Scorpion man

Drawing of an Assyrian intaglio depicting scorpion men.
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Scorpion Men are featured in several Akkadian language myths, including the Enûma Elish and the Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. They were also known as aqrabuamelu or girtablilu. The Scorpion Men are described to have the head, torso, and arms of a man and the body of a scorpion.

Mythology

They were first created by the Tiamat in order to wage war against the younger gods for the betrayal of her mate Apsu. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, they stand guard outside the gates of the sun god Shamash at the mountains of Mashu. These give entrance to Kurnugi, the land of darkness. The scorpion men open the doors for Shamash as he travels out each day, and close the doors after him when he returns to the underworld at night. They also warn travellers of the danger that lies beyond their post. Their heads touch the sky, their "terror is awesome" and their "glance is death". This meeting of Gilgameš, on his way to Ūta-napišti, with the Scorpion-folk guarding the entrance to the tunnel is described in Iškār Gilgāmeš, tablet IX, lines 47-81.[1]

Comparative mythology and religions

The scorpion is likewise a magical guard to an entrance among, e.g., the Mekeo of Papua -- "a scorpion charm is used to protect ... your house."[2]

According to Aztec legend such beings were called Tzitzimime, spirits of defeated gods cast out of the sky after they destroyed the sacred grove of fruit trees. A pair of blue anthropomorphic creatures, one with arms and tail of a scorpion decorate the pillars in the "Star-Chamber" at the Cacaxtla archeological site southeast of Mexico City. A reproduction of the murals can be seen at the National Museum of Anthropology.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A. R. George : The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic. Oxford University Press, 2003. p. 493
  2. ↑ Michele Stephen : A'isa's Gifts. University of California Press, 1995. p. 259

External links

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