Assyrian story Project
Assyrian carving of the siege of Nineveh (600s BC)
When the Assyrian kings of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Syria) built their great palaces in the 700s and 600s BC, artists carved long stories into the walls, like stone comic books. These stories showed the wars that the kings fought - marching out to war, besieging cities, taking prisoners, bringing home the loot.
In this picture you can see the walls of Nineveh, a city in Mesopotamia, with a long ladder up against the walls so the Assyrians can get in. Archers are shooting over on the left side, and at the top men who have been shot are falling off the towers.
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(a project)
Suppose you, too, wanted to decorate the walls of your palace with stories about great moments in your life? What would you illustrate? Which scenes would you draw? Take a long roll of paper and draw your own achievements - the season when your soccer team won the trophy, the year you learned to ride a bike, the camping trip your family went on, the time you chased off the bullies...
Put up your stories around the walls of your classroom, about eye level, and you'll have your own Assyrian palace!
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