The snake-dragon (with horns, snake's body and neck, lion's forelegs and bird's hindlegs) is represented from the Akkadian Period down to the Hellenistic period as a symbol of various gods or as a generally magically protective hybrid not associated specifically with any deity. By comparing the figure depicted on the gates and processional way at Babylon with the description of the building operations given by King Nebuchadnezzar II (reigned 604-562 BC), it has been possible to identify with certainty the creature's Akkadian name as mushussu, "Furious snake'. There are complex mythologies and divine associations surrounding the creature. The mushussu was originally an attendant on Ninazu, the city god of Esnunna. It was 'inherited' by the god Tispak when he replaced Ninazu as city god in the Akkadian or early Old Babylonian Period, and in Lagas became associated with Ninazu's son Ningiszida. Possibly after Hammurabi's conquest of Esnunna, the creature was transferred to the new Babylonian national god, Marduk, and later to Nabu. The conquest of Babylon by the Assyrian king Sennacherib (reigned 704-681 BC) brought the motif to Assyria, normally as the beast of the state god Assur. On Sennacherib's rock reliefs at Maltai, however, the creature accompanies three different gods, Assur, Ellil (Enlil) and another god, most likely Nabu.
Last modified: Wed Nov 25, 1998 / Jeremiah Genest