{"database": "deitydb", "table": "entities", "rows": [["ENT_MER_APEDEMAK", "Apedemak", null, "Meroitic", "lion war god / royal deity", "War Deity", "war; military victory; royal power; lion; protection", null, null, null, "A", null, null, null, null, null, "Apedemak is the most distinctly indigenous deity of the Meroitic pantheon \u2014 unlike most other major Meroitic deities, he has no direct Egyptian counterpart and was not borrowed or syncretized from the Egyptian tradition. He is a lion-headed war deity who embodies military victory and royal power; his epithet is \"Lord of Royal Power\" (in Meroitic rendering, as reconstructed from bilingual cult contexts). His principal cult center was the Great Enclosure at Musawwarat es-Sufra (ancient Apedemak, c. 270 BCE \u2014 one of the largest ancient monument complexes in sub-Saharan Africa), and his Lion Temple at Naga (c. 1\u201320 CE, built by King Natakamani and Queen Amanitore) is the best-preserved Meroitic temple. He is depicted in three iconographic modes: (1) fully lion-headed with human body, holding a scepter and bow, enemies crushed underfoot; (2) a three-headed, four-armed form at Naga, holding different attributes in each arm \u2014 a unique Meroitic iconographic innovation; (3) a serpent-bodied form at Musawwarat. The Meroitic kings are consistently depicted in the relief programs receiving victory from Apedemak \u2014 he is the theological guarantor of royal military success. \u017dabkar (1975) is the definitive study; T\u00f6r\u00f6k (1997) pp. 461-475 surveys his distribution.", "deity"]], "columns": ["entity_id", "canonical_name", "greek_name", "tradition", "entity_type", "category", "primary_domains", "tags", "cult_scope", "primary_period", "evidence_confidence", "review_status", "inclusion_basis", "earth_association_score", "chthonic_flag", "serpent_flag", "short_note", "entity_class"], "primary_keys": ["entity_id"], "primary_key_values": ["ENT_MER_APEDEMAK"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 156.55400400009967, "source": "jebboone/deitydb", "source_url": "https://github.com/jebboone/deitydb", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT"}