by Mary Harrsch © 2025
As a dog lover, this ceramic impression from ancient Iraq made me flinch. However, I learned this relief depicting two men restraining the leashes of two dogs locked in combat, especially from the Early Dynastic through Old Babylonian periods, was not what I had assumed, a depiction of animals fighting for entertainment.
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| Two men restrain fighting dogs in a symbolic scene emphasizing control over dangerous forces—a common metaphor in Mesopotamian art linked to protection, healing, and cosmic order rather than entertainment. Photographed at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago by Mary Harrsch. |
My research revealed there is no evidence that organized dog fighting existed as a public spectacle in ancient Mesopotamia.
Instead, scenes like this belong to a long tradition of symbolic animal combat in Mesopotamian art. Dogs held a complex and powerful place in Mesopotamian belief systems. They were closely associated with healing deities—most notably the goddess Gula—and were understood as protective, liminal creatures capable of warding off illness and malevolent forces.
The key element here is not the dogs’ aggression, but the human control exerted over it. The men restraining the animals signal mastery over dangerous forces rather than indulgence in violence. In Mesopotamian visual language, such controlled conflict often functioned as a metaphor for maintaining cosmic and social order—chaos is present, but it is contained.
Rather than documenting an event, this image communicates an idea: power restrained, danger mastered, and balance preserved. It is a reminder that ancient art often speaks symbolically, not literally—and that animals in Mesopotamian imagery frequently serve as expressions of divine or protective force rather than subjects of entertainment.
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