The Lamassu of the Fertile Crescent

The Lamassu is the symbol of power and protection of the Fertile Crescent. It is shown as being a massive winged creature with a lion's or bull's body and the head of a man. 

They are often associated with the Assyrian culture but have their roots in Babylonian Mythology. Lamassu were thought of as protecters of cities and royal palaces and guarded the entrances of them. Giant Lamassu were placed at the entrance to the city of Babylon in the famous Ishtar Gate as to protect the city from harm. 

The Lamassu also protected the households of the common people. Common Babylonian people would engrave the Lamassu on a clay tablet and bury them under the threshold of their door to keep their homes protected. 

The Lamassu is also associated with the moon goddess, as the horns of the bull on Ishtar's Headress denoted the crescent moon.

Babylonian Symbols of the Fertile Crescent

While there are many symbols relating to the Babylon here are some of the most prominent. 

The Lion was the symbol of royal power.

Lions; Museum of London, London

The dragon was associated with the supreme god, Marduk who was the patron deity of the city of Babylon. 

Black and white crop of full plate scan, from Austen Henry Layard's 'Monuments of Nineveh, Second Series' plate 19/83, London, J. Murray, 1853

Babylonian scholars developed a numbering system based on 60, which lead to our 60 min hour and our 360 degrees circles. 

The most prominant image of Babylon is it's hanging gardens. Babylon's hanging gardens became synonymous with the ancient Judaeo-Christian image of eden, it was also one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 

The Goddess Ishtar in the Fertile Crescent

Ishtar is the moon goddess in Ancient Mesopotamia. She is also known as Inanna, Astarte, Ashtar, and later as Isis in ancient Egypt. 

Statue of the Goddess Ishtar in the Louvre, Paris

Ishtar holds the power that can create and destroy and like the moon is always changing in form. 

Ishtar is also the goddess of fertility and war. She is often depicted with standing on a lion or with the talons and wings of an owl. Commonly she is also shown wearing a three-tiered crown of stars, blue lapis lazuli stones, and a rainbow necklace which symbolizes her connection with the sky. 

In Mesopotamian legend she is seen as queen of the heavens; each night riding across the sky in a chariot drawn by lions or goats. 

The constellations of the zodiac (or zodiacal belt) , then known as the Houses of the Moon, was known as the "girdle of Ishtar", a term that referded to the acient moon calander.