Symbolic representations of the scorpion are attested in Mesopotamia since the Neolithic Period on several artifacts, such as pottery, cylinder seals and stele. From the 6th to the 1st millennium BC a constant connection of this symbol with the fertility and its related goddesses - such as Ishkhara and Ishtar -, all identified with Venus, is attested. Furthermore, in the first known religious cuneiform texts, e.g. the Poem of Gilgamesh, the scorpion presents celestial attributes as well as in the later astronomical compendia it is clearly associated with the actual Scorpio constellation. Thanks to the analysis of both iconographical and philological sources dated from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, this paper aims to analyse the persistence of the symbol of the scorpion and its meaning in the Mesopotamian culture and religion, identifying the particular characteristic inherited by the Classical Age.
From Earth to Heaven. The Symbol of the Scorpion and its Astronomical Association in Mesopotamia
Pizzimenti Sara;
2021-01-01
Abstract
Symbolic representations of the scorpion are attested in Mesopotamia since the Neolithic Period on several artifacts, such as pottery, cylinder seals and stele. From the 6th to the 1st millennium BC a constant connection of this symbol with the fertility and its related goddesses - such as Ishkhara and Ishtar -, all identified with Venus, is attested. Furthermore, in the first known religious cuneiform texts, e.g. the Poem of Gilgamesh, the scorpion presents celestial attributes as well as in the later astronomical compendia it is clearly associated with the actual Scorpio constellation. Thanks to the analysis of both iconographical and philological sources dated from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, this paper aims to analyse the persistence of the symbol of the scorpion and its meaning in the Mesopotamian culture and religion, identifying the particular characteristic inherited by the Classical Age.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
