Sirrush

3D Model

The mušḫuššu (𒈲𒄭𒄊; formerly also read as sirrušu or sirrush) or mushkhushshu (pronounced [muʃxuʃʃu] or [musxussu]), is a creature from ancient Mesopotamian mythology. A mythological hybrid, it is a scaly animal with hind legs resembling the talons of an eagle, lion-like forelimbs, a long neck and tail, a horned head, a snake-like tongue, and a crest. The mušḫuššu most famously appears on the reconstructed Ishtar Gate of the city of Babylon, dating to the sixth century BCE.

The form mušḫuššu is the Akkadian nominative of Sumerian: 𒈲𒄭𒄊 MUŠ.ḪUS, ‘reddish snake’, sometimes also translated as ‘fierce snake’.[2] One author,[3] possibly following others, translates it as ‘splendor serpent’ (𒈲 MUŠ is the Sumerian term for ‘serpent’). The reading sir-ruššu is due to a mistransliteration of the cuneiform in early Assyriology.[4]