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Two cult-statues from Hatra
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2014
Extract
The documentary evidence, namely the Aramaic inscriptions, discovered during the excavation of a small shrine at Hatra testifies to its dedication to the worship of Gnd', the god of Fortune. The façade of the lintel of the cella's entrance is incised with an inscription [406] asking that a certain Nšryhb, son of Tymly, and Bdy, son of šmšgrm, be remembered before (the god) Gnd' of Rmgu. The lintel of the niche is carved with a similar inscription, which prays that Hywš' the priest and R/Dbby' be remembered in the presence of Gnd' (the great). On the evidence of the lintel this god was thus endowed with two titles: the one indicates the association with Rmgu, and the other is the epithet “great” (rb'). Another important inscription [408] labels him with both appellatives: gd' rb' dy rmgu, “great Gd' (Gnd') of Rmgu“. As to the identity of Rmgu, a very important but damaged stele was found in situ in the niche of the cella. The stele portrays two adults and a boy in the process of feeding incense on to a fire altar. Three short accompanying inscriptions, two of which are incomplete, inform us that these persons are Rmgu, his son Šmš'qb and his grandson Tymlt. So apparently Rmgu was the chief of a wealthy tribe who had built a shrine and dedicated it to his favourite divinity, Gnd'. In due course this god became known by the name of his benefactor, probably to distinguish him from other similarly designated deities. It was a common religious practice at Hatra for tribes, chiefs and nobles to build and consecrate shrines and temples to particular gods. Among the well-known examples are: the shrine of Iššarbel (V), constructed by Nsru Mry', the Lord of Hatra in the years between A.D. 114 and 135; the shrine of Nergal (VIII), built by two tribes, Taimu and Bl'qb; and the shrine of Nebo (XII), erected by Šmš'qb, an architect.
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- Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1996
Footnotes
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Dr Wathiq Al-Salihi is Professor of Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology, College of Arts, University of Baghdad.
References
1 I wish to express my thanks to Mr Hazim Najafy, the excavator of the shrine, for permission to study and publish the two statues discussed in this article. See Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “Inscriptions of Hatra”, Sumer 44 (1985–1986)Google Scholar, Nos. [406–9, 413], 98–110 (in Arabic).
2 Excavations in Iraq 1981–82, Iraq 45 (1983), 211–13Google Scholar; Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “Palmyrene Sculptures found at Hatra”, Iraq 49 (1987), 53 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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4 Ibid., 99–100.
5 Ibid., 99–102.
6 Ibid., No. [414], 108. See also Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “New Light on the Style of the Sculpture at Hatra”, Afaq Arabia 10 (1988), 108–12Google Scholar.
7 Safar, Fuad and Mustapha, M. Ali, Hatra, the City of the Sun (Baghdad, 1974), 356 Google Scholar.
8 Ibid., 360.
9 Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “The Shrine of Nebo at Hatra”, Iraq 45 (1983), 141–2CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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11 Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “Further Notes on Hercules-Gnd' at Hatra”, Sumer 38 (1982), 137–40Google Scholar.
12 Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “A Note on a Statuette from Hatra”, Sumer 29 (1972), 99–100 Google Scholar.
13 Safar and Mustapha, op. cit., 105.
14 Ingholt, Harald, “Sculptures from Hatra, Orient and Hellas in Art and Religion”, Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 12 (1954), 32–6Google Scholar; Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “Iconographical Studies of a Slab in Mosul Museum”, Bayn Al-Nahrayn 27 (1979), 324 Google Scholar; Safar and Mustapha, op. cit., 190–1.
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17 Safar and Mustapha, op. cit., [24], 405.
18 Most of the recorded names are well known at Hatra as attested by the inscriptions.
19 Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “Epigraphical and Iconographical Analysis of a Stele from Hatra”, Bayn Al-Nahrayn 57–8 (1987), 59–67 Google Scholar.
20 Al-Salihi, Wathiq, “Allat-Nemesis”, Mesopotamia 25 (1985), 140–1Google Scholar.