Worshipping Divine Statues in Ancient Assyria: Protocol, Emotions, and Etiquette

This paper re-constructs the ways that divine statues were worshipped in ancient Assyria, by analyzing the protocols and etiquette that were adhered to by worshippers during their encounter with the divine. Textual and archaeological evidence does not offer exhaustive descriptions in this respect, but a polyphonic reading of these sources helps the modern scholar to explore the protocols that were followed and the gestures that were performed by the suppliant. It is concluded that the essence of divine statues, as well as the emotions experienced by the suppliant, produced those worshipping acts that today we may refer to as “etiquette”.