Among texts dating from the reign of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (705–681 BC) are descriptions of a courtyard built on the king's behalf for the temple of Assur in the city of Assur. The texts note the names and orientations of the courtyard's gates, and mention the mythical figures that were included in its decoration. In this paper I will argue that an overall theme governed the choice of names and influenced the selection of mythical figures. The theme, as we shall see, was chosen to provide the temple's god, enthroned in his chamber, with a cosmic setting proper to his dignity as chief Assyrian divinity, and to refer in particular to Assur's leadership in the assembly of the gods in springtime.