--- title: Libation Offered to a Vegetation Goddess author: Claude Valette source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/6298/libation-offered-to-a-vegetation-goddess/ format: machine-readable-alternate license: Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0) updated: 1970-01-01 --- # Libation Offered to a Vegetation Goddess _Authored by Claude Valette_ ## Image File [![Libation Offered to a Vegetation Goddess](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/6298.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/6298.jpg) ## Image Caption This plaque, sculpted in low relief and featuring a hole in its center, is characteristic of the period of the [archaic](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Archaic/) [Sumerian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) dynasties, from the 3rd millennium BC. The hole was probably used to attach the plaque to a [wall](https://www.worldhistory.org/wall/) by means of a pin, in the votive part of a [temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/). The decoration depicts a libation carried out by a man in ritual nudity, no doubt the king or an important priest. The officiant pours a liquid into a tall vessel, out of the top of which protrudes a branch bearing two date clusters. The religious ceremony takes place in the presence of a fertility goddess, wearing a plumed tiara, the [mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Mark/) of her divinity. The goddess's function is symbolized by the palms that spring from her shoulders. She stands atop a sacred mountain, traditionally represented by a scale motif. This allows us to identify the goddess as [Ninhursag](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ninhursag/), whose name in Sumerian means "the Woman (nin) of the Mountain (hursag)". She is the incarnation of the primordial figure of the Earth-Mother. This entire scene, clearly mythological in nature, illustrates the power of religious ritual, which ensures harmonious growth for the date palm, seen as a symbol of natural fertility and prosperity. This power is seen in the goddess's intervention, whose life-generating action responds to her worshipers' religious fervor. Louvre, [Paris](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/paris/) ## Bibliography - [Visitor trails : The Great Goddess: Myths of Fertility | Louvre Museum | Paris](http://www.louvre.fr/en/routes/great-goddess "Visitor trails : The Great Goddess: Myths of Fertility | Louvre Museum | Paris"), accessed 26 Jan 2017. ## Cite This Work ### APA Valette, C. (2017, January 26). Libation Offered to a Vegetation Goddess. *World History Encyclopedia*. ### Chicago Valette, Claude. "Libation Offered to a Vegetation Goddess." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 26, 2017. . ### MLA Valette, Claude. "Libation Offered to a Vegetation Goddess." *World History Encyclopedia*, 26 Jan 2017, . ## License & Copyright [Original image](https://www.flickr.com/photos/cvalette/9632540924/) by **Claude Valette**. Submitted by [Ibolya Horváth](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/horvath.ibolya/ "User Page: Ibolya Horváth"), published on 26 January 2017. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0deed.en). This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.