194 herbert niehr
of the gate to the upper city. it measures 115 × 59 × 31 cm and dates to
the 9th or 8th century B.c. the relief shows a bull’s head mounted on a
pole. Four bent limbs extend from the left and right side of the pole, two
to each side. they should be understood as arms and legs. a sword is
strapped between the limbs and on the right side there is a rosette made
of four spheres (pl xliii).333
two opposing interpretations of this figure exist. one interpretation
favors the representation of a weather-god with lunar aspects, while the
other sees a tauromorphic moon-god where the crescent moon forms the
horns. this image is constructed against the backdrop of the symbol of
the moon-god of harran. that means it is the image of a crescent moon,
which is mounted on the pole and thus an argument in favor of interpret-
ing the stele’s image as one of the moon-god.
a comparable representation of the moon-god comes from gaziantep
in southern anatolia334 as well as from three further stelae from the
southern Damascus region of hauran, specifically ʿawas (near salḥad),
tell el-ashʿari (near tafar),335 and eṭ-Ṭurra336 in northern Jordan.
in the kingdom of aram337 the god hadad was chief god of the pan-
theon of Damascus. his name is found as a theophoric element in the
royal names Bar-hadad and hadad-ezer. the oldest evidence of the
god hadad of Damascus is found in the inscription on the Dan stele. it
reports that hadad called hazael to be king and marched before him in
battle (Kai 310: 4–5). hadad of Damascus had the epithet rammānu (“the
thunderer”).338 he was known in hellenistic-roman times as Zeus or
Jupiter Damascenus. contemporary inscriptions describe him as “heav-
enly god” and “god of the Fathers or lords”.339 the goddess atargatis
appears as paredros of hadad of Damascus.340
333 published in Bernett – Keel 1998.
334 cf. Bernett – Keel 1998: 10f.
335 cf. Bernett – Keel 1998: 8–10.
336 cf. Wimmer – Janaydeh 2011.
337 on aram and Damascus, cf. the references in pitard 1987; sack 1989; ead. 1997;
Dion 1997: 182–216; lipiński 2000a: 347–407; Burns 2005: 1–79; niehr 2010a: 308–313;
and also the numéro spécial sur l‘archéologie et les Découvertes récentes in aaas 51/52
(2008/2009).
338 cf. the references from the treaty between ashur-nirari V and Matiʾel of arpad (saa
ii no. 2: 24–25; text and translation in parpola – Watanabe 1988: 8–13) and the old testa-
ment (2 Kgs 5: 18). Zec 12: 11 confuses him with a vegetation deity; cf. niehr forthcoming a.
339 cf. niehr 2003: 101 and Freyberger 2006: 167–169.
340 cf. Freyberger 2006: 167f.