behind a nude male who pours the libation stands a full-face female with similar attire
and hairstyle as Enheduana, followed by a royal couple, probably the local ruler and his
wife. Based on these similarities, Irene Winter ( 1987 a) suggested that the custom of
kings appointing their daughters as high priestesses, which is attested in texts from the
Akkad to the Isin-Larsa period, goes back to Early Dynastic times.
Julia Asher-Greve ( 1985 : 90 – 92 ) suggested that Ur-Nanshe’s child Abda, who
appears on the above described door plaque (Figure 10. 3 ), was a high priestess. She
stands out not only in size and by the leading position vis-à-vis her brothers, but also
wears a dress and headscarf made of the same ornate fabric as the king’s kilt, like high
priestesses of later periods. Moreover, she is followed by her brother Akurgal, who
appears in the same place and carries the same spouted jug as the king’s cupbearers,
yet is characterised by a distinct hairstyle. Spouted jugs were also used for libations
(Winter 1999 ), and cupbearers were indeed in charge of offerings on behalf of royals
(Sallaberger and Huber Vulliet 2005 : 635 ). At the time this door plaque was made,
Akurgal, who later followed his father on the throne, seems to have been the high
priestess’ assistant in charge of libations.^7
From the Early Dynastic to the Ur III period, libations are frequently poured into
a large pot from which a date palm shoots (Figure 10. 5 , 11. 2 in this volume). Since the
palm was a symbol of fertility, this type of libation must have evoked the prosperity
expected from the gods in return for the human service of feeding them.
IMAGES OF PROTECTING
As protector of his people, the king prevails over wilderness as well as human enemies.
Women were excluded from both hunt and war. The Hunt Stela from Uruk depicts a
Late Uruk ruler fighting lions with a spear and a bow, and similar scenes occur on
contemporary cylinder seals (Braun-Holzinger 2007 : 11 – 12 ). Thereafter the mastery of
wild animals was elevated to a heroic, supernatural sphere: bison-men and nude heroes
are the champions of animal combat, a favoured motif on Early Dynastic and Akkad
seals that lives on beyond Ur III times. While in poetry Shulgi compares himself to
heroes subduing wild animals (ETCSL 2. 4. 2. 2 , ll. 56 – 113 ), no images of the royal hunt
are extant. Although it could be that such images existed in perishable media, such as
wall painting, there is another possible explanation for their absence: if the big-game
hunt were not elevated to a heroic sphere, kings could not have compared themselves
to heroes.
Military victory, on the other hand, was frequently depicted on royal monuments,
the battlefield being an ideal arena for the demonstration of power. Kings never lose a
battle. In contrast to the Egyptian pharaoh, who is unvaryingly portrayed in the act
of slaying his enemy, the early Mesopotamian ruler is more frequently shown tri-
umphing after the battle. Already Late Uruk cylinder seals depict him reviewing war
captives (Figure 10. 7 ), an image that evokes his control over the defeated. His domi-
nation is underlined by his holding an upright spear. The Early Dynastic ruler on the
Standard of Ur (Figure 10. 8 , see also Figure 19. 5 in this volume), a box inlaid in precious
stones and shell, also reviews war captives equipped with a spear. This luxurious object
expands the scene over three registers, including the king’s charioteers and infantrymen
leaving the battlefield behind the long procession of captives, as well as generals,
attendants and the royal chariot behind the king. The other side of the box depicts as
–– Claudia E. Suter ––