Gudea

EXAMINE the relationship between the gods and the rulers of the ancient
kingdoms of the Near East.

Much of early Mesopotamian society held gods who were nature based such as Anu:
God of the sky, Enlil: Lord of the wind and earth and Nanna: God of the moon,
among others. Rulers were considered to be earthly representatives of those Gods.
The rulers were caretakers of the earth (which belonged to the Gods) and rulers
expended considerable wealth and effort constructing monuments to their Gods.
Examples include Ziggurats, which were large mud brick structures which served as
temples dedicated to a particular God. Often the builders of these temples made
requests to the Gods, such as a long life, in exchange for building the temple. Over
time rulers such as Sargon and Akkad became less pious and considered themselves
more divine, more god-like.
Gudea rejected this ideal and returned to the earlier Sumerian model of piety. Gudea
was particularly prolific in constructing monuments to the gods. According to the
text, he built or rebuilt many temples, at great cost. Each temple held his statue,
which stood to service the Gods. According to documents buried in the foundations
of these temples, Guida had dreams in which Gods asked him to build temples in
their honor.
The text presents two statues of Gudea. Inscriptions deferential to the Gods further
reinforce the piety of Gudea. Most carvings are of Diorite, an imported and difficult
carving medium. Interestingly, both statues depict Gudea with hands folded, a near
universal symbol of prayer. One is seated and holds a tablet which contains
construction plans for a new temple. Uncharacteristically the second sculpture
depicts Gudea standing, holding a jar overflowing with symbols of life, water and
fish. This indicates he is the provider of life giving resources (rather than the Gods).
This and other inconsistencies lead some think this work is not genuine.
Clues about the relationship between the rulers and their subjects can be found in
the surviving artwork. The social rank was indicted by their relative size, Gods were
the shown largest, rulers relatively smaller and subjects even smaller yet. Captured
Enemies were often shown in scale smaller than the subjects. The vase
Presentations of Offerings to Inanna and the Standard of Ur depict such use of
scale to indicate rank. Surprisingly the White Temple (ziggurat) is very reminiscent of
the Mayan temples I visited in Mexico.
Unfortunately, many parallels to the ancient relationship between God and ruler still
exist today. Three major religions hold a God residing above the earth and describe
representatives of God on Earth in their respective texts. Iran is ruled by a
Supreme leader. The Pope rules the Vatican city state and many politicians in the
United States have been elected based on their closeness to God.