The Legend Of Sardanapalus Weaving His Own Demise

Ancient Greek and Roman sources wrote of a legendary Assyrian ruler named Sardanapalus. Due to archeological discoveries, we know Sardanapalus was not a particular historically-accurate figure, but a loose amalgamation of events and folkloric tales based on the reigns of the last three Assyrian kings—the half-brothers, Shamash-shun-ukin and Ashurbanipal (r. 668-627 BCE), and the latter’s son, Sin-shar-ishkun (c. 7th century BCE). As a result of the character’s amalgamized nature, many odd legends were bundled into the Greco-Roman collection of Sardanapalus tales. Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE), for one, recorded a tale that claimed the Assyrians eventually found Sardanapalus to be contemptable after he emasculated himself by working wool alongside women. Aristotle wrote, “Sardanapalus rendered himself contemptable by being seen carding wool with the women, and was murdered by someone who saw him. (At least, that is the story of the legend-tellers; and if it is not true of him, it is pretty sure to be true of someone else.)” (Aristotle, Politics, Bekker page 1311b). Perhaps, the tale may have been influenced by the luxury in which Ashurbanipal lived, as well as his interest in literature and his patronage of the arts. It could be that ancient Greek storytellers believed the Assyrian ruler’s interests were effeminate. Nevertheless, storytelling aside, the wool-carding tale is not an accurate telling of the deaths of Ashurbanipal, Shamash-shun-ukin, and Sin-shar-ishkun. The former of the trio likely died of old age, and the latter two reportedly died in fires that were unrelated to working wool alongside women.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Small replica of The Death of Sardanapalus, by Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix (c. 1798–1863), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and the Philadelphia Museum of Art).

Sources:

• The Politics by Aristotle, translated by T. A. Sinclair and revised by T. J. Saunders. London: Penguin Classics, 1962, 1992.
• https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/who-was-ashurbanipal
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Assyria
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ashurbanipal
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shamash-shum-ukin
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sardanapalus-legendary-king-of-Assyria
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia/Ashurbanipal-668-627-and-Shamash-shum-ukin-668-648#ref361465