The mušḫuššu (𒈲𒍽; formerly also read as sirrušu or sirrush) or mushkhushshu (pronounced[muʃxuʃʃu] or [musxussu]) is a creature from
ancient Mesopotamian mythology. A
mythological hybrid, it is a scaly animal with hind legs resembling the talons of an
eagle,
lion-like forelimbs, a long neck and tail, two horns on its head, a snake-like tongue, and a crest. The mušḫuššu most famously appears on the
Ishtar Gate of the city of
Babylon, dating to the sixth century BCE.
The form mušḫuššu is the
Akkadian nominative of
Sumerian: 𒈲𒍽 MUŠ.ḪUŠ, 'reddish snake', sometimes also translated as 'fierce snake'.[2] One author,[3] possibly following others, translates it as 'splendour serpent' (𒈲 MUŠ is the Sumerian term for 'serpent'). The older reading sir-ruššu is due to a
mistransliteration of the cuneiform in early
Assyriology[4] and was often used as a placeholder before the actual reading was discovered.[5]
The mušḫuššu was the
sacred animal of
Marduk and his son
Nabu during the
Neo-Babylonian Empire. The dragon Mušḫuššu, whom Marduk once vanquished, became his symbolic animal and servant.[7] It was taken over by Marduk from
Tishpak, the local god of
Eshnunna.[8]
The
constellation Hydra was known in Babylonian astronomical texts as
Bašmu, 'the Serpent' (𒀯𒈲, MUL.dMUŠ). It was depicted as having the torso of a fish, the tail of a snake, the forepaws of a lion, the hind legs of an eagle, wings, and a head comparable to the mušḫuššu.[9][10]
9th century BCE depiction of the
Statue of Marduk, with his servant dragon Mušḫuššu at his feet. This was Marduk's main
cult image in Babylon.
Late Assyrian seal from the 8th century BCE showing a worshipper between
Nabu and
Marduk, standing on their servant dragon Mušḫuššu.
^Ceram, C. W. (1967). Gods, Graves, and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology. Translated by Garside, E. B.; Wilkins, Sophie (2nd ed.). New York:
Alfred A. Knopf. p. 294.
^Wiggerman, F. A. M. (1 January 1997).
"Transtigridian Snake Gods". In Finkel, I. L.; Geller, M. J. (eds.). Sumerian Gods and their Representations. Cuneiform Monographs. Vol. 7. Groningen, Netherlands: Styx Publications. pp. 34–35.
ISBN978-90-56-93005-9.
^E. Weidner, Gestirn-Darstellungen auf Babylonischen Tontafeln (1967) Plates IX–X.