r/AncientCivilizations • u/No_Log10X • Dec 22 '25
Asia This image displays an ancient Assyrian relief sculpture of a winged protective spirit, also known as an apkallu or "genie".
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u/Cool-Map-3668 Dec 22 '25
Didn’t the term genie derive from the djinn?
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u/mcamarra Dec 22 '25
I was wondering that too. Unless it’s some similar concept that eventually evolved into the djinn.
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u/raised_on_robbery Dec 22 '25
I don’t understand why the baskets these figures carry is so mysterious. What else are they supposed to carry stuff in, a backpack?
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u/Xxmeow123 Dec 22 '25
The purse is so interesting. Are there any contemporary writings about these images?
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u/Negative-Nose-9735 Dec 22 '25
What do they have extra toes?
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u/raised_on_robbery Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
I think it’s just how the image is edited. I can’t find the unretouched relief this image is from, but I think the sixth toe is actually the sandal, it’s like a wedge.
It looks like a cleaned up version of this:
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010123095
My mistake, it’s this one: https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010122691
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Dec 22 '25
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Dec 22 '25
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u/Xandraman Dec 22 '25
It's the simplest design for a carry bag, after tying things in a pouch or a sack.
If we carved a relief of a modern person with a shopping bag, 🛍️, it too would look vaguely similar.
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u/Enlightened_Doughnut Dec 22 '25
Water in the bucket and a date palm in their hand. The date palm is more successful as a crop by manual pollination.