Bribing Shamash

Very interesting. Akkadian seal, 2350-2100BC. From "Gods, demons and symbols of ancient Mesopotamia: an illustrated dictionary" by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green...

Sun god Shamash sitting on his throne, holding a cerated knife, saw, sickle, called "shasharu" with which he is often depicted...I talked about this in my post "Canals"...

You can see heat rays coming out of his shoulders, his trademark...You can read more about Shamash and the heat rays in my post about "Shamash young and old"...

And in my post "Lion radiating heat"...

And "Nude winged hero dominating snakes"...

In front of him are two "men". First one carries a weighing scales, and the second carries a goat, Markhor goat...Now Shamahs was not just the sun god, he was also the god of justice...Probably because he was the scariest of all the Mesopotamian gods...

Sumerian proverb says: "May you hold a baby goat in your right arm and may you hold a bribe in your left arm". Meaning: Bring a baby goat as an offering when asking for a favor from the god. But if that doesn't work, bribe the priest, who can implore the god on your behalf...

So this image can be interpreted as bribing the god of justice. Nice...But I don't think this is what this image depicts...

Sumerian year was divided into two seasons: the hot dry half (summer, autumn), which starts in Apr/May and ends in Oct/Nov and cool and wet half (winter, spring) which starts in Oct/Nov and ends in Apr/May...

Shamash is most powerful in the middle of the Sumerian hot and dry season, at the end of summer beginning of autumn, Jul/Aug, Leo. This is the hottest and driest part of the year in Mesopotamia. The time of death, when Shamash turns into Nergal, the god of death...Who is even depicted as man-lion...I talked about this in my post "Winged superhuman hero"...

Now, look at this: 

2 of Aug, beginning of autumn, Shamash on his throne

21 of Sep, middle of autumn, autumn equinox, equilibrium, Libra

4th of Nov, end of autumn, beginning of the mating season of wild goats, end of hot and dry half of the year, beginning of the rain season...

But maybe this is not about climate...Maybe it's just bribing the god of justice...

You can read more about Leo animal calendar marker in my post "Lion killing bull under a palm tree"...

You can read more about Sumerian Libra (balance of heaven) in my post "Zib ba na"...

You can read more about goats as one of the symbols of the beginning of the rain season in my posts "Goat Carrier", "Green pastures"...and many others...