Images

The Return of Persephone by Frederick Leighton, 1891

A map of the Kingdom of king Lugalzagesi of Umma, circa 2350 BC.

The ruins of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, built by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu and his son Shulgi of Ur, c. 21st century BCE. Photo taken in 2005 CE near Ali Air Base in Iraq.

A 3D reconstruction of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, based on a 1939 drawing by Leonard Woolley, Ur Excavations, Volume V. The Ziggurat and its Surroundings, Figure 1.4

Seating diorite statue of Gudea, prince of Lagash, dedicated to the god Ningishzida, excavated in Telloh (ancient Girsu), Iraq, dating to the Neo-Sumerian period, c. 2120 BCE. Louvre, Paris.

Hesiod and the Muse,1891,oil on canvas by Gustave Moreau

Coin with Greek inscription reads: ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ i.e. "of Euthydemus God", Euthydemus qualified as "THEOU" ("God"). (Pedigree coin of Agathocles of Bactria.)

Statue of Xenophon, Athenian mercenary General and writer

The Temple of Hathor at Dendera, Egypt, a famous center of her cult.

Enclosure F at the oldest extant temple site in the world, Göbekli Tepe, in southeastern Turkey, dating from 11,500 years ago.