The other horned serpent, the ušum bašmu, or ušumgallu. Unlike the previous serpent, ušumgallu is us

The other horned serpent, the ušum bašmu, or ušumgallu. Unlike the previous serpent, ušumgallu is usually reserved for horned snakes with two legs (be they leonine or aquiline) and, rarely, a pair of wings. Again separating it from the bašmu is that is almost never has more than one head. Some translators use “hydra” to mean bašmu while relegating “dragon” for ušumgallu. Its name can variously be translated as “great dragon” or “prime venomous snake” or even simply “predator”. The stories told of it paint the ušumgallu as a true monster, a being of destructive force. Also unlike its many brothers, ušumgallu is usually given as a name for an individual monster, though this may not be true for all Mesopotamian traditions. When it is alone it is a monster of such great terror that gods and heroes earn their name by their defeat. Nabu, who the Babylonians considered the father of Marduk, was named “he who tramples the lion-dragon”. An Assyrian king seeking to please the god Ninurta (sometimes Nergal) placed golden ušumgallu at his statue. It was clearly not a beast that loved the gods. Even the Apkallu had to drive it away from the temple of Ishtar, lest it defile her place. The only gods associated with it were those able to kill it in battle. Mortal kings would often be represented as ušumgallu or called their name. But, why lion-dragon? There’s already an iconographic lion dragon, but it’s never in a position as described above. Well, this may be a case of translation. Ušumgallu’s name can be split up into ušum and gallu, which you may recall was also a part of Ugallu’s name. The first part is usually agreed to be something relating to great or awesome. The second part is trickier. Some times its beast, other times enemy or adversary, and the most published is lion. Together though, ušumgallu almost always refers to the clawed serpent emblazoned with horns. To further confuse things, ušumgallu was once the primary symbol of several gods, possibly including Marduk, before it was replaced by the more popular mušḫuššu. Then all the gods associated with mušḫuššu got stuck with ušumgallu. Mushussu may represent a transition from the two-legged ušumgallu to a more streamlined, imposing figure, combining three deadly beasts. Regardless, ušumgallu was still treated with a great deal of respect in the ancient world. Like in English, where one might refer to a tyrant as Dragon, ušumgallu was both respected and feared for its powerful undertones. Only the greatest of the great could slay such a beast.–  This was actually the first one of this series I drew. Which is why it’s probably better than most of them. Originally I was going to post it first, but was told that it would be better to save the dragons for last, which put him at the very back. The recreation of the depiction of usumgallu might look familiar to some as the most common figure associated with Tiamat. However, the depiction is also the closest to usumgallu, being a horned snake with the forelimbs of an eagle. I decided to make its horns rather ornate, because of its association with royalty. As well, its standing position is closer to a dinosaur than what’s represented in the art to give it a bigger, more imposing form. Well, this series has been fun! Glad to end on a high note as well, I really like the design fo- what was that. W-why do I hear boss music?Next time, momma’s home. And she’s pissed. -- source link

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