Winged Gatekeeper

Winged Gatekeeper
The image depicted above is an example of Mesopotamian art that is being taught to my 6 year old today. We both enjoyed this lesson very much. We are going to continue with it on our own for enrichment.

The Winged Gatekeepers were placed to scare off enemies and show the power of the King. The torso was the body of a Lion or bull; in this case a bull. It showed he had the strength of a bull and the wings meant he possessed swiftness of an eagle. Sometimes the head was that of the King who took residence in the Palace.

Shedu (taken from zampwiki)

The Shedu is a celestial being from Mesopotamian mythology. He is a human above the waist and a bull below the waist. He also has the horns and the ears of a bull. The bull man helps people fight evil and chaos. He holds the gates of dawn open for the sun god Shamash and supports the sun disc. He is often shown on Cylinder Seals.

It appears frequently in Mesopotamian art, sometimes with wings. Statues of the bull-man were often used as gatekeepers.






* More on this can be found throughout the web.