The iconographical and mythological contexts of serpent(s)-fighting scene on the Old Assyrian seal impression from Kültepe (the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts I 2 b 1591)

Abstract

An impression of an Old Assyrian seal from Kültepe from collection of Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow carries an image that was not recognized but by present authors and is of great interest as it depicts a scene of a hero’s battle with a serpent-like demonic character (most likely, this is a double or two-headed monster). Rarity of serpent-fighting scenes in the Ancient Near Eastern art makes it important to study the composition and plot of the impression in its traceable iconographical and mythological contexts, in order to establish its cultural connotations (Anatolian, Syrian, Mesopotamian), considering that Kültepe was the center of interaction and synthesis of several cultural traditions. It turns out that the closest iconographical and mythological parallels to the image in study can be found in Eastern Anatolia and its main routs can be assigned to local (Hattian-Hittite-Hurrian) cultural symbiosis.