A Lamassu, or “Protective Deity”, from the Palace of Assyrian King Sargon II (r. 722-705 BC). This 16ft high and weighs 40 tons sculpture was excavated during archaeological exploration between 1928-1932, at Dur-Sharrukin (present day Khorsabad, in northern Iraq). At the time, Dur-Sharrukin was the capitol of what is now known as the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The city was abandoned after Sargon II died in battle in 705 BC, against the province of Tabal in Anatolia (Türkiye), and the capitol was then moved to Nineveh.

The large sculpture fragments that were excavated at Khorsabad were packed in crates and transported to Chicago, where they were brought into the OI Museum through the wall of the gallery as it was being built in 1930. It was then restored and assembled on the same spot. Its massiveness required the floor to be reinforced and the building to be built around it, which ensures that OI’s  lamassu will never be moved to another spot in the museum or loaned to another institution. Currently, preserved at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum.

In Assyrian Mythology, there were human headed winged bulls/lions that were protective genies. During the 9th century Nimrud Genies were protective, powerful elements placed in palaces to enhance the king’s prestige and power but to also serve as a guardian to him in his most vulnerable states (Lamassu and Shedu were protective household spirits in Babylon (Pauline). The. lamassu is a mythological hybrid, a protective deity known to “turn back an evil person,” that is composed of the head of a human, the body of a bull, and the wings of a bird. These figures are depicted in Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the textual sources for iconography of these figures. Akkadians associated the human-bull hybrid as a gatekeeper associated with the god Papsukkal, who is the attendant deity of Anu (sky god of the supreme deities) and functions as a gatekeeper in the spiritual world by providing a pathway between the higher gods and humans (Heffron). While these hybrid creatures were supernatural beings, they were superior to humans but were not considered to be deities. Even though the Lamassu does wear a horned cap/tiara, which proves their divinity, they were not considered deities in their culture.

During Assyrian period, Mesopotamian kings established palaces in cities such as  Nimrūd and Dur Sharrukin. The palaces were a display of the kings’ power, and lamassu served to guard and exude that power. Inscriptions in cuneiform that declared aking’s might and punishment for those who opposed him were also added to some of these sculptures. Artisans carved lamassu in situ from monolithic stone weighing as much as 40 tons or more.

Throughout the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883-859 BC) and Sargon II (r. 722-705 BC), the construction of a new capital presented opportunities to prove the most important aspects of culture and beliefs of the time. With the geographical differences along with a new ruler, Lamassu stayed a prevalent part of the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian culture.

Lamassu are not sculptures in the round but “double-aspect” reliefs that are meant to be viewed from the front or the side. Lamassu may have four or five legs. For those that have five, two legs can be seen from the front, with the effect being that the figure appears to be standing still; in profile, four legs are visible, which makes the figure appear to be striding forward.  Lamassu also have horned crowns and elaborate beards, and they have earrings in their ears, some of which are human and others are of a bull. According to some scholars, individual parts of a lamassu have specific meanings: the body of the bull represents strength, the wings represent freedom, and the human head represents intelligence.

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