability is inherently problematic because analogous forms or symbols/attributes may impart very different meanings in each culture, for example, Madonna versus woman or goddess with child, or frontal images of saints versus that of deities, or the symbolism of fish, birds, moon.

The underlying interpretive problem is frequent lack of individual identity as well as overlapping of domains and functions (Chapter IV.B), the transferability of attributes and symbols to several deities such as bird, lion, scorpion, snake, deer, goat, sheep, plants, cup, and additionally that a deity may have more than one symbol. 712

Particularly in the Early Dynastic period, when images of deities were created, the employment of attributes and symbols like multiple maces and plants may have been less discriminating than in subsequent periods. While many iconographic details were replaced during the Akkadian Period, a lasting ‘canon’ of effective ‘icons’ was developed in Early Dynastic religious imagery where goddesses occupy exalted positions.

2. Akkadian Innovative Images

In the Akkadian period, the variety of themes, motifs, and figures is greater than in the Early Dynastic or post-Akkadian periods. 713 New mythological...

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[709 Compare Chapter II.A in this volume. See Groneberg (2000) on animals as divine attributes and symbols predominantly in later periods.
710 In general, correspondence between form and meaning (i.e. iconicity) was more important than individual traits or features, see also images of rulers, e.g. Braun-Holzinger 2007.
711 Belting 1990; Antonova 2010.
712 Black and Green 1992; Groneberg 2000; Selz 2010.
713 About fifty percent of the seals show contest scenes: Boehmer 1965; Collon 1982; 1987:
32-40; Zettler 2007: 14-20.]
..and religious themes appear in signifi cant numbers fi rst and only on Akkadian seals. 714 Among the iconographic innovations are divine headdresses,
including those that became ‘canonical’: the so-called ‘horned crown’ with either one or multiple pairs of horns. In some images, high-ranking deities are distinguished by a multiple-horned crown from low ranking ones with a single horned crown (figs. 12, 15, 16, 20, 25). 715 Other signs of distinction are more elaborate thrones, 716 different offering altars, and inscribed individual seals depicting the owner (figs. 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31).
pg. 171-172

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 170-171

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

Figural images of identifiable goddesses fi rst appear during the reign of Ur-Nanše (ca. 2550) and by the end of the Early Dynastic period visual forms of deities were created that became the matrix for Akkadian images.
The horned crown (in a changed version) becomes the essential divine identifier; long hair and a dress covering the chest become the gender markers of feminine divinities. In several images emphasis is on the goddess’ head, with the horned crown as sign of divinity, and extremely voluminous hair and disproportionately large eyes (figs. 5-7, 9, 10). Huge eyes are associated with the importance of the ‘gaze of goddesses’, 707 and hair is a sign of female beauty repetitively mentioned in texts.

Two basic images were ‘invented’ and developed during the Early Dynastic period:

I. the enthroned goddess as main figure:
a. depicted in profile view,
b. depicted with en face head and upper part of body;
II. standing or walking goddess in profile view.

Gods and goddesses may also be differentiated, aside from a beard, by size and/or positioning in the composition indicating rank, particularly in narrative scenes (fig. 8). Several goddesses have attributes on their shoulders that sometimes resemble maces (figs. 6-8), often a symbol of Inana, 708 and several
goddesses hold in their hands a short date cluster and cup, or cup and fish, or just a cup (figs. 5, 7, 9, 11). That, for example, cup, date cluster or symbols...

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[704 For more images of a goddess in a boat, see Boehmer 1965: Figs. 478-480. On Nanše and boats, see Heimpel 1998-2001: s.v. “Nanše”: 157; Alster 2005b. Our knowledge about the symbolic meaning of most birds is still rudimentary, see in this Chapter section 3.3.2.For references to goddesses flying (away) like a bird, see Heimpel 1968: 380-457. There is no study on the symbolisms of birds, but a bird can be a positive as well as negative symbol. The association of birds with message bringing or leaving a place is rather general and universal (see, e.g., Weszeli 2006-2008, and in this Chapter section 3.3.2). Not very useful in this context is Jeremy Black “The Imagery of Birds in Sumerian Poetry” in Mesopotamian Poetic Language: Sumerian and Akkadian, ed. M.E. Vogelzang and H. Vanstiphout, Groningen: Styx Publications, 1996, 23-46.
705 On the problems concerning differentiating goose and swan (Anserini), see in this Chapter section 3.3.2. On cormorants, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormorant.
706 Veldhuis 2004: 24-25,
707 See Asher-Greve 2003.
708 Colbow 1991; Asher-Greve 2003.]
..on shoulders are associated with different deities, suggests that flexibility concerning attributes and symbols pertains to domains and functions shared by several goddesses (see below and Chapter II.A). 709
pg. 170-171

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 169-170

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

Another image reminiscent of the goddess on the votive relief is described in Nanše and Her Fish: “she (Nanše) holds a fi sh like a staff in her hand, it is (there as her emblem)”. 700 As Bendt Alster (2005b: 2) suggests, “descriptions might relate to visual images” which is confirmed in the two Nanše hymns.

Nanše was not only the proprietary goddess of the city NINA but one of the most important goddesses in the Lagašite state pantheon. 701 A votive relief with her image in Nippur may surprise but an Ur III record of expenses from Tello lists ‘Nanše of Nippur’ as recipient of an offering of fruit. 702 Already in the Early Dynastic period Nippur as religious center of Sumer received votive gifts from outside as, for example, from Entemena of Lagaš and Lugalzagesi of Uruk. 703 It cannot be excluded that the cult of ‘Nanše of Nippur’ dates back to the Early Dynastic period.

Some passages in the Nanše hymns read like a description of a statue of a goddess and its hymnic version probably spread to other places where the
‘goddess with bird’ motif was adopted for images of local deities (see below section 3.3.2). The Akkadian seal (fig. 21) shows the goddess in a boat sitting on a throne supported by two large waterfowl (Anserini). The boat is another attribute of Nanše, whereas Anserini are another example for the flexible use...

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[696 On identification of goose (or swan), see in this Chapter sections 3.3.2. and 4.1.
697 Heimpel 1998-2001: 153 s.v. “Nanše”; see also on identification of the image of ’goddess on bird’ as Nanše, Feldt 2005: 116-117.
698 Steinkeller (forthcoming) rejects Veldhuis’ translation “goose” and suggests u5 mušen “Nanše’s holy bird and also her alter ego … should probably be identified as the cormorant” characterized by “long straight beak and its perching position”; for further discussion, see in this Chapter section 3.3.2.
699 Veldhuis 2004: 117-118 (lines 1-14, 20-22); cf. Alster 2005b; 1 with n. 2.
700 Alster 2005b; for the quote, see 12-13 line iv 1.
701 Selz 1995: 181-212.
702 Heimpel 1998-2001: s.v. “Nanše”: 159 § 15.
703 Klein 1998-2001: s.v. “Nippur”: 534.]
..of divine symbols and attributes. 704 However, the bird on the Early Dynastic relief from Nippur (fig. 11) neither resembles goose, swan, or cormorant, 705 but may be a generic image of large bird, perhaps as reference to Nanše’s association with birds and as Marsh Goddess. 706
pg. 169-170

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 168-169

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

In Early Dynastic images goddesses are generally depicted either alone or in the company of a worshipper, or attendant, rarely of a god. 691 Exceptional is the image of two walking goddesses on a small nearly square Early Dynastic III shell inlay from Ur (fig. 10). 692 The leading goddess carries a staff-like
object in her right hand; her left holds the left wrist of the goddess behind her who raises her right hand. In the crude ex*****on it is unclear if her hand is just roughly incised like the hand holding her wrist or if she holds a beaker. The robe of the leading goddess is decorated with broad, crossed bands; the other goddess wears a plain robe. Form and size of this inlay
are like those of gaming boards and sound-boxes of lyres decorated with diverse themes including mythological feasts. 693 Lack of distinctly individual
features, symbols or attributes of the two goddesses allow several possible identifications. Deities are rarely depicted walking ‘hand-in-hand’, nevertheless this iconographic detail as well as the image carrier (probably gaming board or music instrument) point to a feast or banquet associated with drink suggesting identification of the sister deities Ninkasi and Siraš, goddesses of beer and brewing, respectively. Another pairing is based on a hymn to Ninkasi mentioning Enki and Ninti as her parents and emphasizing Ninkasi
was “tenderly cared for by Ninḫursaĝa”. 694 The latter (with staff and in more elaborate dress) may be shown together with Ninkasi. A third interpretation is an unidentifiable divine mother-daughter pair for which there is a human example on the stele of Ur-Nanše where his wife and daughter are shown facing each other (fig. 5). Another possible pairing is that of the divine girlfriends Ĝeštinana and Ĝeštindudu, one of the few relationships between goddesses based on friendship. 695

The earliest known image of a goddess ‘sitting’ on a large bird comes from Nippur (fig. 11) and dates to the late Early Dynastic or early Akkadian...

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[...the post-Early Dynastic periods, see Braun-Holzinger 1991: 24-25; Frayne 1993; 1997: # # -xl; 2008.
690 Asher-Greve 2006: 48-49, 53.
691 An exception is the image on an unprovenanced seal showing libation before an enthroned god and goddess in frontal view, see Asher-Greve 2003: 24, fig. 13 ( = Orthmann 1975: 133d).
692 2,9 x 2,6 cm. Woolley 1956: 170 (U.2826).
693 Woolley 1934: pls. 95-99, 103, 104; Dolce 1978.
694 ETCSL 4.23.1 (Ninkasi A); Krebernik 1998-2001: s.v. “Nin-kasi und Siraš/Siris”.
695 Black, Cunningham, et al. 2004: 80 (Dumuzid’s Dream).]
..period. 696 Preserved is half of the upper register of a votive relief, probably part of a ritual scene with a minor god leading a man carrying a kid toward the goddess holding a cup and a fish. A god leading a man with sacrificial kid to the goddess is also represented on an Akkadian seal showing a goddess in a boat (fig. 21). Nanše is the goddess whose association with birds, water-fowl and fi sh is well attested. 697 That Nanše is “attracted by the goose”698 and it becomes her favorite is described in the introductory passage of Nanše and the Birds ending with these lines (20-22): 699

Nanše, delighted in her u5mušen (“goose”),
erected a lapis lazuli shrine
and set the pure u5 mušen at her feet.
pg. 168-169

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 167-168

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

That goddesses are associated with violence is evident in another fragmentary scene on a votive relief from Tello carved in the style of the Ur-Nanše stele (fig. 9). Seated and facing left with a cup in her hand – another ‘transferable’ attribute seen in the hands of many deities – the goddess turns her back to a bearded man (king?) who beats with a club on a bald, probably
n**e man’s head with bound wrists, an iconography indicating he may represent a prisoner of war. Because of its fragmentary state, the small figure at the left of the goddess remains obscure. 687 The scene is too fragmentary for speculation about the goddess’ identity but the relief may also have depicted a victory banquet.

During the Early Dynastic period women preferred temples of goddesses for their votive gifts. Among the objects found in the Early Dynastic Inana temple at Nippur were numerous gifts donated by women, which may have also been the case at the archaic Ištar temple at Assur where many women’s statues and votive gifts were deposited. 688 But this practice changed in post-Early Dynastic times when only royal women and high priestesses donated votive gifts and their statues. 689 The cause of this change remains unknown...

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[683 Commonly referred to as the ‘Stele of the Vultures’. For good photographs, see Aruz 2003: 190-191: figs. 52-53.
684 Frayne 2008: 127-140 [RIME 1.9.3.1].
685 Selz 1995: 252-255.
686 For this interpretation, see Asher-Greve (in press).
687 According to Boese (1971: 200) the figure represents a small, bald and beardless man turned towards the left who may have been part of a libation scene.
688 Bär 2003; Dolce 2008: 669-671.
689 The number of inscribed votive gifts dedicated to goddesses decreases substantially in...]
..but perhaps results from changes in offi cial religion or cult practices. Another cause could be women’s financial situation as they may no longer have had the means for votive gifts or the right to decide independently about the use of their means. 690
pg. 167-168

Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf

Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Genderin Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by
Asher-Greve, Julia M; Westenholz, Joan Goodnick

pg. 166-167

Chapter IV:
Images

Julia M. Asher-Greve

C. Survey Through Time, Space and Places

1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period (Cont.)

These ‘iconic fi gures’ replicate not only a statue of a goddess in her temple but also her manifest presence. For the unique event of the inauguration of Inana’s temple in Lagaš a different visual formula, i.e. isolation (fig. 7), is used rather than sharing the space with a mortal as in libation scenes which depicts a repetitive ritual (fig. 6). The construction of the pictorial space has a visual function of connecting the plane of divinity with the space and time of the ritual and the external space and time of the audience.

Goddesses are rarely depicted together with a god which may be a reflection of Early Dynastic god-lists that do not list bi-gendered divine pairs (Chapter II.B.2). An exception, although not shown as equal to the god, is the goddess on the main side of the victory stele of Eanatum of Lagaš (fig. 8) dating...

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[679 I.J. Winter 2007: 133. On date clusters, see Asher-Greve 1985: 73-76 and Table 2; a date cluster in the hand of a god is rare (ibid, p. 74 n. 83).
680 ‘Frontality’ refers to figures depicted with full frontal body while the feet are generally shown in profile; ‘en face’ refers to an image of partial frontality, usually head and chest whereas the lower parts of the body are depicted in profile.
681 Asher-Greve 2003.
682 Antonova’s (2010: 154) statement in her study on icons may also be valid for ancient Mesopotamian art: “this principle of the organization of pictorial space turns the icon into a highly specific image – an image invested with the power of containing real presence.
This could question the very distinction between subject and object which lies at the heart of aesthetics”. This dense form of visual representation strengthens the message by reinforcing divine presence and power but also its connection to royal ideology (compare, e.g., Molyneaux 1997).]
..around 2450. 683 Two partially preserved figures of a goddess show her as participant in the narrative scenes connected to Eanatum’s war with Umma. The smaller size of the goddess as well as her position behind a much larger god in the upper register indicate that in this context (victory over an enemy) the god is more important than the goddess. The identities of the deities are debated based on the divine actors mentioned in the stele’s text. 684 In both scenes on the front side of the stele, god and goddess presumably represent the same couple: the parents of the state god Ninĝirsu, Enlil and Ninḫursaĝa. This identification is supported by the importance Enlil and Ninḫursaĝa have for Eanatum himself, in the stele’s text, and their status in the state pantheon of Lagaš. Further, Enlil and Ninḫursaĝa are the symbolic parents of Eanatum and the fi rst in the list of deities by whom Eanatum’s enemy, the unnamed king of Umma, has to swear oaths.685 Because the text culminates in the oaths that should guarantee peace between Lagaš and Umma, and because Enlil and Ninḫursaĝa belong to the quartet of supreme deities presiding over the pantheon, deciding the destinies of state, city, king and people, it is plausible that they are represented on the main side of Eanatum’s stele. 686
pg. 166-167