An Intertextual Study of the Role of the Horned Man in the Artworks of Lorestan and the Role of Gilgamesh in Mesopotamia

Mythologies are closely related to each other because of the archetypes, and due to time, place, and specific geography, they appear in different forms in different peoples. Gilgamesh is considered the oldest Mesopotamian epic poem whose image can be seen on Lorestan bronzes in the second and first millennium BC in the form of a horned man supporting, killing, or taming animals. Identifying the visual relationship between the role of the horned man in Lorestan bronzes and Gilgamesh in Mesopotamian works in order to discover the common intellectual heritage between these two regions is the main goal of this research. The main question of this research is about what and why are the technical and visual similarities and differences of the paintings, which have dealt with the background of Gilgamesh's role in the Mesopotamian civilization with a descriptive-analytical method, and then, with an analytical method, he analyzed the relationship between the role of the horned man in Lorestan's bronze works and the role of Gilgamesh in Mesopotamian art based on the theory of pre-textuality. The results show that the artist of Lorestan created a work of art under the influence of Mesopotamian mythology and art which are similar in visual and narrative components, but according to the culture and customs of the region, differences can be seen in the performance style and the structure of the topics, which shows that Lorestan artist did not imitate Mesopotamian themes. Rather, it has created a new work of art by creating transformational relationships with changes in the pretext.

Keywords:

Gilgamesh , Bronzes of Lorestan , Horned Man , Pretext