The Great Adventures of a Small God: New Evidence for the Divine Messenger Staff Huṭāru

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Abstract

The messenger staff Huṭāru was a non-anthropomorphic deity in the Neo-Babylonian Eanna temple of Uruk that also had a practical function: it served as a symbol of authority of the goddess Ištar during the collection of taxes and dues. In this article I edit and discuss two hitherto unpublished texts that shed new light on this little known divine object. Furthermore, I suggest its identification with the “Doppellöwenkeule”, a ceremonial mace with animal protomes that is represented alone or carried by Ištar on seals and terracotta plaques from the Old and Neo-Babylonian periods.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)139-150
Number of pages12
JournalIraq
Volume80
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Mesopotamia
  • Babylonian
  • Religion history
  • Ancient Near East
  • Archaeology

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