WEBVTT - The Artifact: Sharur the Talking Mace

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and

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<v Speaker 1>moments in time. As any Dungeons and Dragons player can

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<v Speaker 1>tell you, there are magical weapons, and then there are

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<v Speaker 1>weapons that can talk, and these are often among the

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<v Speaker 1>most powerful and dangerous artifacts your character can possibly attune.

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<v Speaker 1>To the well of human mythology, which Dungeons and Dragons

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<v Speaker 1>certainly draws on, contains many such speaking and singing weapons.

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<v Speaker 1>Fictional black Razor is equalled or exceeded by the magical

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<v Speaker 1>broadsword of Collervo in Finnish traditions or various speaking swords

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<v Speaker 1>in Irish legend, but one of the oldest and most

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<v Speaker 1>fantastic examples of the speaking weapon can be found in

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<v Speaker 1>the mythology of ancient Sumer. The wielder is none other

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<v Speaker 1>than Ninurta, god of spring, thunder, showers, and protector of agriculture.

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<v Speaker 1>Ninurta's weapon is the mace Shahur, the smasher of thousands.

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<v Speaker 1>Why a mace, you might ask, well as Gabriel at

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<v Speaker 1>all point out in from sumer to Rome. The mace

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<v Speaker 1>was one of the most important weapon technologies of the

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<v Speaker 1>ancient world. While certainly an evolution of the simple club,

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<v Speaker 1>the mace was absolutely devastating against the unarmored skulls of

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<v Speaker 1>your enemies. The authors point out that the ancient Egyptians

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<v Speaker 1>kept the mace is a symbol of authority and power

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<v Speaker 1>until seventeen hundred BC, as their armies only fought enemies

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<v Speaker 1>that boasted neither armor nor helmets, the mace dom anated

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<v Speaker 1>the battlefield. In fact, the helmet emerged as a technological

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<v Speaker 1>response to the crushing power of the mace. According to

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<v Speaker 1>Gabriel at All, the third millennium b CE Steel of

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<v Speaker 1>Vultures presents us with the earliest evidence of spearmen wearing helmets,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is backed up by the bodies of soldiers

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<v Speaker 1>found in the death pits of er from around d

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<v Speaker 1>b c E. But the son mace reigned supreme as

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<v Speaker 1>the most commonly used melee weapon from roughly four thousand

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<v Speaker 1>to twenty hundred b C. So it is the ideal

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<v Speaker 1>weapon for an ancient Sumerian god to wield. There was

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<v Speaker 1>simply no compelling reason to abandon it if one's enemies

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<v Speaker 1>lacked metal helmets, but Sharhu was no typical mace. The

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<v Speaker 1>weapons spoke, It could fly across vast distances and even

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<v Speaker 1>take on the form of a winged lion. Is Ibrahim

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<v Speaker 1>End points out in the Monster Hunter's Handbook, the weapon

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<v Speaker 1>was capable of smashing enemies, either on its own or

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<v Speaker 1>in the hands of Ninurta. It also rained fire and

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<v Speaker 1>venom down on its enemies, and allowed the hero god

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<v Speaker 1>to slay the terrifying demon Azag and its army of

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<v Speaker 1>rock demons. In the Sumerian poem Ninurta's Exploits, the hero

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<v Speaker 1>is said to pound a Zag's body with the mace

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<v Speaker 1>as if a Zog were mirror barley, and such is

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<v Speaker 1>the power of Shure that the condition of the slain

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<v Speaker 1>demon's body is compared to that of a ship wrecked

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<v Speaker 1>by a tidal wave. Tune into additional editions of the

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<v Speaker 1>artifact each week. As always, you can email us at

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<v Speaker 1>contact It's Stuff to Blow Your Mind dot com. Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts.

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