1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: moments in time. As any Dungeons and Dragons player can 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: tell you, there are magical weapons, and then there are 7 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: weapons that can talk, and these are often among the 8 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: most powerful and dangerous artifacts your character can possibly attune. 9 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: To the well of human mythology, which Dungeons and Dragons 10 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: certainly draws on, contains many such speaking and singing weapons. 11 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: Fictional black Razor is equalled or exceeded by the magical 12 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: broadsword of Collervo in Finnish traditions or various speaking swords 13 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: in Irish legend, but one of the oldest and most 14 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: fantastic examples of the speaking weapon can be found in 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,559 Speaker 1: the mythology of ancient Sumer. The wielder is none other 16 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: than Ninurta, god of spring, thunder, showers, and protector of agriculture. 17 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 1: Ninurta's weapon is the mace Shahur, the smasher of thousands. 18 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 1: Why a mace, you might ask, well as Gabriel at 19 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: all point out in from sumer to Rome. The mace 20 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: was one of the most important weapon technologies of the 21 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,199 Speaker 1: ancient world. While certainly an evolution of the simple club, 22 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: the mace was absolutely devastating against the unarmored skulls of 23 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: your enemies. The authors point out that the ancient Egyptians 24 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: kept the mace is a symbol of authority and power 25 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: until seventeen hundred BC, as their armies only fought enemies 26 00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: that boasted neither armor nor helmets, the mace dom anated 27 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: the battlefield. In fact, the helmet emerged as a technological 28 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: response to the crushing power of the mace. According to 29 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: Gabriel at All, the third millennium b CE Steel of 30 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: Vultures presents us with the earliest evidence of spearmen wearing helmets, 31 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: and this is backed up by the bodies of soldiers 32 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 1: found in the death pits of er from around d 33 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: b c E. But the son mace reigned supreme as 34 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: the most commonly used melee weapon from roughly four thousand 35 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 1: to twenty hundred b C. So it is the ideal 36 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: weapon for an ancient Sumerian god to wield. There was 37 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: simply no compelling reason to abandon it if one's enemies 38 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: lacked metal helmets, but Sharhu was no typical mace. The 39 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: weapons spoke, It could fly across vast distances and even 40 00:02:55,720 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: take on the form of a winged lion. Is Ibrahim 41 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: End points out in the Monster Hunter's Handbook, the weapon 42 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 1: was capable of smashing enemies, either on its own or 43 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: in the hands of Ninurta. It also rained fire and 44 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: venom down on its enemies, and allowed the hero god 45 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: to slay the terrifying demon Azag and its army of 46 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:25,119 Speaker 1: rock demons. In the Sumerian poem Ninurta's Exploits, the hero 47 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: is said to pound a Zag's body with the mace 48 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: as if a Zog were mirror barley, and such is 49 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: the power of Shure that the condition of the slain 50 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: demon's body is compared to that of a ship wrecked 51 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: by a tidal wave. Tune into additional editions of the 52 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: artifact each week. As always, you can email us at 53 00:03:49,320 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: contact It's Stuff to Blow Your Mind dot com. Stuff 54 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts. 55 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: For my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 56 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.