In Mesopotamian mythology, Mušḫuššu is the dragon-like creature that became a symbol of the Babylonian god Marduk.
The Mušḫuššu is known from ancient Babylonian art and is especially famous from glazed-brick reliefs on the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way at Babylon. Its composite body combines features associated with several animals: a long neck, horned head, scaled body, lion-like forelegs, and bird-like hind legs.
The creature’s name is often translated as “furious snake” or “reddish snake,” though translations of the Akkadian term vary. It was not merely an independent monster: its representation served as an emblem of Marduk and, by extension, Babylonian royal and religious authority.
The Ishtar Gate was commissioned during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II in the sixth century BCE. Its animal reliefs also include lions and bulls, but the Mušḫuššu is the distinctive dragon-like figure most strongly connected with Marduk.