Z I G G U R A T o f U R
The base of this temple still exists in southern Iraq,
near the Euphrates River. The Sumerians built
the tower more than four thousand years ago.
Mud bricks were dried in the sun, then stacked
to a height of nearly one hundred feet in order to
provide Nanna, the Sumerian Moon god, her
earthly residence in royal style.
G A T E o f I S H T A R
The Ishtar Gate was entrance to the ancient city of Babylon
and was constructed with glazed brick about 600 BC.
Around 1900 a German archeologist excavated the Gate's
remnants and reconstructed the site at a museum in Berlin.
Three animals adorn the Gate's wall in relief and they
all represent gods. Ishtar the Lion is goddess of war,
love and fertility. Adad the Bull is the god of weather,
providing both beneficial rain and destructive storms.
The patron deity of Babylon is the dragon, Marduk -
the god that triumphed over chaos and rose
to become Babylon's chief god.
U R F A M A N
Unearthed by road construction in southeastern Turkey,
this statue of a man stands over six feet tall and dates
back eleven thousand years, making it the oldest known
life-sized statue to exist. This sophisticated limestone
sculpture predates writing by six thousand years and
the pyramids of Egypt by four thousand years.
The artist has the man using his hands to hide
his genitals. Urfa Man is provided a head with
eyes, nose and ears, but curiously, is left
without a mouth.
B U L L f r o m T E L L A L - U B A I D
It was 2600 BCE and the civilizations of Mesopotamia
were busy developing their written languages to relate
their stories... their hopes and dreams set in print for
their own distant posterity to read.
The Sumerians fashioned this bull with plates made
from a copper alloy that would be cutting edge
metallurgy for its day. The thin plates were secured
to a wooden core using both nails and bitumen -
a natural tar. It still stands sturdy despite the fact
the wooden core has long since rotted away.
S A R G O N o f A K K A D
About the time the Sumerians were crafting
together their copper bull, Sargon was creating
the world's first empire made up of diverse
culture, language and nation states.
His ideas on governing were groundbreaking,
establishing a central authority that became the
model for political command and control.
He was made for politics and leadership.
His rule of the Akkadian Empire was legendary.
Someone took a legendary whack of their own
at the copper likeness of Sargon, his Magnificence.
He wrote the book on law. Literally.
His Code of Hammurabi set down in writing
282 rules that must be followed in resolving
disputes and crimes against society.
Retribution is the solution for malfeasance and
crime. An eye for an eye. If the house you built
collapsed, crushing the homeowner's son, then
you too, must suffer the death of your son.
The words of the Old Testament made for
enlightened reading by comparison.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
No comments:
Post a Comment