Extract from John Gonce III

" Dumuzi's title was Shepherd King of Uruk, but what exactly was a "shepherd king"? Today we think of a shepherd as some peaceful, pastoral character who played a flute or a harp while he leasurely watched the sheep multiply. But in ancient times the shepherd was a man of iron. He defended the flocks and herds upon which the community depended for its livelyhood. He fought the predators, primarily wolves and lions, who preyed upon the herds. ("Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!" :-) If a shepherd lost an animal to a predator, he had to show his people the scars he got defending it from the lion who killed it. When enemy tribes mounted cattle or sheep-stealing raids against his people's herds, he was the warleader who organized resistance.

In the Bible, David (the future king of the Hebrews) assured King Saul of his ability to fight the giant Philistine champion Goliath by pointing out that he had served as shepherd over his father's flocks; "I slew the lion and I slew the bear. And this uncircumscised Philistine is no better than they." This most outstanding of all Old Testament fighting men pointed to
his career as a shepherd as his early training for war -- his "boot camp", if you will. So the shepherd was a kind of Bronze Age "cowboy" who was glamorized in ancient poetry, just as the cowboys of the Old West are glamorized in movies where they are played by actors like Clint Eastwood and
John Wayne ("Circle up those war chariots, pilgrim!" :-) "

Brilliant, isnｴt it? And he is one with us!!!!

Enjoy your Saturday!
Lishtar

From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres