This is a bas-relief sculpture called "The Dying Lioness" by Nineveh in 650 B.C. While looking at this picture, many things about it caught my eye and made me think about the story behind it. Assyrian kings used to hunt lions as a hobby, to prove their power and strength to their people. This photo depicts an actual hunt taking place. There are many emotions going on during a hunt, while the kings are feeling powerful and strong, the lions feel agony and pain. This picture depicts that agony and pain they felt and how the lions would defend themselves to their last breaths. The lioness had been struck 3 times with arrows and is still fighting to stand up, dragging her back two feet as she roars and tries to live through the hunt. Her face is full of emotion, between the wrinkles and the roaring. Her muscles are another thing that also stuck out to me, they are being displayed in a very detailed way to show how powerful these creatures are. They are extremely tense which also shows the feeling of distress these animals would go through during these hunts. Killing these lions was a great honor to the kings and showed their people that they would protect them and had control over everything around their boundaries. I really like this picture because it is very simple, yet has a meaningful story behind it.
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