Saeed Ahmadi Oliaei; Mohamad Azamzadeh
Abstract
This paper discusses the adaptive typology of the motif “the standing god over the animal” in ancient arts of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. The focus of attention is on Hittite ...
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This paper discusses the adaptive typology of the motif “the standing god over the animal” in ancient arts of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. The focus of attention is on Hittite civilization from Asia Minor and Babylonian, Sumerian, and Assyrian civilizations from Mesopotamia. The analysis of the results indicates that the common conformational characteristic of this motif in the aforementioned civilizations include: 1- the eminence of gods depicted as such. 2- Using this motif to generalize the credibility of gods to the wife and children. 3- Showing the symbolic relationship between the god and the animal standing over it. Furthermore, the dissimilarities of the motif between the civilizations are in this manner: 1) the evolution of this motif was in the Anatolia under the influence of neighboring civilizations, however, in Mesopotamian motifs this evolution was very much dependent on cultural and artistic achievements of that region. 2) While in both civilizations, the sun and storm gods as well as goddesses are depicted as such, the scribal god in Mesopotamia, and protective god in Hittite civilization are depicted as a standing figure over the animal. 3) There are a wide variety of animals selected and existed for this motif in Mesopotamia. 4) In Asia Minor, animals are depicted realistically while in Mesopotamia hybrid animals are used.
