lamassu
A Babylonian protective spirit with a sphinx-like form, possessing the wings of an eagle, the body of a lion or bull, and the head of a king. This form was adopted largely in Phoenicia and served as a potential equivalent to the Israelite cherubim.
↻ synthesized from 7 sources
When
- First attested
- 3000 BCE
- Attested period
- -3000 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Babylonian protective spirit documented in Ancient Near East art and adopted in Phoenician culture.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- phoenixes, Ziz, griffins, Medusa, Pegasus, sphinxes, basilisk, Fenghuang, Cockatrice, Erinyes, Djinn, Elemental, Fionnuala, Firebird, Fūjin, Gamayun, Gargoyle, Garuda, Stheno, Euryale, Harpy, Hippogriff, Huitzilopochtli, Itsumade, Lindworm, Minokawa, Nephele, Nue, Huginn, Muninn, Ong, Peryton, Raiju, Roc, Sarimanok, Shahbaz, Sirens, Simurgh, Snallygaster, Stymphalian Birds, Sylph, Thunderbird, Winged Unicorn, Wyvern, Yalungur, Yuki-onna, Zilant, Zduhać, Lightning Bird, Leviathan, Loki, Luduan, La Llorona, Lubber fiend, Laelaps, La-bar-tu, Labbu, Lady midday, Ladon, Lakanica, Lakhey, Lamiak, La Mojana, Lampades, Landvættir, Langmeidong, Lares, La Sayona, La Tunda, Laukų dvasios, Lauma, Leanan sidhe, Leimoniads, Leszi, Leuce, Leyak, Lidérc, Lietuvēns, Likho, Lilitu, Limnades, Ljósálfar, Ljubi, Lo-lol, Lóng, Loogaroo, Lugat, Lui-kong-tsiau, Luison, Lusca, Lutin, Lynx, Lamia, Lilin, shedim, Lilith, Abyzou, Akhkhazu, Alû, Lama, alad, Inara, Išum, Longma, Pakhangba, Poubi Lai, Hiyang Hiren, Taoroinai, Utukku, Anu, angels, devils, dragon, shedu
- parent of
- apsasû
- serves
- Papsukkal
- created by
- Sin
- allied with
- cherubim
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“The Babylonian lamassu or shedu, a protective spirit with a sphinx-like form, possessing the wings of an eagle, the body of a lion or bull, and the head of a king. This was adopted largely in Phoenicia.”
#2149 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“The British 10th Army, which operated in Iraq and Iran in 1942–1943, adopted the lamassu as its insignia. A bearded man with a winged bull body appears on the logo of the United States Forces – Iraq.”
#11102 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“This aspect of his character is highlighted in the incantation Cow of Sîn, which states that he would send a pair of lamassu goddesses to help mothers with difficult births.”
#19500 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001