Urmahlullu
GroupingMythological hybrids
Similar entitiesCentaur
FolkloreMesopotamian

An urmahlullu (Sumerian language: 𒌨𒈤𒇽𒍇 ur-maḫ lu₂-lu₇) is a fictitious and mythological lion-centaur hybrid creature. They are quadrupedal felines from the waist down and humanoids from the waist up, and have appeared in the folklore and myths of several cultures of antiquity, as well as in European art of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance.

Ancient Assyria and Mesopotamian Culture

The urmahlullu ("untamed lion man") is a mythical ancient Mesopotamian beast with a lion-centaur appearance. It was sometimes depicted as holding a club and wearing a cap of divinity. A guardian spirit, its image was used to ward against various malign demons, including the winged death demon Mukīl rēš lemutti[1] and the lavatory demon Šulak.[2] Statues of Urmahlullu were sometimes placed outside lavatories, such as those in Nineveh's North Palace,[3] or buried on either side of the lavatory door in homes wealthy enough to have lavatories on the premises.[2]

Urmahlullu also appear on Assyrian cylinder seals.

Indus Valley and Harappan Culture

Urmahlullu also appear in cylinder and square seals found in excavations of the Indus Valley city-state of Kalibangan. In one scene, a researcher describes a lion-centaur goddess wearing a head-dress with a long pendant whose body merges with that of the tiger. This goddess is associated with the later Hindu goddess of war.[4]

Medieval Europe

At this time known as sagittarius, lion-centaurs appear as grotesques in prayer books, gargoyles in churches, and as aquamanilia. Etienne de Blois, later King Stephen of England, featured sagittaries on his coat of arms and was known as "The Sagittary of London Park."

References

  1. ↑ Bane, Theresa (25 April 2016). Encyclopedia of beasts and monsters in myth, legend and folklore. Jefferson, North Carolina. p. 328. ISBN 9780786495054. OCLC 930364175.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 A.R. George (2015). ON BABYLONIAN LAVATORIES AND SEWERS. Iraq, 77, pp 75-106 doi:10.1017/irq.2015.9
  3. ↑ Kertai, David (2015). The architecture of Late Assyrian royal palaces (First ed.). Oxford. p. 192. ISBN 9780191789724. OCLC 908099822.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ A 2013 book of academic papers—specifically, the paper, "Regional Diversity in the Harappan World: The Evidence of the Seals" by Marta Ameri. chapter 19 pages 365-366 figure K-50A.
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