Thursday, January 28, 2010

Day LIX - Sirrush

Scaly composite,
Babylonian icon,
Serpent of splendour.



An incredible composite creature from Mesopotamian mythology, the Sirrush is a dragon-like being of Ancient Babylon. A scaly reptile with crested horned head, a forked tongue, lion fore-claws and eagle-esque talons as its hind legs is a fantastical being is pretty prominent in Middle Eastern iconography and artwork. Gracing King Nebuchadnezzer II's great Ishtar Gate, the Babylonian beast also goes by the musical name Mushhushshu which makes the awe-inspiring hybrid even more exciting. The fact that its name literally means "Splendour Serpent" says it all, and the weird and wonderful reptilian revered in Ancient Assyria is an appealing and unique mythical monster that captures the imagination for sure.

2 comments:

  1. the animal did not had bird legs nor lion paws, search for running lizard images and look at their feet, also search for velociraptor images, search for komodo dragons, dinosaurs didnt walked on two legs, they were big reptiles...

    ReplyDelete
  2. a creature is a creature, it doesn't matter what a reptile has.
    that's like saying a witch looks like a human so it can't have powers

    ReplyDelete