The mythological creature guarding the entrance to the Louvre’s Assyrian galleries is the lamassu.
A lamassu is an ancient Mesopotamian protective spirit, usually shown with a human head, the body of a bull or lion, and wings. Assyrian rulers placed colossal pairs of these hybrid figures at palace gateways and other important entrances to ward off evil and project royal power.
The Louvre’s Assyrian collection includes monumental sculptures from the palace of Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin, an ancient city in northern Mesopotamia. These works were created in the 8th century BC, during the height of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Their sculptors often gave them five legs: viewed from the front, the creature appears stationary; viewed from the side, it appears to stride forward.
A lamassu is easy to confuse with a sphinx or griffin because all are composite creatures. The defining combination here is the human head, winged body and bovine or leonine form. “Lamassu” is the standard singular name, while “lamassu” is also commonly used for the plural in English.