Month: March 2015

ishtargates:

“The fabulous griffin figure evolved out of a long pictorial tradition of fantastic animals. On the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, there is a depiction of the Mushhushshu, a long-necked quadruped with the head and scaly body of a snake. This was the emblem of Marduk, war god and protector of the city. The griffin was a Susian creation of the late 4th millennium that became widespread, in many forms. An accounting tablet, for example,
bears the mark of a cylinder seal showing a winged griffin followed by
an antelope (Louvre Museum, sb4837). Many images of the griffin have
been been found dating from the Neo-Elamite period, including one in
bricks, shown passing before a tree, used as an element of architectural
decoration (Louvre Museum, sb3370). Griffins facing each other also
feature on the walls of the palace at Persepolis, built by Darius I,
like the palace at Susa. The meaning of this imaginary animal remains
unclear: it may refer to ancient Elamite religions and as such may
represent an area of the Persian empire.” [x]