lamassu

Examples of lamassu in the following topics:

• Artifacts of Assyria

  • The lamassu was a mythological guardian figure with large wings, the head of a human, and the body of a lion or a bull.
  • Originally a protective spirit to the households of Babylonian commoners, the lamassu was later adopted by Assyrian royalty to protect political and religious interests.
  • In Assyrian sculpture, lamassu figures bear similar beards and hairstyles to those of Ashurnasirpal II in the sculpture discussed above.
  • Each lamassu directed its gaze toward one of the cardinal directions, which explains why some look straight ahead and others have their heads turned.

• Architecture in Assyria

  • Among the ornamental features excavated was a monumental lamassu outside the throne room.
  • Lamassu figures abounded throughout the Assyrian Empire, featuring in the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (reigned 883-859 BCE) at Nimrud.

• Architecture in Mesopotamia

  • The gates of the Palace of Dur-Sharrukin, occupied by Sargon II, featured monumental alto reliefs of a mythological guardian figure called a lamassu (also known as a shedu), which had the head of a human, the body of a bull or lion, and enormous wings.
  • Lamassu figure in the visual art and literature from most of the ancient Mesopotamian world, going as far back as ancient Sumer (settled c. 5500 BCE) and standing guard at the palace of Persepolis (550-330 BCE).
  • This is only one example of how a lamassu would appear in Mesopotamian art.
  • In literature, some lamassu assumed female form.

• The Assyrian Culture

  • This Portal Guardian (Lamassu) from Nimrud guarded the entrance to the palace at Nimrud.
  • The winged bull figure, known as a shedu or a lamassu, was a common guardian figure in palace architecture.

• Temple Architecture in the Greek Orientalizing Period

  • Atop the entablature sat sculptures of two winged female creatures resembling the sphinx or the lamassu of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian cultures.

• Neo-Babylonia

  • Two lamassu sculptures in the round face each other in the foreground, while another reconstruction of the ziggurat Etemenanki dominates the background.

• Art and Architecture of the Achaemenid Empire

  • This attention to diversity also appears in the reliefs from the hall of Apadana, in which leaders and dignitaries from various provinces appear in regional fashions beneath a frieze punctuated by male lamassus adopted from previous Mesopotamian cultures.