Demons and Monsters in the Mesopotamian Textual and Artistic Tradition

423 Pages·2015·11.16 MB·English

They are Seven:
Demons and Monsters in the Mesopotamian Textual and Artistic Tradition

by

Gina V. Konstantopoulos

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Near Eastern Studies)
in the University of Michigan
2015

Doctoral Committee:

Professor Piotr A. Michalowski, Chair
Professor Gary M. Beckman
Associate Professor Ian S. Moyer
Associate Professor Ellen Muehlberger
Professor Daniel Schwemer, Julius Maximilians Universität Würzburg
© Gina V. Konstantopoulos 2015
Acknowledgements

I owe debts of gratitude (as well as the existence of this dissertation as anything
resembling a complete – perhaps even coherent – form) to many different people. First and
foremost, my thanks go to my dissertation committee. I am deeply grateful to have worked with
Piotr Michalowski as my advisor from the beginning of my time at Michigan, and to have had
the great privilege of so much time studying under his Sumerological wing. I am thankful to
Gary Beckman for years of careful instruction and equally dedicated care to this dissertation. Ian
Moyer agreed to join on as my cognate member and committed his careful attention to the
project. Ellen Muehlberger tirelessly read drafts, fielded questions, and was endlessly patient
with letting me know when I had gone too far afield or otherwise off-book. Daniel Schwemer
kindly agreed to sign onto the committee while I was studying with him at Würzburg, and
applied his meticulous attention to it.
I was able to spend the 2012-2013 academic year at the University of Würzburg thanks to
a fellowship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, and I could not have been
more fortunate to spend my first full year of research and writing in such a supportive
department. I would thank in particular Greta van Buylaere, Mikko Luukko, and Dahlia Shehata.
Frans Wiggermann, while visiting Würzburg, kindly shared his notes on the Sebettu with me.
In addition, my research has been made possible through several grants: the Frances
Mary Hazen Alumnae Fellowship from Mount Holyoke College, the Rackham Graduate Student
Research Grant and International Research Award, and the Margaret Ayers Host Award. Without
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this support, the research for this dissertation would not have been possible. Several museums
and institutions generously allowed me access to their collections, including; the British
Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Musée du Louvre.
If my starting of this dissertation was only possible because of one fellowship, then my
finishing it is surely thanks to another. I was able to spend my final year as a fellow in residence
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, having received the Sylvan C. Coleman and Pamela
Coleman Memorial Fund Fellowship. I owe the entire department my thanks, in particular my
supervisor and mentor, Sarah Graff, who fielded many questions concerning the final, critical
chapter on the iconography of the Sebettu. I would also thank the other ancient Near Eastern
fellow, Colette LeRoux, who handled the desperation that characterizes a final year of
dissertation writing with good grace, constant humor, and internet references.
I have been lucky to spend my time at Michigan with a fantastic and supportive cohort in
an equally supportive department. In particular, I owe thanks to my fellow ACABS students,
including: Christine Efta, Ilgi Gerçek, and Ty Bilgin, ACABS comrade-in-arms from the start.
Further, non-ACABS thanks to Noah Gardiner and Nancy Linthicum, and non-NES thanks to
Neville McFerrin and Nikki Roda.
Finally, I would thank my family, who reacted to my announcement that yes, I was going
to write about demons and monsters for the foreseeable future with an appreciated mix of
stoicism, unfailing support, and occasional comments that I leave any potential "practical
applications" out of my work. In this last regard, I will simply say that I have done my best.

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Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii
List of Appendices: ........................................................................................................................ ix
List of Abbreviations: ......................................................................................................................x
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ xiii
Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1
1.1. Prior Research ......................................................................................................................2
1.2. Arc of this study ...................................................................................................................5
1.3. Concerning Terminology: On Demons ..............................................................................10
1.3.1. Sumerian and Akkadian Transliteration and Transcription Conventions ..................14
1.3.2. Writing the Sebettu .....................................................................................................15
1.4. Why Seven? The Significance of the Number as a Group in the Ancient Near East ........15
Chapter Two - On the Nature of Demons: Protective Spirits and Demonic Dualities ..................19
2.1. "Good" Demon or "Bad" Demon: Inherent Natures and Some Statistics ..........................26
2.1.1. Concerning Pazuzu and Lamaštu ...............................................................................31
2.2. The Udug and its Ambivalence ..........................................................................................32
2.2.1. The Benevolent Udug .................................................................................................40
2.3. The šēdu .............................................................................................................................45
2.4. The Benevolent Lama ........................................................................................................48
2.5. The Occasionally Malevolent Lama ..................................................................................58
Chapter Three: The Seven which Stalk the Land – Examining Early Attestations and Later
Malevolence ...................................................................................................................................64
3.1. Third Millennium References .........................................................................................65
3.2. The Sumerian Narrative of Gilgamesh and Huwawa .....................................................68
3.2.1. Gilgamesh and Huwawa B and Aratta: .....................................................................76
3.2.2. Constructing Aratta ..................................................................................................79
3.3. Lugalbanda in the Wilderness: the Torches of Inanna .....................................................82
3.4. The Malevolent Sebettu in Incantations of the Old Babylonian Period .............................89
3.4.1. Old Babylonian Tablets of Udug Hul .........................................................................90
3.5. The Hymn to Hendursaĝa and Lagaš Pecularities ...........................................................95
3.6. Referenced Texts: Old Babylonian Sumerian Incantations .............................................108
Chapter Four: "Rome was also built on ruins": The Grounding of Second Millennium Literary
and Political Sources ....................................................................................................................111
4.1. The Subservience of Demons: Subduing Demonic Powers .............................................114
4.1.1. The Beasts of Marduk's Chariot ..............................................................................118
4.1.2. Binding Huwawa: Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Huwawa ............................................123
4.2. Laying the Foundations: Second Millennium Cultic Evidence ....................................130
4.2.1. Second Millennium Cults and Worship ..................................................................132
4.2.2. The Sebettu on Kudurru Inscriptions ......................................................................137
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4.2.3. Personal Names ........................................................................................................140
4.2.4. Assyrian Royal Inscriptions ....................................................................................142
4.3. Figure 1: Inscription of Aššur-bēl-kala ............................................................................150
Chapter Five: "Cry 'Havoc!'": The Escalated Use of the Sebettu in the First Millennium ..........151
5.1. First Millennium Literary Texts ....................................................................................156
5.1.1. The Birdcall Text ....................................................................................................157
5.1.2. Erra .........................................................................................................................162
5.1.3 Parallel Structure: The Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin ..........................................173
5.2 Expansionist Politics: the Initial Stages of the Assyrian Empire ....................................176
5.2.1. Aššurnaṣirpal II (883-859 BCE) .............................................................................178
5.2.2. Go West, Young Man, Go West: Shalmaneser III (858-824 BCE) ........................184
5.3. Initial Decline: Adad-nerari III (810-783 BCE) .............................................................188
5.3.1. Aššur-nerari V (754-745 BCE) ...............................................................................191
5.4. Returning to Strength: Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BCE) .............................................196
5.4.1. Sargon II (721-705 BCE) ........................................................................................199
5.5. The Destruction of the South and Sennacherib (704-681 BCE) ....................................202
5.6. Rebuilding and Revolt: Esarhaddon (680-669 BCE) .....................................................206
5.6.1. The Sebettu in Esarhaddon's Treaty Texts ...............................................................210
5.7. Aššurbanipal (668-627 BCE) .........................................................................................212
5.8. Excerpted Texts and Figures ............................................................................................216
5.8.1. Shalmanesar III .........................................................................................................216
5.8.2. Aššur-nerari V ..........................................................................................................217
5.8.3. Tiglath-pileser III ......................................................................................................218
5.8.4. Esarhaddon ...............................................................................................................219
5.8.5. Figures ......................................................................................................................220
Chapter Six: Terrifying and Bright: The Spread and Proliferation of the Sebettu in Non-State and
Household Use .............................................................................................................................223
6.1. The Sebettu in Incantations ............................................................................................224
6.1.1. Protecting Houses: Apotropaic Incantations and the Sebettu .................................226
6.1.2. The Epic of Erra and Amulets ................................................................................235
6.1.3. The Sebettu in Namburbi Texts ..............................................................................237
6.1.4. Incantations on behalf of the King ..........................................................................240
6.2. The Sebettu in the Standard Babylonian Udug Hul Series ............................................242
6.2.1. Provenance Uncertain: Issues of Origin .................................................................244
6.2.2. The Sebettu Terrorize Society – Tablets XIII-XV ..................................................248
6.2.2.1. Marduk-Ea dialogue with Girra and Marduk ..................................................250
6.2.3. Individual Imagery ..................................................................................................253
6.2.4. Comparing Imagery ................................................................................................256
6.2.5. Terrifying Radiance: the me-lam /melammu of the Sebettu ...................................258
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6.3. Malevolence and Benevolence: A Survey of the Incantations as a Whole ....................262
Chapter Seven: In the Heavens, They are Seven: The Iconography of the Sebettu and the
Presence of the Pleiades on Cylinder Seals .................................................................................263
7.1. The Celestial Mechanics of the Pleiades ..........................................................................265
7.2. Astral Imagery and the Gods ............................................................................................268
7.3. The Sebettu as the Pleiades and their Role in Omens ......................................................269
7.3.1. The Pleiades in Incantations ...................................................................................279
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7.3.2. Threatening the Moon ..............................................................................................284
7.4. Iconography: Animal-Human Hybrid Representations of the Sebettu ............................289
7.5. Seals and Sealings: the Sebettu on Personal Seals ...........................................................292
7.5.1. Examining Basic Motifs .........................................................................................294
7.5.2. Western Roots: Glyptic Evidence ............................................................................295
7.5.3. Sebettu and Sîn: Grouping Symbols .......................................................................299
7.6. Seals and Sky Maps ........................................................................................................302
Chapter Eight: Conclusion – Concerning Demons ......................................................................310
Appendices ...................................................................................................................................321
Works Cited .................................................................................................................................377

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List of Tables

Table 1: The Sebettu in Incantations in the First Millennium 224
Table 2: Times of Sunset and Sunrise 266
Table 3: Patterns of Visibility of the Pleiades 266

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Limestone Female Torso, Inscription of Aššur-Bēl-Kala 150
Figure 2: Plan of the Temple of the Sebettu at Dur-Šarrukin/Khorsabad 220
Figure 3: Plan of the city of Dur-Šarrukin 221
Figure 4: Detail of the Area around the Citadel and Gate 7 222
Figure 5: Skymap from Babylon 284
Figure 6: Seven Figures on AO 7088 290
Figure 7: Neo-Assyrian Lamaštu Plaque, AO 22205 290
Figure 8: Early Middle Assyrian Cylinder Seals 296
Figure 9: Second Millennium Cylinder Seal from Alalakh 297
Figure 10: Cylinder Seals from Damascus Collections 298
Figure 11: Cylinder Seal from Persepolis, Geneva No. 1874/0.1 299
Figure 12: Sebettu and Sîn on Seals 300
Figure 13: Neo-Assyrian Cylinder Seal, BM 129538 302
Figure 14: Neo-Assyrian Cylinder Seal, BM 89770 302
Figure 15: Sky Maps 303

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List of Appendices:

Appendix A: Seals Concerning the Sebettu/Pleiades 321
Appendix B: Attestations of the Sebettu 368

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