*4.4. Other Gods, Goddesses, and Mythological Creatures*

A number of other deities and mythological creatures are attested to in the textual and material record from Ammon. From provenanced Ammonite inscriptions the following additional deity names are attested: ގAdon (*CAI*, no. 40),29 ގAli (*CAI*, no. 147:8), ގAnat (*CAI*, no. 211), Bagaގ) *CAI*, no. 147:3),<sup>30</sup> Gad (*CAI*, no. 147:4),31 ގIlon (*CAI*, no. 179),32 Nanay (*CAI*, no. 65:5, and possibly in 137:11),33 Qoš (*CAI*,

<sup>26</sup> Non-provenanced conoid seals whose inscriptions might be Ammonite Ø*CAI*, no. 1b (Ammonite or Aramaic).

<sup>27</sup> ØSalt 5 is a very stylized non-provenanced scaraboid stamp seal dating to the seventh century BCE. In the upper part of the field between two worshippers is what appears to be a star (*CSAJ*, pp. 276–77). Other possibly Ammonite scaraboid stamp seals that depict stars are Ø*CAI*, nos. 1, 8c (probably Moabite), 11, 17a (round, possibly Aramaic), 20 (probably Moabite), 28, 29a (probably Aramaic), 31 (probably Moabite or Edomite), 69, 97 (probably Moabite), 98 (probably Moabite), 111, 126, 136, 142, 158, 190, 209.

<sup>28</sup> On the possible connection between the "Queen of Heaven" mentioned in Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:17–25 and Ištar, see (Houtman 1999; Keel and Uehlinger 1998, pp. 292–94).

<sup>29</sup> This deity name also occurs in the following non-provenanced inscriptions: Ø*CAI*, nos. 17, 17a.

<sup>30</sup> A Persian deity name.

<sup>31</sup> Means "fortune," but also appears to be a deity name. This deity name also occurs in the following non-provenanced inscription that is probably Ammonite: Ø*CAI*, nos. 127.

<sup>32</sup> Linguistically related to <sup>ގ</sup>El. <sup>33</sup> Consort of the Babylonian god Nabu.

no. 238),<sup>34</sup> and Yahu (*CAI*, no. 147:7).<sup>35</sup> While many of these deity names appear only once, the list demonstrates a diversity of gods and goddesses,<sup>36</sup> including several that are normally associated with other regions (Bagaގ, Nanay, Qoš, Yahu).<sup>37</sup> The mechanisms by which non-native names made their way to the region are surely diverse, most likely including migration, commercial contacts, diplomatic, and military contact.

The iconography on seals found in Ammon attests to several other nonphysical beings that might have been known. It is possible that many of the conoid stamp seals listed below were produced elsewhere, but having been found in Ammon, some familiarity with the images on the seals is likely, even if that familiarity is not attached to a specifically named god, goddess, or other nonphysical being. As with the names from seals, some of which are of foreign origin, a number of the beings or symbols of gods originated from outside the region of Ammon and made their way to the area by a variety of mechanisms. From the available seals, the following nonphysical beings or their symbols are attested:38


<sup>34</sup> Name of the Edomite state god.

<sup>35</sup> The name of the Judean and Israelite god. This deity name also occurs in the following non-provenanced inscriptions that have been identified by some scholars as possibly Ammonite: Ø*CAI*, nos. 4, 9c.

<sup>36</sup> A pair of statuettes that is most likely a male-female pair might represent ގEl and his consort were found at Khirbat al-Hajjar (Ibrahim 1971; Abou Assaf 1980, pp. 21–22, tafeln I–II). One of the statuettes bears the *atef* crown and fits with the iconography of ގEl discussed above. The other statuette appears to be female, though the face is damaged badly, and so an identification remains uncertain (Dornemann 1983, p. 157 n. 2). Four other female double-faced heads were found in secondary deposition on the Amman Citadel (Zayadine 1973, pp. 34–35, pls. XXI–XXIII). These were in all likelihood designed to be integrated into decorative architecture and viewed from both sides (Abou Assaf 1980, p. 83; Dornemann 1983, pp. 160–61; Prag 1987, pp. 123–25; Zayadine 1973, p. 34). A general identification of these as representing a goddess is possible though not by no means certain (Hübner 1992, pp. 265–66).

<sup>37</sup> Non-provenanced inscriptions that are possibly Ammonite add a few more deity names to the list. Inscriptions that are non-provenanced but probably Ammonite include the following theophoric elements: ގAstarte (Ø*CAI*, no. 56:4), Bes (Ø*CAI*, no. 44 [there are major disagreements over how to decipher this inscription]), Dagon (Ø*CAI*, no. 78a [the seal is damaged

and difficult to reconstruct]), <sup>ގ</sup>Ešem (Ø*CAI*, no. 71b), <sup>ގ</sup>Inurta (Ø*CAI*, no. 55), and Mot (Ø*CAI*, no. 44). <sup>38</sup> Several non-provenanced seals that are possibly Ammonite add several other deities or symbols to the list. Ø*CAI*, no. 103 depicts a naked female with hands on her breasts. Hübner suggests she is a representation of the consort of Milkom, a *dea nutrix* figure (Hübner 1993, p. 142). A local adaptation of the Egyptian god Harpokrates is visible on Ø*CAI*, nos. 110, 111 (Hübner 1993, p. 143).

<sup>39</sup> Bes may also appear epigraphically in a name on the non-provenanced inscription Ø*CAI*, no. 44.

49 (*CSAJ*, pp. 10–11, 38–39), Meqabelein 1 (*CSAJ*, pp. 190–91; Figure 5b), Tall al-Mazar 14 (*CSAJ*, pp. 300–1; Figure 5d), Tall Safut 5 (*CSAJ*, pp. 436–37).

	- a. Bull-man—Varying somewhat from depiction to depiction, a bull-man has the body of a bull, a human head, and sometime wings (Black and Green 1992, p. 51). One appears on the scaraboid stamp seal ގAmman 6 (*CSAJ*, pp. 14–15; Figure 11b), and on another scaraboid stamp seal, Tall al-ގUmeiri 55 (*CSAJ*, pp. 342–43).
	- b. Genius—Genius is a generic name used to cover a number of figures with human heads and bodies with the addition of wings (Black and Green 1992, pp. 87–88). What appears to be a four-winged genius is visible on one side of the scaraboid stamp seal ގAmman 6 (*CAI*, no. 41; *CSAJ*, pp. 14–15), but the head area is damaged and hence impossible to know for sure. Another four-winged genius appears on Tall Safut 4 (*CSAJ*, pp. 436–37).40
	- c. Griffin—A mythological creature with leonine body and tail, wings, and an eagle/bird head (Black and Green 1992, pp. 99–101) appears on two conoid stamp seals ގAmman 4 and 54 (*CSAJ*, pp. 10–11, 42–43; Figure 6a). Two more appear on the cylinder seal Tall al-Mazar 24 (*CSAJ*, pp. 306–7; Figure 9f), with an additional example on the scaraboid stamp seal Tall Dschalul 2 (*CSAJ*, pp. 420–21). Two additional griffin-like figures appear on Tall al-Mazar 23, a cylinder seal, but the body type is difficult to identify (*CSAJ*, pp. 306–7; Figure 4b).41
	- d. Lion-demon (*ugallu*)—This creature has a lion head with upright ears or horns, a human body, and clawed bird feet (Black and Green 1992, pp. 119–21). It appears on the conoid stamp seal ގAmman 5 (*CSAJ*, pp. 12–13; Figure 7d). A second figure on the same side of this seal may be likewise be a lion-demon, but the area where the head would appear is damaged.
	- e. *Mušuٰuššu*—This mythological protective beast is a mix of snake, lion, and bird, and over time was associated with several of the main gods of Mesopotamia, including Marduk, Nabu, and Aššur (Black and Green 1992, p. 166). It appears in stylized form on the conoid stamp seal ގAmman 49 (*CSAJ*, pp. 38–39; Figure 11d) in association with the spade of Marduk.

<sup>40</sup> A non-provenanced scaraboid stamp seal that is possibly Ammonite has a four-winged humanoid wearing the Egyptian double crown and could possibly be considered a genius (Ø*CAI*, no. 107). Another similar image appears on a scaraboid stamp seal that might be Ammonite, but is likely either Phoenician or Aramaic (Ø*CAI*, no. 1a).

<sup>41</sup> The following non-provenanced seals that are probably Ammonite have griffins as well. Ø*CAI*, no. 17; Ø*CAI*, no. 50 (scaraboid stamp seal); Ø*CAI*, no. 55 (conoid stamp seal with griffin-like being).

**Figure 11.** Other gods and mythological creatures: (**a**) ގAmman 62; (**b**) ގAmman 6; (**c**) Tall Safut 4; (**d**) 49. Ammanގ

Noticeable in the iconography of these nonphysical beings is a significant bent towards beings whose origins are in Mesopotamia. This is not necessarily surprising, given the military and economic ascendency of Assyria and Babylonia in the late eighth through sixth centuries, which brought many other types of cultural borrowings to the Levant. Given that there are no mythological texts from the Ammonites, nor architectural representations of these beings from Ammon, we can say little about how they were perceived, whether they had names specific to the Ammonites, or how they fit within the Ammonite pantheon. Mentions in the Hebrew Bible of the Mesopotamian god Nabu (Isaiah 46:1) and the Egyptian god Bes (in a personal name; Ezra 2:49), along with descriptions of cherubim (e.g., Exodus 25:17–22; 1 Kings 6:23–38) and seraphim (Isaiah 6), that are Hebrew categories of *Mischwesen*, suggest that people in the southern Levant were aware of some foreign gods, and had indigenous categories of beings that paralleled those found in other areas. Without arguing that all of the gods, goddesses, and other nonphysical beings listed here were explicitly known in Ammon, the list provides a sense of the variety of beings that were understood to inhabit the nonphysical world of the Ammonites. That world was multilayered and populated by beings with varying roles to play in individual, family, and political life.
