Ram with royal ribbon

400–699 AD Sassanian silver plate originally from Iran, currently in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA

What is actually depicted on this plate?

This is the official description displayed under this artefact. I want to thank @officialnhaynes for posting the picture of this description and alerting me to this amazing object...

Who (or What) is this "stately ram" with royal ribbons tied around its neck? Why is it strutting over mountain tops towards a flowering plant? Why is ram symbol of fortune in Iran? The curators don't provide the answer to these questions...

Maybe I can try...

These are the final words spoken by Kay Khosrow, a legendary king of Iran at the end of  Shahnameh, The Iranian Book of Kings:

What's between Pisces and Taurus? Aries, Mar/Apr. 

What happens in Aries? The spring floods begin in Iran...

BTW Arias is an animal calendar marker that marks the end of the lambing season of the wild and domestic sheep...And the beginning of the milking season...Very important time of the year...I talked about the origin of Aries in my post "Aries must die"... 

Here is the Ram King sitting on his Royal Ram Throne...As depicted on this late 6th or early 7th c. AD Sassanian silver bowl...

I wrote about this in detail in these two articles: "Kay Khosrow" and "Eyeballs platter"

That's it. To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

Rhubarb and Ibex

3rd mill BC cup made in Western Iran, by the people of the Jiroft culture. According to this paper by Maryam Rezghirad from the University of Tehran, "It depicts ibex goats and a tree of life". Here are some interesting excerpts from the text:

I'll answer all of the questions at the end.

Quote: According to "The History of Iran in Achaemenid Period (From the History Collection of Cambridge)" by Gershevitch: "This animal (Ibex) was once worshiped as the incarnation of human and herd fertility...

Me: Why?

Quote: Motifs of the goat have long been a symbol of water, rain, abundance and guardian of the moon... 

Me: Why?

Quote: According to "The Concepts of the Mithras and Moon in Pre-Historical Potteries" by Abdollahian: "Horned animals such as Ibex are the symbol of fertility due to their horns’ resemblance of the crescent"... 

Me: Why is moon linked with fertility?

Quote: "Zoroastians" by Mazdapour: "When the first people Mashya and Mashyana had grown out of a rhubarb plant, ibex protected them and suckled them. For this reason, the goat is the symbol of fertility and growth".

Me: Why rhubarb and Ibex? 

Answers:

To understand any of this, we need to look at the climate in Iran and Mesopotamia, the annual variation of the angle of the crescent moon in the sky over Mespotamia and Iran, annual lifecycle of Ibex goats and rhubarb. Don't forget rhubarb...

In Iran/Mesopotamia, rains arrive when Ibex goats begin to mate, in Oct/Nov...

The ibex mating season is marked by wild male goat head banging, the sound of which can be heard from miles away...Not something you would easily miss if you lived in the area...

As I said once before, all our mythologies are the result of the fact that people are very good at noticing patterns in nature while simultaneously being very bad at distinguishing between correlation and causation 🙂

In Iran and Mesopotamia the fact that the beginning of the ibex goats mating season announced the beginning of the rain season resulted in ibex goat becoming "symbol of water, rain, abundance...and fertility"...

Ibex became "Goat of rain"...Which is, to me, best depicted on this 5000-4000BC vessel from Tepe Hissar, Northeastern Iran...I talked about this in my post "Vessel from Tepe Hissar"...

I talked about symbolism of ibex goats as animal calendar markers for winter/rain season in many of my posts, like 

Europe:

"Pitys", "Goat in European culture", "Patera of Rennes"... 

Levant:

"The tree of life/light", "Lachish animal calendar"...

Mesopotamia:

"Feast plaque from Louvre", "Green pastures", "Problems with Abzu", "Relief from Dur Sharrukin", "Goatfish"...

Iran: 

"Flamingos from Susa", "Goat carrier", "Iranian goat of rain", "Strider", "A vessel from Tepe Hissar"...

And it is that rain, that supports (the tree) of life...Hence goats and trees of life for everyone in Eastern Mediterranean, Levant, Mesopotamia, Iran, Central Asia...The same climate, the same ibex annual lifecycle, the same mythology...I talked about this in my post "Bactrian Bronze Age menorah", in which I talked about this cool Bactrian bronze stamp, dated to 2400BC-1600BC...

It was in Iran where we find the earliest transition from Goat of rain to God of rain...Through a goat man...I talked about this in my post "Master of animals from Tepe Giyan", in which I talked about this cool "Master of Animals" stamp seal from Tepe Giyan, Iran, dated to 5000-4000 BC, and depicting the eternal struggle between the rain goat and the sun serpent/dragon...

Actually this transformation of the goat of rain into god of rain started much earlier, most likely in the 9th millennium BC...I talked about this in my post "Zawi Chemi Shanidar"... 

What about the link between the rain, fertility, moon and ibex goats? 

To understand this, we need to know that this rain, fertile moon, is not just any moon. Its the upward pointing crescent moon. Crescent moon points upwards only during the wet half of the year...

Which is why it became the symbol of the moon god Nana/Sin. The most important god in Mesopotamia...Also linked with rain, water and fertility...

I talked about this here in my post "Moon god Nana/Sin" in which I analysed this cool Old Akkadian Cylinder Seal, dated to 2294-2270 BC...

And so winter Ibex goat brings rain and winter moon catches it...Rain which makes plants grow...As depicted on this Sassanian gem stone...

Finally, rhubarb...According to this article the wild rhubarb grows in Iran between Apr/May and May/Jun. 

When it is picked by the locals and turned into delicious food, like "Khoresh-e Rivas" – Lamb Rhubarb Stew. Here's the recipe...

Now the wild rhubarb picking season coincides with the end of the rain season, and with the beginning of the ibex birthing season (Oct/Nov + 160 days gestation)...

Which means that the first mortals born out of the rhubarb plant could indeed be suckled by lactating ibex goats...

Fun...

That's it. To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

Blue bull with golden horns

Stone figurine of a bull with a golden horns, Gilan, Iran, 1st mill BC.  The bull's blue(ish) stone body and golden horns suggest (to me at least🙂) that here we have an animal symbol linked with water and sun...And Taurus...  Why? Here's why:

This is the chart of the monthly flow of the Sefid Rud river, which flows through Gilan province of Iran from this article…You can see that the river is from Feb fed by snowmelt, which peaks in Apr/May, in Taurus...

Taurus which marks the beginning of summer, season symbolised by a bull...And ruled by the sun...I talked about this in my post "Symbols of the seasons"...

Taurus which originally had nothing to do with stars. It is an ancient animal calendar marker, which originally marked the beginning of the calving season of wild Eurasian cattle...

I talked about this in many of my articles, for instance "Cow and calf ivory", "Foundation peg of the goddess Nanshe", "Elamite water bull", "Human bull hybrid", "White calf", "Calydonian boar"...

It is the sun rising elevation 

and rising temperature which causes the snowmelt which fills the rivers with water.

And so, symbolically, every spring, the sun god Utu / Shamash climbs the holy mountain (Abzu, source of water) to free Enki / Ea, the god of sweet water from his icy prison and release the waters...

I talked about this in my posts "Shamash young and old", "When Utu steps up to heaven", "Problems of Abzu"...

Snowmelt which is the main water source for both Iranian rivers and Tigris and Euphrates.

Tigris and Euphrates annual flood (fed by snowmelt caused by the sun) peaks in Taurus, beginning of summer...

Hence Utu/Shamash depicted as a golden bull's head (sun) with lapis beard (flowing water). How do we know this is Utu/Shamash? Cause in "Enki and the world order" we read  "Utu/Shamash...the great herald in the east of holy An...with a lapis-lazuli beard, rising from the horizon..."  

I talked about this in my posts "Butt chewing", "Maran", "Lyres of Ur", "Solar bull"...

The Iranian blue bull with golden horns is most likely the Iranian symbolic equivalent of this golden bull Sun/Water bull Utu/Shamash or Enki/Ea, cause Enki was also known as "Great lord...Enki...great bull of the Abzu"...

BTW, I talked about Elamite/Iranian symbolic links between bulls and flood/water in my posts "Dedicated to Inshushinak", "Elamite water bull", "Harness ring from Luristan"...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

Rainbows and peacocks

A Sassanian dish, 400-600AD, Iran, Currently in Al Thani collection...

What is exactly depicted here? Some would say just an exotic dancer. I think that this is a depiction of the goddess Anahita, Zoroastrian goddess of water and fertility...

I already talked about Anahita in my post "Anahita" about this Sassanian dish, which again depicts her "holding a scarf above her head"...

In that article, I proposed that the scarf is symbolic depiction of a rainbow. 

Rainbow which is in Iran only seen during the rain season, which in most of Iran is Oct/Nov - Apr/May...

I also proposed that this is the tree of life that is depicted growing out of her scarf (rainbow) because it is the rainbow creating rain that is the source of life in Iran...

I then backed my claim by this other Sassanian dish which depicts the same tree of life, this time without Anahita as it's source, but instead flanked by two ibex goats, the goats of rain...

Ibex goats are animal calendar marker for the Oct/Nov, the beginning of the rain season in Iran, because Oct/Nov is when ibex goats start mating in Iran, mating which is characterised by vicious male goat fights...

I talked about symbolism of ibex goats in many of my posts, like 

Europe:

"Pitys", "Goat in European culture", "Patera of Rennes"... 

Levant:

"The tree of life/light", "Lachish animal calendar"...

Mesopotamia:

"Feast plaque from Louvre", "Green pastures", "Problems with Abzu", "Relief from Dur Sharrukin", "Goatfish"...

Iran: 

"Flamingos from Susa", "Goat carrier", "Iranian goat of rain", "Strider", "A vessel from Tepe Hissar"...

Above the goats, we can see some birds: 

Male and female peafowl

Male and female pheasants 

Why?

Well because both of these bird species start their mating season in Mar/Apr...

And this is important why?

Well, because all that rain (and snow) that falls during the cool wet season cause the water flow of the rivers in Iran to suddenly start increasing in Mar/Apr which leads to the floods in Apr/May/Jun...

Flow chart for the Zayandehrud River that flows through Isfahan. It suddenly increases in Mar/Apr. 

And here is Aries Ram, with blue (water) horns, lying in water...Describing exactly what is happening in Mar/Apr...In Aries...

Talked about it in my post "Sagittarius from Isfahan", about an amazing 14th c. Isfahan zodiac... 

Floods that Anahita as the goddess of water was also linked to...

We find Anahita with rainbow in Iron Age Iran...Bronze disc from Luristan, Western Iran. 8th century BC depicting a goddess holding a scarf (rainbow) above here head...

And in Bronze Age Iran...Chlorite carved flask, Jiroft culture, Western Iran, 3rd millennium BC depicting a goddess holding a rainbow above here head...

I talked about this in my post "Jiroft flood vase"...

Here is the whole flood vase design:

Bronze Age Anahita? Goddess of water? Standing on bulls...

In Taurus? Apr/May? The time of the annual flood? It seems like this is what is depicted here, considering that the goddess is holding a water scarf (rainbow) and the same water is depicted flowing out of bulls heads...

I talked about the link between bulls and annual flood in Iranian art in my post "Dedicated to Inshushinak", about this 3200 years old Elamite ceremonial silver pouring vessel with handle and double spout in the form of two bulls...

So peacocks and pheasants start mating right at the time when the water levels in Iranian rivers start to rise...

This is why, on our original Al Thani dish, Anahita is holding a scarf with the peacock feathers "eyes" designs above her head, and is flanked by two peacocks...

BTW, in India, where peacocks come from, they breed during the monsoon season, and are believed to "call the rain to come"...

I talked about this in my post "Makara", about the mount of the old monsoon god Varuna, who was mainly just imagined as a crocodile, but was sometimes imagined as a complex "creature" (animal calendar marker), with a peacock tail...

BTW, do you see the star and the moon next to the Bronze Age Anahita? 

That's symbol of Sirius..The original star of Inanna/Ishtar, before Venus took over...

I talked about this takeover in my post "Sirius the mother of Venus"... 

I explained why, based on Sumerian Inanna mythology, only Sirius could have been the original star of Inanna/Ishtar in my posts: "Inanna and Sukaletuda", "The brightest star"...

The brightest star which is visible in winter sky over Iran together with the winter moon...

I talked about the winter wet moon in my post "Moon god Nana/Sin"...

Sirius disappears from the night sky in Apr/May...The time of the fertility bringing annual flood...The emptying of the winter moon...Which is why we find this symbol right next to Bronze Age Anahita holding a rainbow...And which is why in the Sumerian epic "Inana and Šukaletuda" we read that Inana "stretched herself like a rainbow across the sky, and reached thereby as far as the earth"...

Cause Bronze Age Anahita was the same goddess as Bronze age Inanna/Ishtar...

It seems that I am not the only one linking Inanna/Ishtar with Anahita. I recently came across this article which actually explores the possibility that Anahita could actually be Inanna/Ishtar in disguise...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...