The solar deity in ancient Semitic religion and the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, Shamash is most commonly associated with justice. Just as the Sun disperses darkness, so Shamash brings wrong and injustice to light. Hammurabi attributed to Shamash the inspiration that led him to gather the existing laws and legal procedures into code, and in the design accompanying the code the king represents himself in an attitude of adoration before Shamash as the embodiment of the idea of justice.
“Hammurabi’s Dream” is a dream journey in the form of a one act play in which Shamash, the Sumerian god of law and light teaches Hammurabi the value and the power of written law. As the god and the king journey together through time, it becomes clear that giving humans the power to enforce the law through words may seem like a selfless gift, but does Shamash have an agenda of his own?
SHAMASH or SHAMASH: THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW by Jake Rosenberg
Directed by Jeremy Cole
Staged Reading on October 14, 2017 at 8 PM at the EXIT Theatre
Ittai Geiger (Nabodinus/Ur-Nammu)
Jeremy Jones (Shamash)
David Silpa (Rassam/Lion)
Kaz Valtchev (Law/Stage Directions)
Jake Rosenberg is an internationally produced playwright, student of the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, and wizard. “I write about history, art, religion and conspiracy theories and what interests me, though sometimes I write for money. I’d like it if you connect with my work, because that’s why I write it.” His plays include Brothers (Manhattan Repertory Theater, 2015), Muse of Fire (Genesis Theatricals, Chicago, 2015) The Jews (forthcoming), and many others. He is currently working on over 30 projects, which cover everything from Cleopatra to the works of William Blake to the 9/11 Report.
The image of Shamash was created by Liz Conley.