Women & Girls in the Ancient World/ PART 3: The Diyala Statues

The Diyala statues
The Edgar and Deborah Jannotta Mesopotamian Gallery, the Oriental Institute Museum 

How did the ancient Mesopotamians worship their gods? What do excavated artifacts tell us about religion in ancient Mesopotamia? What roles did women play in Mesopotamian religious life?
Dr. Kate Grossman, one of the presenters in the Women & Girls in the Ancient World: Their History, Our History May event, is taking us to ancient Mesopotamia. In this post, we will look at the Diyala statues, which are displayed in the Edgar and Deborah Jannotta Mesopotamian Gallery at the Oriental Institute Museum. Dr. Grossman shares her insights into the relationships between these artifacts and ancient religious life (especially that of women) in Mesopotamia.

Male and Female Statues. Gypsum. Early Dynastic period (ca. 2750-2500 B.C.). Iraq, Diyala Region.
Excavated by the Oriental Institute.

What are the Diyala statues? 
The Diyala statues are a group of sculptures showing men and women standing with their hands clasped, a pose used by worshippers praying in ancient Mesopotamian temples. Wealthy people would commission sculptors to make statues like these – presumably images of themselves – and then dedicate the statue to a temple, where it would stand and continually pray to the god in their place. These particular statues were made around 2500 B.C. in the Diyala region of central Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, east of Baghdad). The statues were carved out of white gypsum (sometimes with eyes made of shell and colored stone), and in antiquity they may have been painted bright colors. Archaeologists discovered many of the Diyala statues in a small pit dug in the floor of the temple. The temple staff buried them there when the statues were no longer being used in temple rituals.


Why were temples such an important part of life in ancient Mesopotamia?
 
Each Mesopotamian city had a patron god or goddess whose temple (the “house of the god”) played a major role in the life of the city. The gods were thought to control the universe, and they had to be cared for properly in order for the cosmos to continue functioning correctly. The care of the gods included making sure that their statues (which lived in the temples) were carefully clothed, fed, bathed, and prayed to. Beyond their religious functions, temples were also heavily invested in the economic life of the city; they owned a great deal of land and employed vast numbers of people as farmers, craftsmen, scribes, and laborers.

What role did women play in Mesopotamian religious life?
 
Women played an active role in religious life and in temple administration. High-ranking royal women often served as priestesses, living a cloistered life in elaborate buildings within the temple precincts. Perhaps the most famous of these women was Enheduanna, a daughter of King Sargon of Akkad. Sargon installed Enheduanna as chief priestess of the moon god Nanna in the city of Ur. While serving Nanna, Enheduanna wrote many hymns and literary compositions, leading some to call her “the Sumerian Shakespeare.”


Suggested Guiding Questions and Basic Activities for Students

For Middle School Level:
A Photojournalism Project: My Once-Precious Object
These statues were sacred objects. When they were no longer used in the temple, they could not just be thrown out. Nevertheless, they had to be disposed of somehow. In this activity, you will write an essay about how you care for special objects that you no longer use.

Steps:

1. Think about one object that you no longer use, but that was once special to you.
2. If necessary, interview your family members to learn about the history of the object and its significance to your family.
3. Gather and sort a number of photographs that tell about the background of this object.
4. Write a short essay correlating to the pictures sorted and information gathered from the interviews. In the essay, describe and explain how you handle it now.

Guiding Questions:

• Why are you keeping this object? Are you keeping it because of its religious, cultural, or economic value?
• Do you have a special place where you (or your parents) keep objects like this? What is the importance of this place to you or your family? What does this choice of location tell other people about the object’s religious/cultural/economic value?
• Where is this object now? How would you like to see future generations handle it?

For High School Level: 
An Art History Research Project: Ancient Near Eastern Aesthetics
Mesopotamian sculptors were excellent craftsmen, but these statues are not very life-like. Instead, the sculptors chose to emphasize particular aspects of the human form. Look carefully at these statues and think about the different ways people, and in particular, genders are depicted.

Steps:

1. Visit the Oriental Institute Museum and check out the Diyala statues in person. Take a close look at the stylistic details of the statues.
2. During your museum visit, make a sketch of one or two statues with the details you have observed.
3. Write a short essay about the differences the way in genders were portrayed artistically. Refer to the Guiding Questions below for your inspiration.

Materials:

• A Sketchpad
• A #2 Pencil

Guiding Questions:

• What physical traits did the artists emphasize?
• Why do you think the artists chose those traits? (Hint: Think about the statue’s function and where they would have been placed)
• How do statues of men and women differ? (Hint: Think about body shape and hair/clothing) And what does the difference say about the social expectations for both genders?
• Thinking broadly, how does the function (in other words, how it was used) of ancient art like these statues impact its aesthetic qualities?
• Do you think it was important to the Mesopotamians that these statues be aesthetically pleasing? Why or why not? Is it important that religious statuary in modern societies be aesthetically pleasing? Why or why not?

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About the Speaker/Author:

Kate Grossman, PhD (University of Chicago), is a Near Eastern archaeologist and zooarchaeologist. She has excavated at archaeological sites in Syria, Egypt, and Cyprus. She is an instructor in the Oriental Institute’s Office of Public Education and a Temporary Assistant Professor of History at Bradley University (Peoria, IL).