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THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF A SMALL GOD: NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE DIVINE MESSENGER STAFF HUṬĀRU

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2018

Kristin Kleber
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Abstract

The messenger staff Huṭāru was a non-anthropomorphic deity in the Neo-Babylonian Eanna temple of Uruk that also had a practical function: it served as a symbol of authority of the goddess Ištar during the collection of taxes and dues. In this article I edit and discuss two hitherto unpublished texts that shed new light on this little known divine object. Furthermore, I suggest its identification with the “Doppellöwenkeule”, a ceremonial mace with animal protomes that is represented alone or carried by Ištar on seals and terracotta plaques from the Old and Neo-Babylonian periods.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 80 , December 2018 , pp. 139 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2018 

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