The banquet scene as a symbol of social status, power, and legitimization
2025, 34, No. 1
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Abstract
This study argues that the banquet scene in the Early Dynastic and Akkadian periods was an iconographic “template” representing exalted images of dignified figures and sometimes their relation to certain achievements or professions. This iconography was meant to express the high status and power of the depicted figures and convey the message of legitimization of an owner or user of a seal or any other object showing the theme. The author claims that the banquet did not express real or actual circumstances or events related to the act of feasting, as has often been interpreted in the past, but primarily conveyed a symbolic meaning. Such an explanation excludes, or at least questions, the possibility of other interpretations of the banquet scene proposed by various authors, such as the act of sacred marriage/New Year festival, funeral feast, feast after a victory, feast after successful completion of a building, and many others.
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