What Is The Ishtar Gate Or The Processional Way?

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Though many individuals may not know of the Ishtar Gate or the Processional way, they are both undeniably important to Mesopotamian history and culture. The subject of this essay is rightfully titled ‘Panel with a striding lion,’ and belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This specific artifact depicts a lion striding along a blue background, and it is located along the Processional Way, which used to lead individuals out of the city of Babylon. As with any artifact, nearly every aspect of it can be examined and related to the culture it came from. Through examining this, there are two things that can be learned about Mesopotamian, specifically Babylonian, society. First, it becomes obvious that the lion is a very important symbol in Babylonian …show more content…

So, what does the lion mean in the context of the artifact discussed here? If it is just something consistently seen in Babylonian architecture and the meaning seems clear-cut, why pretend that this artifact can reveal something about Mesopotamia? Well, the real teller here is not in the material of the artifact, nor in what it depicts, but rather in the context surrounding it. According to the Madain Project, “The Processional Street ran through the Ishtar gate, which was lined with walls showing lions, bulls, dragons, and flowers on enameled yellow and black glazed bricks, symbolizing the goddess Ishtar. Friezes with sixty ferocious Babylonian lions representing Ishtar decorated each side of the Processional Way, designed with variations in the color of the fur and the manes.” Combined with the prior knowledge of the way the Processional Way was used, it is easy to see that the Babylonian lion did not reference just simply strength, nor simply the goddess Ishtar, but rather it represented Babylon as a …show more content…

Many techniques used on this artifact are not fully understood, which once again implies that Mesopotamia is far more advanced than many believe. Perhaps someday scholars will be able to understand these wonders of Mesopotamian society and be able to break down the techniques used. So, this undeniably gorgeous Babylonian artifact is not only part of a larger monument and architectural achievement, but also has broader connections to general Mesopotamian society. It shows just how important Ishtar was to the Babylonians, and also shows how the lion had multiple meanings and could not be simply satisfied with its traditional meaning of strength. The lion is not just a symbol, but rather an exceptionally important part of their society– it represented the Goddess herself, strength, and also arguably had importance in relation to the New Year. Furthermore, while many aspects of the techniques used in the impressive bout of architecture are slightly understudied and debated among scholars, this piece in a broader context does show how technologically advanced Mesopotamia

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