Mesopotamia Flashcards
Mesopotamia
Roughly the 3500 BCE
Mesopotamia is the collective name for
Iraq
Greek name means
between the two rivers
developing city states
urban center that would control agriculture
Sumerians
One of the earliest city-states
what did the Sumerians invent
coniform writing
Coniform tablets
Cylinder Seal
used to record someone’s identity in picture form
why would cylinder seals survive the most
it’s carved from stone
Cylinder Seal
Ziggurat sites are often heavily degraded
because of how old they are
agricultural theocracy.
chief priest to the major goddess of the harvest and patron saint of the city are the same person
Ziggurat were often used to
worship gods or goddesses
why are ziggurats built so high
the higher the structure the closer it is to the gods
importance of Inanna
goddess who controlled the flow of grain and other agricultural products
Ziggurat temple was oriented with what
campus points and not the solstice
ziggurat
Votive Figures or Perpetual Worshippers
votive
offering or offered as part of a promise
Votive Figures represent the idea that
they would stand in for the worshipper, so they could represent you at prayer all the time.
size and detail of votive figures represents
wealth of patron
Inanna Vase
registers
system of organizing space; specifically horizontal bands used to divide pattern .
In the Inanna vase each register division represents
something different
Each layer from the bottom to the top of the vase represents
order of natural world to the godly world.
fact about the poses on the Inanna vase
feet are sideways while the hips are facing forward
what did the poses of the inanna vase show
Didn’t want naturalism, more about clearest way to show human
Hieratic scale
where size of figure indicates importance
stele
upright stone slab, with carving or inscription
iconography
something that is seen before
Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions
what Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions showed about complexity
method of showing depth is more sophisticated and clearly they value it
Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions message
The natural world is dangerous but I will protect you
Bas-relief (or low-relief) carving
used to decorate walls often by flat rock sculptures that would often have also been painted
how does Assurnasirpal have motion
heels lifted
Law Code Stele of Hammurabi
who is the king in the Law Code Stele of Hammurabi
The man standing up
what does the Law Code Stele of Hammurabi show about the God Shamash
shown giving the laws to ruler Hammurabi
Empire
A city-state that has expanded and taken over other territories
Queen of the Night
Queen of the Night represents
goddess ishtar
animal/human hybrids in ancient world they represent the
divine
queen of the night is a
high relief structure
what animal is a symbol of Ishtar
lions
The First city of Babylon famous by
Hammurabi
Ruler Nebuchadnezzar
substantially rebuilds the site of Babylon, and many records through history describe it as full of marvels
