2000 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
| Project/Area Number |
09610032
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Religious studies
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| Research Institution | Toyo Eiwa University |
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Principal Investigator |
IWATA(WATANABE) Kazuko (渡辺 和子) Dept. of Humanities, Toyo Eiwa University, Professor, 人間科学部, 教授 (00223397)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1997 – 2000
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| Keywords | Assur / Assyria / Pantheon / Eunuch / Seal / Iconography |
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| Research Abstract |
Having studied the religion of Assyria, I could successfully analyze especially the two points as follow :
1. Religious identity of Assyria and its understanding of foreign cultyres
Assyria, in the midst of the Ancient Orient, could amazingly be exist continuously from 2000 BC to 612 BC.What made it possible is, in my viewpoint, the characteristic of the god Assur, the supreme god of Assyria. The god was a deification of the place called Assur. The city and the country around the city were Assur. Assyria (the country Assur) was therefore identical with the god Assur. Assyria was influenced by foreign cultures with time, but did not lose the identity thanks to its unique religious and historical identity.
2. Religious aspects of Neo-Assyrian officials' seals
Most of the official's seals in Neo-Assyrian period (1000〜612 BC) show depictions of the owner of the seal as worshiper who is standing before the depiction of deity. Scrutinizing the seal inscriptions and the iconography of the official's seals I could elucidate that there are two groups of the officials, i.e. the eunuchs and "the bearded", and that the both kind of officials were worshipping the deities which can be devided into four groups (a male god, a goddess, a pair of a male god and a goddess, winged sun disk).
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