RISING OF THE SUN-GOD AS A MYTHOLOGICAL MOTIF: OLD AKKADIAN SEALS IN RELATION TO THE GILGAMESH EPIC

• Authors: Tibor Sedláček
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Old Akkadian glyptic remarks various representations of the sun-god Utu/Shamash in the aspect of its rise. This cosmological moment is definable not only on the basis of attributes which the sun-god disposes, but also other visual features are presented which complete the colour of the rise. Presented elements have analogical versions in the text namely in the Akkadian Gilgamesh Epic. Other Mesopotamian texts with cosmologic elements are used as a supplement in the practise in the comparison of seals with Epic. Seals and Epic content have in common mythological motifs in the representation of (two-) mountain, cosmic gate and the figure of a scorpion-man. The topic of the article is the rate link between glyptic and the text in the way of listed motifs. Some of the influences cannot be totally excluded mostly if we speak about the scorpion-man. If these influences had occurred they were caused only from the sides of seals on the Epic because the latter is about one millennium younger. It seems that the analogical appearance of motifs is possible to assign to the dent of cosmological and mythological imaginations retold in Mesopotamia which were used for texts and glyptic.

Keywords

EN

SUN-GOD RISING; GILGAMESH EPIC; SEALS; GLYPTIC; MYTHOLOGY; COSMOLOGY; UTU/SHAMASH; SCORPION-MAN; MESOPOTAMY; OLD AKKADIAN PERIOD

• Publisher: Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Asian and African Studies
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 190 – 210

Contributors

author

Tibor Sedláček

• Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovak Republic