The story depicted on the ˁAin Samiya goblet—an 8 cm tall silver vessel from the Intermediate Bronze Age (c. 2650–1950 BCE)—might actually represent a different myth than originally thought, according to a new study.

The goblet was discovered in an ancient tomb in the Judean Hills 55 years ago. Since then, it has been the prevailing thought that the goblet's imagery depicted the Babylonian Enuma Elish creation myth, although no real consensus existed. Now, a study published in the Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society "Ex Oriente Lux" argues that another explanation is far more likely.

The ˁAin Samiya goblet

The ˁAin Samiya goblet is a unique vessel, as it is considered to be the only piece of genuine art discovered from this period in the Levant region. The exterior is decorated with what seems to depict a series of scenes. Unfortunately, a part of the goblet was damaged and a section of a scene is missing, making interpretation even more difficult.

The visible elements include part human, part animal figure holding pieces of plants in its hands, with a rosette that appears to be celestial in nature positioned between its legs. The legs are thought to be that of two separate bulls splitting off from the figure's upper body. A large and imposing snake stands tall next to the chimera figure.

The next scene, which seems to be chronologically later, shows two human figures holding up two ends of a crescent which holds what is seen to be the sun with a face (known as en face). The snake is now more subdued, lying flat under the crescent.

Early scholars, notably Yigael Yadin, suggested the scenes depicted a proto-version of the Enuma Elish myth, in which the god Marduk battles and defeats the chaotic sea goddess Tiamat, and then uses her body to create the heavens, Earth, and humanity. However, critics have noted that the scenes of the ˁAin Samiya goblet do not seem to depict any battle or violence. And even more importantly, the Enuma Elish myth did not appear until around a thousand years after the goblet was produced.

A new interpretation

The authors of the new study suggest, instead, that the goblet's imagery represents the peaceful process of ordering the cosmos, not a specific myth, like Enuma Elish. They say the first scene is representative of a chaotic time and then the second scene depicts order and structure. A main focus is that the sun deity (the small rosette at the bottom) is only just born in the first scene and later rises to a more prominent position and takes on the en face appearance.

The study authors explain, "The artist has effectively depicted the passage of time through a series of simple stylistic choices. For example, on the left, the sun appears quite small, demonstrating its recent birth, while on the right it appears to have grown and radiates strength and happiness with its en face depiction.

"As might be expected, the deities appear roughly the same size in both scenes, since they are immortal. However, they have evolved over time—instead of bare skin, they later wear an elegant tunic, their headgear is more modern, and their ears are adorned with earrings.

"A few wrinkles on their necks may indicate that even the gods are aging. The serpent also seems to have visibly aged over the many years since chaos was subdued. When the serpent ruled the cosmos, it stood tall and looked assertive. But now, thanks to the strength and efforts of the great gods who actively maintain cosmic order, the subdued serpent appears bent over."

The team cites several similarities with other artistic renderings of the cosmological creation myths throughout the Near East, with parallels in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia. In particular, the crescent boat shape carries celestial objects across the sky in various Near Eastern cultures and was a part of the sociocultural context of Bronze Age belief systems. Bull-human hybrids are also seen in other cultural contexts.

"The two most vivid examples cited here are the closing scene on the sarcophagus of Seti I (1279 BCE)10 and the bull-men relief from the Hittite sanctuary of Yazılıkaya (c. 1230 BCE) in central Anatolia. The ˁAin Samiya goblet reflects an early source for this originally Mesopotamian iconography," the authors say.

This led the team to believe the goblet was designed by an individual from southern Mesopotamia and was produced in northern Mesopotamia or northern Syria, due to the availability of silver in the region.

Lingering uncertainty

Even though the new study presents compelling arguments, there is still uncertainty about the original creator's intentions. The original condition of the goblet at discovery was not well documented, and the imagery's interpretation relies on iconographic parallels rather than direct textual evidence.

In addition, some scholars remain skeptics. For example, Mark Smith, a Biblical scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary who was not involved with the study, told Smithsonian magazine that the imagery may represent other myths, such as the Baal cycle. He says, "I think the objection to assuming that it's a Babylonian creation story is correct, but it's not clear that this is a creation myth at all."

Edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan