A Sacred Landscape of Sumer: Statuettes from Ur Depicting a Goat on a Tree
The statuettes commonly referred to as “Ram Caught in a Thicket” (2500 BC) may well be associated with what is known from later texts (2nd millennium BC) as the (daily) determining-of-the-fates ritual that occurred at sunrise. Symbolic elements (tree, rosette, leaf, possible mountain), and motifs (q...
| Published in: | Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions |
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| Authors: | ; ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
[2020]
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| In: |
Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
Year: 2020, Volume: 20, Issue: 1, Pages: 27-47 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Sumer
/ Ur
/ Figurine
/ Sun
/ Aufgang (Astronomy)
/ Ritual
/ Landscape
/ Holiness
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| RelBib Classification: | AF Geography of religion AG Religious life; material religion BC Ancient Orient; religion |
| Further subjects: | B
Sumer
B Mesopotamia B sunrise rituals B Royal Cemetery of Ur B Ram Caught in a Thicket |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The statuettes commonly referred to as “Ram Caught in a Thicket” (2500 BC) may well be associated with what is known from later texts (2nd millennium BC) as the (daily) determining-of-the-fates ritual that occurred at sunrise. Symbolic elements (tree, rosette, leaf, possible mountain), and motifs (quadruped facing a tree) occur in other media—glyptic, musical instruments—and their meaning informs the unique combination of elements found in these two statuettes. It is proposed that the statuettes are offering stands. The composition as a whole represents a sacred landscape rather than a charming genre scene. It is likely that the statuettes were associated with the daily ritual of the determining of the fates, which would push the later attestations of that ritual and the cosmological view behind it back to the mid-third millennium BC. |
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| ISSN: | 1569-2124 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of ancient Near Eastern religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15692124-12341311 |