UC Berkeley

Abstract

Materializing Apotropaia: The Entangled Body and Neo-Assyrian Magical Arts, 9th–7th BCE

by

Miriam K. Said

Doctor of Philosophy in the History of Art

University of California, Berkeley

Professor Marian H. Feldman, Co-Chair

Professor Andrew Stewart, Co-Chair

This dissertation explores how material apotropaia—objects meant to ward off evil such as figurines, amulets, and seals—depicting the Mesopotamian demons Lamaštu and Pazuzu were conceived as magically efficacious in the first millennium BCE. Departing from prior studies that examine these objects through philological, iconographic, and typological lenses, it uses phenomenological and materialist approaches. This dissertation foregrounds the intersection of human-object relationships, material value, presence, scale, and inscribed texts in order to reconstruct vibrant histories that explain how these objects were animated and magically functional.

Chapter One discusses how specific properties of obsidian were harnessed in the fight against the demon Lamaštu. Lamaštu amulets constitute some of the oldest forms of apotropaia in ancient Mesopotamia. Among the 97 published amulets are a rare few made from obsidian, a volcanic glass with a long history of use in the ancient Near East for utilitarian tool production and elite prestige goods. The chapter explores how the material characteristics of obsidian, its inherent luminosity, and the cultural value attached to this stone were brought to bear on the apotropaic function of the object. The amulet in the presence of light is transformed into a lustrous, nearly translucent glass. Such a transformation, I argue, was central to its ability to limit Lamaštu’s malevolent capabilities. The concentrated illumination resulted in an erasure of Lamaštu’s image from the surface of the amulet, underscoring the logic of obsidian for what amounts to a material exorcism.

Chapter Two investigates a group of Pazuzu apotropaia that consists of three different types of body ornaments: fibulae, pendants, and seals. All these works were cast in bronze and all incorporated the disembodied head of Pazuzu, considered to be a primary locus of his power. Their function as dress items implicates a relationship to the human body, and this chapter explores how these Pazuzu ornaments worked in and on the body by probing three particular facets of the objects and their demonic subject. The first is a close focus on Pazuzu’s character as a wind demon. As “king of the evil lilû-demons,” Pazuzu had a close mythological association with winds, which were believed to carry both disease and malevolence and to be a pathway for divine communication, in addition to functioning as important structural and geographic principles. The second significant criterion for my study is the materiality of bronze. I argue that the materiality of bronze – as a medium characterized by both its fluidity and hardness, and therefore by perpetual regeneration – was suitably potent for capturing the image of Pazuzu, a fundamentally intangible force, in metallic stasis. The final criterion is the scale of these objects, which I discuss through the lens of miniaturization theory. Pazuzu, as a demonic force and as part of larger, culturally significant phenomena, is reduced to a scale whereby human comprehension is achievable. The miniature size of the dress items and their presence on the human body made it possible for the person upon whom these objects were placed to exercise control over the demon

Chapter Three looks specifically at figurines of Pazuzu that have been inscribed with incantations. This discussion puts these objects in dialogue with other types of apotropaic figurines that were discovered buried beneath the floors at significant junctures of Assyrian homes. These predominantly clay figurines were ritually prescribed to be efficacious while essentially invisible from human perception. I argue that Pazuzu figurines complemented their magic above ground, Pazuzu’s very power vested in the perception of his demonic presence. Furthermore, the inscriptions and their relationship to the visual and physical features of the figurines amplified this power. The inscriptions, Standard Incantations A and B, recount Pazuzu’s mythological lineage and his demonic prowess. I argue that the inscriptions were efficacious to literate and non-literate viewers alike, whether for their semantic content, their complementarity with the visual image, or for the haptic engagement engendered by their formal characteristics as iconic text. The chapter ends with a meditation on the medium of clay and how its materiality and connection to beliefs about creation bolstered the efficaciously inscribed body of the demon.

Central to this dissertation is the importance of human engagement with, and perception of, the specific materials used in the creation of Lamaštu and Pazuzu apotropaia. More importantly, the dynamic of control – of production processes, targeted manipulation of material and form, the visibility of images, and ultimately of the demons themselves – was especially vital in accessing and deploying the power of Lamaštu and Pazuzu apotropaia