The Assyrian Sacred Tree Essay -- Mythology

A traditional interpretation of what has become k zero(prenominal)n as the Assyrian Sacred Tree conceives of it as the date palm. Consisting of a series of nodes and interlacing vines, the depiction of the tree contradicts the morphological appearance of a date palm seems at best to be a highly rattlepated consolidation of various botanical characteristics from separate distinct species. Despite recent proposals by several art historians and botanists to conclusively determine its proper classification, indubitable shew unlocking the enigma behind this timeless symbola sacred fountainhead for many western religions originating in the nestle Easthas yet to uproot the heavy seeded academic insistence on the date palm. The Sacred Tree, (fig. 1) was originally positioned behind the kings throne. The scene shows two genii, sometimes with birds heads and sometimes with handss heads and the horned hats of gods. Each of the winged figures holds a bucket and reaches out with an oval ob ject toward a stylized tree. The composition has been read as macrocosm based on bilateral symmetry, with the vertical stalk-like structure crowned by a palmette. A meticulous examination reveals that although balanced, it has many discrepancies on both sides that start out from perfect mirror symmetry. Ashurnasirpal appears twice, shown from two sides, dressed in ceremonial robes and holding a mace connoting his authority. The figure of the king on the right makes an invocative gesture a god in a winged disk in the top center of the relief. Ashur, the national god or Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, may be identified as the god who confers the king divine right. On the left, the king holds a ring, an ancient Mesopotamian symbol of divine kingship, in one... ...ee of Life. Economic Botany 56, no. 2 (2002) 113-29.Parpola, Simo. The Assyrian Tree of Life Tracing the Origins of Monotheism and Greek Philosophy. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52 (1993) 161-208.Porter, Barb ara Nevling. Sacred Trees, Date Palms, and the Royal Persona of Ashurnasirpal II. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52, no. 2 (1993) 129-39.Reade, Julian. Assyrian sculpture. Cambridge Harvard University Press, 1983.Richardson, Seth. An Assyrian Garden of Ancestors Room I, Northwest Palace, Kalhu. State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 13 (1999) 145-216.Tylor, Edward B.. The Winged Figures of The Assyrian and other Ancient Monuments. London nightspot of Biblical Archaeology, 1890.Winter, Irene. Ornament and the Rhetoric of Abundance in Assyria. Eretz-Israel Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies 27 (2003) 252-264, at 253.