Sirrush (more correctly Mushhushshu - Mušḫuššu) is a creature depicted on the reconstructed Ishtar gate in Babylon. It is a mythological hybrid: a scaly dragon-unicorn with the head of a snake and the body of a hoofed mammal. Two of the front paws of Mushhushshu are lion, and the two hind legs are eagle. The look is completed by a long, scaly tail with a scorpion sting. Mushhushshu is a combination of three creatures: a snake, which in Babylonian mythology personifies eternity, abundance and reincarnation, a lion - the king of beasts and an eagle - the king of birds.
Together with a hoe and a shovel, Mushhushshu was one of the symbols of Marduk.
The name Sirrush comes from an Akkadian word that roughly translates to a magnificent serpent. The first researchers mistakenly read it as Sirrush, although Mushhushu was more correct. Since then Sirrush is the most common name for this creature.
In time immemorial, when there was still no earth or heaven and not a single island appeared in the endless ocean that filled the entire Universe, a battle for power broke out between the gods. To defeat her own son Marduk, the personification of primordial Chaos, the Divine Mother of all dragons, Tiamat, created eleven fierce monsters: many-headed snakes, giant dogs, winged dragons, half-human half-scorpions and other chimeras.
Among other monsters, the dragon Mushhushshu was created by her. But even he did not help Tiamat in the battle with the wise Marduk, the god of light: she was defeated. “After the death of Tiamat, the dragon became the symbol of the god Marduk …“
The Ishtar Gate is impressive, and it is not surprising that King Nebuchadnezzar, who rebuilt the Ishtar Gate, was very proud of it. When the work was completed, he drew up an inscription, which was made in cuneiform and put on public display. With the lack of modesty inherent in that era, the first lines said:
Promotional video:
“I am Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, a pious prince, reigning according to the will and grace of Marduk (the supreme god of the Babylonians), the supreme ruler of the City, the favorite of Heaven (the son of Marduk, the supreme god of the neighboring city of Vorsippos), cunning and indefatigable … the wise firstborn son of Navopolassar, king of Babylon …"
The inscription further states that due to the constant rise of the embankment for the road leading to Babylon, the height of the gate was constantly decreasing, and in the end Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to be completely rebuilt. All this is confirmed by archaeological finds, and we have no reason to doubt the fidelity or authenticity of the inscription, which by chance turned out to be incomplete. The inscriptions do not ignore the images of animals.
"Ferocious bulls (originally called" rimi ") and gloomy dragons are inscribed on the courtyard of the gate (meaning the walls), by which I have given the gate an extraordinary and magnificent splendor, and the human race can look at them in amazement."
The human race really looked at them in amazement for many centuries and looks again.
German archaeologist Robert Koldewey, who found the Ishtar Gate, was convinced that the Sirrushas really existed. He argued that, in terms of the uniformity of his physiological concept, the Sirrush was significantly superior to all other fantastic creatures. This, as well as the fact that the Sirrushes were depicted next to real animals (lions and aurochs), according to Koldewey, proved that the Babylonians were familiar with this creature.
There is an assumption that the Babylonians may have copied the appearance of the Sirrus from the remains of prehistoric lizards. According to another version, Sirrush vaguely resembles the monitor lizards that the Babylonians might have known. There is an assumption that the appearance of the Sirrus was created according to stories about an animal that did not live in Mesopotamia.
Of course, in those days nobody cared about zoological reliability. The lions on the walls of the path were lions, the rounds on the gates were rounds, even though they looked somewhat unusual; and the details with which the artisans of Nebuchadnezzar considered it necessary to decorate the monsters they depicted did not interfere with anyone. They sometimes painted eagles with bearded human faces and other hybrid monsters. In short, the Sirrush images were not surprising. And to be surprised, they had to arm themselves with the vast knowledge of later centuries - the knowledge that helped to excavate and restore the Ishtar gate.