up a cup much like the enthroned goddess (Figure 10. 2 ). A seated figure with a cup
signified banquet (Selz 1983 ). According to textual sources, the inauguration of a tem-
ple, which was vital for its future use, culminated in a banquet in both the mundane
and the transcendent spheres, during which the gods blessed the royal builder. A door
plaque, whose inscription summarises Ur-Nanshe’s construction activity on several
temples, visualises construction and inauguration in two superimposed scenes (Figure
10. 3 ): the ruler is seen carrying the basket on his head, an icon for construction work,
and then seated with a cup. In either scene, he is followed by his cupbearer and faced
by a group of his children.
On the stelae of Gudea and Ur-Namma, the top registers depicted culminating
scenes that recapitulate the basic ideological message, while the lower registers depicted
episodes of the construction and inauguration (Suter 2000 : 177 – 234 ). The concrete
scenes give more credibility to the ideological message on top. A similar culminating
scene as on the stelae is carved on Gudea’s seal (Figure 10. 4 ). All these presentation
scenes render the prosperity that the gods bestow on the ruler by streams of water
issuing from overflowing vessels that the enthroned deity offers to the approaching
ruler. Differences between Gudea and Ur-Namma are due to the difference between
city-state ruler and king of Sumer and Akkad: while Gudea requires the intercession
of his personal god for approaching the divine patron of his city-state, Ur-Namma
stands directly before the divine patrons of his capital city and, with his figure repeated
back to back, probably faced the chief of the Sumerian pantheon on the opposite side.
The chain of authority from Enlil to city god to terrestrial ruler is well attested in
literary texts.
–– Claudia E. Suter ––Figure 10.2Stela of Ur-Nanshe from al-Hiba (drawing by author)