Лев на луне: месопотамские космологические мотивы в сравнительной перспективе

Индоевропейское языкознание и классическая филология. 2022. Т. 26. № 1. С. 353–375.

Дувакин Е. Н., Nurullin R.

This article examines ancient Mesopotamian sources, both written and iconographical, that deal with the figures the Babylonians saw in the face of the Moon. It is argued that, contrary to a widely held opinion, the drawing of the moon on a Seleucid tablet from Uruk (VAT 7851) does not depict a dragon or a mythical hybrid creature (half-lion, half-snake). Following the original suggestion of Ernst F. Weidner, this animal is most likely to be identified as a lion. Further, there is no sufficient proof to substantiate the oft-repeated view that the scene of battle between the lion and a male figure depicted on the tablet represents an eclipse myth. Turning to the written sources, we find that figures of gods and animals were seen by the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia on both the lunar and solar surfaces.The belief concerning an anthropo- or zoomorphic being in the face of the Moon reveals numerous parallels in the folklore of the Old and New Worlds, including the Balkans, the Caucasus,Central and South Asia, but seemingly does not find any correspondence in the ethnographically documented traditions of the Near East. “The figure in the Sun”, in contrast, is the motif that has a highly restricted distribution in the world and is only sporadically attested in the western, northern and eastern areas of Eurasia.

Keywords: мифология, folklore, фольклор, Ancient Mesopotamia, Древняя Месопотамия, mythology, иконография, iconography, areal spread of mythological motifs, ареальное распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов