1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: moments in time. As any Dungeons and Dragons player can 6 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: tell you, there are magical weapons, and then there are 7 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: weapons that can talk, and these are often among the 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 1: most powerful and dangerous artifacts your character can possibly attune. 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: To the well of human mythology, which Dungeons and Dragons 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:45,160 Speaker 1: certainly draws on, contains many such speaking and singing weapons. 11 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:49,919 Speaker 1: Fictional black Razor is equalled or exceeded by the magical 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: broadsword of Collervo in Finnish traditions or various speaking swords 13 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: in Irish legend, but one of the oldest and most 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: fantastic examples of the speaking weapon can be found in 15 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: the mythology of ancient Sumer. The wielder is none other 16 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: than Ninurta, god of spring, thunder, showers, and protector of agriculture. 17 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: Ninurta's weapon is the mace Shahur, the smasher of thousands. 18 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: Why a mace, you might ask, well as Gabriel at 19 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: all point out in from sumer to Rome. The mace 20 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: was one of the most important weapon technologies of the 21 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: ancient world. While certainly an evolution of the simple club, 22 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: the mace was absolutely devastating against the unarmored skulls of 23 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 1: your enemies. The authors point out that the ancient Egyptians 24 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 1: kept the mace is a symbol of authority and power 25 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: until seventeen hundred b C. As their armies only fought 26 00:01:55,240 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: enemies that boasted neither armor nor helmets, the mace dominated 27 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: the battlefield. In fact, the helmet emerged as a technological 28 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: response to the crushing power of the mace. According to 29 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: Gabriel at All, the third millennium b CE Steel of 30 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 1: Vultures presents us with the earliest evidence of spearmen wearing helmets, 31 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: and this is backed up by the bodies of soldiers 32 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: found in the death pits of er from around d 33 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: b c E. But the son mace reigned supreme as 34 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: the most commonly used melee weapon from roughly four thousand 35 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: to hundred b C. So it is the ideal weapon 36 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: for an ancient Sumerian god to wield. There was simply 37 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: no compelling reason to abandon it if one's enemies lacked 38 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: metal helmets, but Sharu was no typical mace. The weapon spoke, 39 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: It could fly across vast distances and even take on 40 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: the form of a winged lion. Is ibraheim Men points 41 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: out in the Monster Hunter's Handbook, the weapon was capable 42 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: of smashing enemies, either on its own or in the 43 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: hands of Ninurta. It also rained fire and venom down 44 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: on its enemies and allowed the hero god to slay 45 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: the terrifying demon Azag and its army of rock demons. 46 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: In the Sumerian poem Ninurta's Exploits, the hero is said 47 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: to pound a Zag's body with the mace as if 48 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: a Zog were mirror barley, and such is the power 49 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: of Shure that the condition of the slain demon's body 50 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: is compared to that of a ship wrecked by a 51 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: tidal wave. Tune into additional editions of the artifact each week. 52 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: As always, you can email us at contact It's Stuff 53 00:03:50,720 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your 54 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my 55 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 56 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.