Thread: Asian Leopard. The real thing, and depicted on Neolithic pottery found in Iran, standing over the zig zag design depicting flowing water...

Leopard is the second most popular animal depicted on Neolithic Iranian pottery. The most popular being of course, Ibex. The Goat of Rain. I talked about the depictions of Ibexes on Iranian Neolithic pottery in this thread: ( https://twitter.com/serbiaireland/status/1358444029269192711)

I Iran and Mesopotamia, Leopards and Ibexes are often depicted together, leopard chasing ibex...Like on this Late Uruk/Jemdet Nasr Period seal, dated to 3200-3000 BC http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2020/08/ibex-and-leopard.html

This could be because leopards naturally hunt ibexes. But also because they both have mating seasons during the local winter and rain season. Ibex at the beginning (Oct/Nov) and leopard at the end (Jan/Feb) of winter. Leopard naturally follows Ibex as the animal calendar marker.

Both animals are thus linked to rain and fertility...Their mating, semen, brings rain, heavenly semen, which fertilises the land... https://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-vessel-from-tepe-hissar.html

This link between leopards, winter, goats and fertility was in Europe preserved in Dionysus cult...Leopard is the mount of Dionysus, is carried by Maenads, or his skin is worn by the leader of Rural Dionysia

http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2020/06/leopard.html
https://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2021/01/furious-maenad.html
https://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2021/01/maenads-with-hare.html

Another animal which Dionysus uses as his mount (in later depictions) is Tiger. Another animal symbol for winter, because it too mates during the winter... http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2020/06/leopard.html

Which is why tiger is found as symbol of winter from China to Europe https://twitter.com/serbiaireland/status/1352329817904078850

Finally, Caspian tiger. The real thing, and depicted on Neolithic Iranian pottery. I just love how tiger has disappeared in the zig zag of the flowing water. And only its tail is still "realistic"...And is that leopard depicted underneath in the same way? It's tiger's tail...

And: "His face is that of a lion. When he looks at someone, it is the look of death. Humbaba's roar is a flood, his mouth is death and his breath is fire! He can hear a hundred leagues away any [rustling?] in his forest! Who would go down into his forest!" http://oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com/2020/12/humbaba.html