Sexuality

I felt Winter connected sexuality and the Stela of Naram-Sin very convincingly in Chapter one “Sex, Rhetoric, and the Public Monument.” More the pointing out the obvious indications of power and right to rule, her comparison of Naram-Sim’s features to those written about Gilgamesh shine a light on what might form part of the Mesopotamian lexicon of values.

Her use of the terms “Banu,damqu, bastu,” and “Kuzbu” focus her argument on features present on Naram-Sin’s body. Though the words are not actually written on the stone, they seem appropriate either because the detail is very obvious, or these terms are used to characterize Gilgamesh, a famous king of the City of Uruk. For instance, “damqu” is a term used to describe “persons and things and may be rendered as ‘auspicious and good’” and can be seen on Naram-Sin’s “perfect body.” More importantly, it can be seen on the way his right side and ear are so deeply carved in comparison so the other crevices around him – an indication that the country would prosper. This kind of visual evidence – the kind that catches the viewer’s eye in intensely, hardly seems any more facts to back it up.

Kuzbu on the other hand, refers to someone’s “sexual allure” and cannot be directly assumed from the stela itself. Considering how Gilgamesh, another Mesopotamian king, was always depicted as being large, strong, and seductive enough to temp a goddess however, emphasizes how much this culture often associated attractiveness with its king’s. Thus making it more logical that Naram- Sin’s posture, stature, and clothes are intentionally positioned in such aware to allure his audience.

History can never be completely accurate, but winter’s argument does more than assign words to the Stela of Naram-Sin, it helps us experience a possible set of values people had during this period.