Sumerian Shakespeare
Babylonians in Bed
There are several examples of clay models like this one. They are commonly described as
“a man and woman in bed.” On the page about Babylonian Prostitutes, I said that is not
precisely what’s happening, and I asked you to guess what it is. Have you figured it out?
No? Perhaps seeing a line-drawing will help.
Now it should be clear what's going on.
It has been suggested this is a king and a lukur priestess in bed. The priestess is a stand-in
for a goddess. The king and the surrogate goddess are enacting the Sacred Marriage,
a fertility ritual that guarantees abundance for the land. However, there is no royal or
religious symbolism to indicate that the couple is indeed a king and a lukur priestess.
If you still don’t know the answer, I’ll give you two more hints:
The above two hints taken together should make it clear what is happening.
Still don't know? Okay, I’ll tell you
In both examples, notice how the woman is cupping her breast (isn’t that the man’s job?).
As explained on the page about Babylonian Prostitutes, “In Babylonian art, this is the
hallmark of a prostitute." Regardless of whatever else a woman is doing, if she is
performing this gesture, she is a prostitute.
This isn’t a young couple making love, it’s a man having sex with a paid prostitute.
There are other examples of Babylonian men and women in bed:
In both of these cases, the woman is not cupping her breasts and she isn’t wearing jewelry
or a belt, so technically she isn’t a prostitute. Then on the other hand, maybe she is,
as explained on the page about Babylonian Prostitutes (near the end of the page).
kar-kid = prostitute
April 27, 2019
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