art 225
areas comes from two chance finds, the basalt orthostat with a represen-
tation of a sphinx from the site of the large mosque of Damascus86 and
the well-preserved lion orthostat from sheikh saʿad in the hauran.87 the
lion orthostat can be seen as part of the series of syro-hittite lions from
cities farther to the north (hamath, Zincirli, sakcagözü, Maraş)—though
the high quality and three-dimensional execution of the lion’s body and
coat is particularly striking. the sphinx from Damascus has unmistakable
egyptianizing elements, attributable to the phoenician influences that are
otherwise primarily seen in ivories (see below).88
3. Free-Standing Sculptures
From a thematic and functional perspective, the free-standing sculptures
can be divided into three main groups: (1) dedication statues and stelae
for the gods, (2) stelae and statues of rulers, and (3) funerary monuments
for royals and non-royals.
3.1 Statues and Stelae Dedicated to the Gods3.1.1 Statues
probably the best-known monument portraying an aramaean deity is the
colossal 2.85-meter statue of hadad found in Gerçin, seven kilometers to
the northeast of samʾal. according to the West semitic inscription that
King panamuwa I had carved into the statue in the period before 750 B.c.
(KaI 214), the site served as a necropolis and ancestral memorial for the
dynasty of samʾal/Yādiya. the statue was dedicated to the storm-god
hadad, the highest deity of samʾal, and provides important iconographic
evidence of how the local inhabitants imagined this god’s appearance.
Unfortunately, this evidence is incomplete—the god’s two forearms have
been broken off and the attributes that he probably held in his hand
have not survived. still, we see striking differences to the older repre-
sentation of the storm-god on an orthostat from the outer citadel gate
in Zincirli.89 Whereas the storm-god on this orthostat wears a short kilt
and a high pointed cap from the neo-hittite tradition, the god hadad is
86 Orthmann 1975: fig. 419.
87 contenau 1924: 207f pl. LII.
88 see also sader 1987: 269.
89 Orthmann 1971: Zincirli B/14.