Goodbye, not hello, to Girsu at Tello

by Damien F. Mackey “In the late 4th century BC a Greco-Babylonian high-priest exhumed the remains of the temple of Ningirsu and resurrected the cult of the statues of Gudea.” Dr. Sébastien Rey The Greco-Romans would greatly venerate and deify the ancient Egyptian sages, Imhotep and Amenhotep son of Hapu, according to what we read in the article, “Imhotep”, in the New World Enyclopedia: …. The veneration of Imhotep grew to deification in the Late Period and the Greco-Roman era when his cult reached its zenith, and a number of shrines and temples were dedicated to the deified scholar. His main areas of worship appear to have been in the area of Saqqara, on the island of Philae, and at Thebes where he was also worshiped along with the deified 18th-dynasty sage Amenophis [Amenhotep] Son of Hapu at Deir el-Bahri and in the Ptolemaic temple at Deir al-Medina. An important inscription regarding him was placed in the temple of Ptah at Karnak in the reign of Tiberius. …. Given his association with medicine and healing, it is understandable that Imhotep came to be seen as the divine patron of the physician's arts. As a result of this patronage, he came to be affiliated with the Greek God Asclepius during the Hellenistic period. For this reason Sir William Osler describes Imhotep as the real Father of Medicine, "the first figure of a physician to stand out clearly from the mists of antiquity." …. Just as in the cult of Asclepius, temples of Imhotep came to be pilgrimage sites, where the afflicted would make votive offerings in hopes of receiving a divine cure. …. The tenor of these cultic beliefs is well-represented by a surviving hymn (which can be dated to the reign of Tiberius, 14–37 C.E.): Hail to you, kind-[hearted] god, Imhotep son of Ptah! Come to your house, your temple in Thebes, May its people see you with joy! Receive what is presented there, Inhale the incense, Refresh your body with libation! ... Men applaud you, Women worship you, One and all exalt your kindness! For you heal them, You revive them, You renew your father's creation. …. [End of quotes] And I suggest that the very same sort of thing was done in the case of Gudea of Girsu and Lagash, an ancient sage resurrected by the Greco-Romans. Where were Girsu and Lagash/Lakish? The places with which the famous Gudea was associated are primarily Girsu and Lagash (or Lakish), thought to have been closely connected Sumerian sites. The trouble is, Girsu and Lagash (Lagaš) will disappear off the Sumerian map. Seth Richardson refers to them as ‘falling off the political map’. Thus I wrote on this: Amazingly - though not really surprisingly under the circumstances - Lagash and Girsu seem to ‘fall permanently off the political map’, according to Seth Richardson …. : Ningirsu returns to his plow: Lagaš and Girsu take leave of Ur (2008) (5) Ningirsu returns to his plow: Lagaš and Girsu take leave of Ur (2008) | Seth Richardson - Academia.edu The Ur III state came to its end through a series of passive defections of individual provinces over the course of about twenty years, rather than by any single catastrophic event. This pattern of defections is nowhere better reflected than in the gradual progression of provinces abandoning the use of Ibbi-Sîn’s year names over his years 2–8. Among the cities that fell away from the control of Ur in those years were Girsu and Lagaš, where Ur III year names are not attested after Ibbi-Sîn’s sixth year. …. Like Puzriš-Dagān and Umma (but unlike Larsa, Uruk, Isin, and Nippur), these cities seemingly fell permanently off the political map of lower Mesopotamia following their departure from Ur’s control, never again the seat of significant institutional life to judge by the low number of texts and inscriptions coming from the sites. At the same time, it is difficult to assert from evidence that any hardship or conflict either precipitated or resulted from Lagaš-Girsu’s decamping from Ur’s authority; no especial difficulty marks the event. …. [End of quote] The reason for why Girsu and Lagash (and other places) fall of the Mesopotamian map is because they should never have been on that particular map in the first place. Lagash (Lakish) and Eshnunna (Ashnunna) were Lachish in Judah, as I have written, in e.g.: As Ashduddu (Ashdod) is to Lachish, so, likewise, is Eshnunna to Lagash (6) As Ashduddu (Ashdod) is to Lachish, so, likewise, is Eshnunna to Lagash | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu This is a long way from the land of Sumer. Gudea, the renowned and pious temple builder of Girsu and Lagash, was none other than King Solomon himself: Yahweh, Solomon, Jerusalem - Ningirsu, Gudea and Girsu (6) Yahweh, Solomon, Jerusalem - Ningirsu, Gudea and Girsu | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Gudea (King Solomon) was also Senenmut (King Solomon in Egypt), sharing similar diorite statues: So, in the case of those who had tried to dissuade Dr. Sébastien Rey regarding his Girsu project at the site of Tello, 'Oh no you're making it up you're wasting your time you're wasting British museum UK government funding …', as quoted by Chloe Louise at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11765351/Girsu-Project-archaeologist-accused-making-finding-lost-palace.html I think that they may have had a point – though for reasons quite different from mine. Gudea and ancient Girsu do not belong at Tello. They, and the famed temple, have apparently been artificially resurrected there by later superstitious Greco-Romans of the same mentality as those who sought to deify Imhotep and Amenhotep son of Hapu. According to Dr. Sébastien Rey’s interview, “Exploring Girsu”: (6) Exploring Girsu: Discoveries at the Home of a Sumerian Hero God | Sebastien Rey - Academia.edu …. In the Old Babylonian period the temple was decommissioned (de-sanctified) and the statues were ritually buried. But something quite remarkable happened at Girsu in the Hellenistic period, about 1500 years after the ritual closure of the temple and the burial of the statues. In the late 4th century BC a Greco-Babylonian high-priest exhumed the remains of the temple of Ningirsu and resurrected the cult of the statues of Gudea. In the chaos that followed the collapse of Seleucid rule in Babylonia, the shrine was burnt to the ground and the statues gathered in the large courtyard were defaced and beheaded. The heads were collected and taken away as booty, thus breaking the link between past and present. And this is precisely the archaeological context, or setting in which the French pioneers of the late 19th century found the hoard of headless sculptures portraying a Sumerian king in a Hellenistic shrine. …. [End of quote] “… breaking the link between past and present” is precisely what, I think, has happened here, not to mention the associated geographical peculiarities. See also my related article: Called Sumerian History, but isn’t (3) Called Sumerian History, but isn’t. | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu