Solving the Starry Symbols of Sargon II

Bibliographic Data

ID19595353
AuthorsMartin Worthington (0000-0002-7948-0371, Trinity College Dublin, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume391
Pages107-133
Publication date2024-05-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2769-3589 • E-ISSN: 2769-3600
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/730377
OpenAlexW4395663979
LanguageEN
References cited23

The city of Khorsabad (ancient Dūr-Šarrukīn), the newly built capital of Sargon II of Assyria, contained multiple instances of a sequence of five images or symbols (lion, bird, bull, tree, plow) which also appeared shortened to three (lion, tree, plow). What did they mean? There is currently no consensus. This paper proposes a new solution, suggesting that the images a) symbolize specific constellations and b) represent Babylonian/Assyrian words whose sounds “spell out” Sargon’s name (this works for both the long and the short version). Combining these two traits, the effect of the symbols was to assert that Sargon’s name was written in the heavens, for all eternity, and also to associate him with the gods Anu and Enlil, to whom the constellations in question were linked. It is further suggested that Sargon’s name was elsewhere symbolized by a lion passant (pacing lion), through a bilingual pun

Ancient history · Art · Assyria · Linguistics · Literature · Spell · Theology · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Near East History · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy

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