The historical "Semiramis"


Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who drew from the works of Ctesias of Cnidus, describe an Assyrian queen named Semiramis and her relationships to Onnes and King Ninus, a mythical king of Assyria not attested to in the official Assyrian King List. This powerful queen inspired a host of monuments and place names throughout Mesopotamia, Media, Persia, the Levant, Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Caucasus. She even became the heroine in plays, operas, and novels over the centuries. But, did she really exist?

Historians, think this mythical figure actually evolved from a real queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire named Shammuramat,  the wife of Shamshi-Adad V (reign 824 BCE–811 BCE) , who ruled as its regent for five years until her son Adad-nirari III came of age and took the reins of power. She ruled at a time of political uncertainty, and it has been speculated that her success in the male-dominated martial culture may have made the Assyrians regard her with particular reverence. The achievements of her reign (including stabilizing and strengthening the empire after a destructive civil war) were retold over the generations until she was transformed into a mythical figure.



Images: Semiramis by American sculptor William Wetmore Story that I photographed at the Dallas Museum of Art and photographed by another photographer from Pinterest. The sculptor, William Wetmore Story, delighted in the archaeological research required to outfit his subjects and lavished this queen with authentic Assyrian jewelry—bracelets, a necklace, and jeweled diadem.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Imperial Italic G Roman helmet found near Hebron at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

Image
Imperial Italic G Roman helmet found near Hebron at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This distinctive Imperial Italic G-style helmet was a 2nd century development derived from the earlier Coolus-style helmets with a domed bowl fashioned after La Tène III helmet types. The original Coolus-style helmets were named after the city of Coolus in northeastern France where a helmet of the Coolus type was dredged from the River Marne. Ro man helmets were typically constructed of a copper alloy or bronze. Some were spun on a lathe rather than hammered into shape with a turned, cast-soldered or riveted crest knob. The brow-guard was designed to protect the front of the face from downward-slashing sword blows, just as the neck-guard was intended to deflect blows aimed at the nape of the neck and shoulders. The Hebron helmet is also constructed with post-Dacian Wars crossbars on the crown, thought to have been part of the original construction, as evidenced by the brass lunate decorations applie
Read more

A Brief History of Ships' Eyes

Image
(condensed from the Master's thesis of Troy Joseph Nowak, Texas A&M University, 2006, "Archaeological Evidence for Ship Eyes: An Analysis of Their Form and Function  ( https://nautarch.tamu.edu/pdf-files/Nowak-MA2006.pdf#:~:text=bows%20of%20ancient%20Greek%20ships%20between%20the%205th,guided%20the%20ship%20and%20helped%20to%20avoid%20hazards .) Between the Bronze Age and the 3rd century BCE, all types of watercraft used in the Mediterranean from small boats to large galleys were commonly adorned with eyes on their bows.  In Greece, the earliest clear depiction of a ship with eyes is a Late Helladic clay ship model decorated with circular eyes discovered at Phylakopi, Melos. However, ship representations with eyes do not reappear in the archaeological record again until the Geometric Period.  Excavations in the Dipylon cemetery at Athens have yielded an impressive collection of Late Geometric I [c. 760 to 735 BCE] ceramics decorated with ships. Eyes adorn the bows of these
Read more

Roman and Byzantine mosaics at the Haleplibahçe Mosaics Museum in Şanlıurfa, Turkey.

Image
Roman and Byzantine mosaics at the Haleplibahçe Mosaics Museum in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Opened in 2015, the modern 6,000 square meter Haleplibahce Mosaic Museum houses the remains of the mosaic pavements of a large Roman villa uncovered during a municipal construction project i n Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Şanlıurfa, also known as Urfa, is built on the site of the ancient Greek city of Edessa. Discoveries include mosaics depicting the life of Achilles, including his mother, Thetis, holding him by the heel and dipping him into the waters of the River Styx, his training by the centaur, Chiron, and his departure for the Trojan War. Another pavement depicts Amazon queens hunting wild beasts. Mosaics from other archaeological areas depict various animals, Ktisis, a figure personifying the act of generous donation or foundation often found in 6th century Greek mosaics, and a 2nd century CE depiction of the myth of Orpheus. The Orpheus mosaic was recently repatriated from the Dallas Museum of Art.
Read more