The contest scene in EDIII Mesopotamian glyptic art

Abstract

Four protagonists—two heroes, a bull-man and a human-headed bull—appear in Early Dynastic III contest scenes, engaged as a rule in guarding herbivores against predators. Contrary to common opinion, the protected herbivores represent wild species rather than domesticated ones. The paper discusses the role of the beings depicted in contest scenes, the interactions between them, and the accompanying secondary motifs. Rather than being a purely ornamental arrangement of random decorative elements, these scenes—which come in several composition variants and offer some intricacies of interpretation—are found to be coherent and bestowed with a deeper mythological meaning. The author proposes associations with either Utu/Shamash or the mountainous region to the east of Mesopotamia, both of which point to the eastern horizon, which is the place of the rising Sun-god, a liminal location bestowed with symbolism of rebirth, where fates are determined and judgments are passed. It is there that one should search for the setting of the perpetual contest depicted in Mesopotamian glyptic.

Keywords

• Early Dynastic period
• bull-man
• human-headed bull
• Utu/Shamash
• heroes
• Anzu bird