Stela with Image of Seth
ca. 664–30 B.C.E.
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Object Label
The twelve massive carved alabaster panels that line the walls of this gallery are but a small sample of the hundreds of such reliefs, all originally brightly painted, that once adorned the vast palace of Ashur-nasir-pal II, one of the greatest kings of ancient Assyria. Completed in 879 B.C. at the site of Kalhu (modern Nimrud) in what is now Iraq, slightly north of Baghdad, the palace was the heart of a vast empire.
Like modern billboards trumpeting the virtues of some authoritarian ruler, the reliefs in Ashur-nasir-pal II’s palace served a propagandistic purpose, proclaiming the king’s legitimacy. Because most people in the ancient Near East understood the administration of the state as a collaborative effort between the king and the gods, many of the reliefs show the ruler and his supernatural attendants celebrating religious rituals. The most common depict the ruler and his winged protectors (genies) tending a sacred tree, an ancient symbol associated with the divine power to bestow life. Other reliefs from the palace show Ashur-nasir-pal II engaged in such princely pursuits as warfare, hunting, or celebrating his victories at elaborate banquets.
Nearly all the royal reliefs contain the same inscription. The script is cuneiform, a highly stylized, wedge-shaped version of picture writing that began in Mesopotamia around 3100 B.C. The language is Akkadian, the language of international diplomacy in the ancient Near East. The text, known as the Standard Inscription, begins by tracing Ashur-nasir-pal II’s lineage back three generations. It recounts his military victories, defines the boundaries of his empire, tells how he founded Kalhu and built the palace:
I am Ashur-nasir-pal the obedient prince, the worshiper of the Great Gods, the fierce dragon, the conqueror of all cities and mountains to their full extent, the king of rulers who tames the dangerous enemies, the [one] crowned with glory, the [one] unafraid of battle, the relentless lion, who shakes resistance, the king of praise, the shepherd, protection of the world, the king whose command blots out mountains and seas... (Translation from Samuel M. Paley, The King of the World: Ashur-nasir- pal II of Assyria 883–859 B.C. [New York: The Brooklyn Museum, 1976])
Such bombast, as well as the degree to which the reliefs of Ashur-nasir-pal II dominate this gallery, can leave a misleading impression of the importance of Assyria in the ancient Middle East. Although a great deal of the prophetic literature of the Bible tells of the threat of Assyria, and in 722 B.C. the Assyrians did finally conquer the kingdom of Israel, from its expansion in the ninth century B.C. to its defeat by the Babylonians and the Medes three centuries later, the Assyrian Empire was comparatively short-lived. The other treasures displayed here—the products of ancient Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Arabia, and Turkey—show that Assyria was but one of many opulent cultures that flourished in that part of the world in antiquity.
Like modern billboards trumpeting the virtues of some authoritarian ruler, the reliefs in Ashur-nasir-pal II’s palace served a propagandistic purpose, proclaiming the king’s legitimacy. Because most people in the ancient Near East understood the administration of the state as a collaborative effort between the king and the gods, many of the reliefs show the ruler and his supernatural attendants celebrating religious rituals. The most common depict the ruler and his winged protectors (genies) tending a sacred tree, an ancient symbol associated with the divine power to bestow life. Other reliefs from the palace show Ashur-nasir-pal II engaged in such princely pursuits as warfare, hunting, or celebrating his victories at elaborate banquets.
Nearly all the royal reliefs contain the same inscription. The script is cuneiform, a highly stylized, wedge-shaped version of picture writing that began in Mesopotamia around 3100 B.C. The language is Akkadian, the language of international diplomacy in the ancient Near East. The text, known as the Standard Inscription, begins by tracing Ashur-nasir-pal II’s lineage back three generations. It recounts his military victories, defines the boundaries of his empire, tells how he founded Kalhu and built the palace:
I am Ashur-nasir-pal the obedient prince, the worshiper of the Great Gods, the fierce dragon, the conqueror of all cities and mountains to their full extent, the king of rulers who tames the dangerous enemies, the [one] crowned with glory, the [one] unafraid of battle, the relentless lion, who shakes resistance, the king of praise, the shepherd, protection of the world, the king whose command blots out mountains and seas... (Translation from Samuel M. Paley, The King of the World: Ashur-nasir- pal II of Assyria 883–859 B.C. [New York: The Brooklyn Museum, 1976])
Such bombast, as well as the degree to which the reliefs of Ashur-nasir-pal II dominate this gallery, can leave a misleading impression of the importance of Assyria in the ancient Middle East. Although a great deal of the prophetic literature of the Bible tells of the threat of Assyria, and in 722 B.C. the Assyrians did finally conquer the kingdom of Israel, from its expansion in the ninth century B.C. to its defeat by the Babylonians and the Medes three centuries later, the Assyrian Empire was comparatively short-lived. The other treasures displayed here—the products of ancient Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Arabia, and Turkey—show that Assyria was but one of many opulent cultures that flourished in that part of the world in antiquity.
Caption
Stela with Image of Seth, ca. 664–30 B.C.E.. Slate, 3 7/16 x 2 7/8 in. (8.8 x 7.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.580.187. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Title
Stela with Image of Seth
Date
ca. 664–30 B.C.E.
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period (probably)
Medium
Slate
Classification
Dimensions
3 7/16 x 2 7/8 in. (8.8 x 7.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
Accession Number
16.580.187
Frequent Art Questions
On another note, what animal is Seth's head?
We're not actually sure. Seth is often pictured with the head of something that looks like a dog, or jackal, but a little different. Many scholars just refer to it as the Seth animal.
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