Word: mesopotamians
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Harran's fortunes rose and fell with shifts of local politics, but its religious importance persisted. The last king of Babylonia, Nabonidus, was so devoted to Moon-God Sin that he tried to make him supreme above all the other gods of the densely populated Mesopotamian pantheon. This religious move was a tactical mistake; the local priests had a vested interest in other gods, and their machinations drove Nabonidus into the wilderness. He came back after a while, but was overwhelmed by Cyrus of Persia...
...camel opera; as a Hollywood camel opera, it looks and sounds like the late hours of a Shriners' convention, i.e., fun in an overloaded fashion. Howard Keel, as the poet who goes from verse to better at the Wazir's court, cuts a tolerable fine figure in Mesopotamian laundry, and he sings like a baritone bulbul. Ann Blyth (see MILESTONES) is the girl and Vic Damone the boy. The music is borrowed din from Borodin, and except for Stranger in Paradise, it sounds like routine Tin Pan Allah. The incidental decorations are eye-filling, though-particularly an albino...
Brooklyn's example (at right) is mysterious from head to toes. The helmet is adorned not with the familiar bull's horns of Mesopotamian moon gods, but with those of an ibex. The broad-cheeked face is Caucasian; the inlaid eyes date back to Sumeria. The staff in the hand is a later addition; no one knows whether the figure actually carried a staff, an offering, or a weapon. The pack on the back resembles the wings and tail of a great bird, and the pointed beard can be taken for a beak. The girdle is an ancient...