n (from an
Archaic Cylinder-seal from Susa, after Jequier) 79

Fig. 2.--The earliest Babylonian conception of the Dragon Tiamat
(from a Cylinder-seal in the British Museum, after L. W. King) 79

Fig. 3.--Wm. Dennis's drawing of the "Flying Dragon" depicted on the
rocks at Piasa, Illinois 94

Fig. 4.--Two representations of Astarte (Qetesh) 155

Fig. 5.--_Pterocera bryonia_, the Red Sea spider-shell 170

Fig. 6.--(a) Picture of a bowl of water--the hieroglyphic sign
equivalent to _hm_ (the word _hmt_ means "woman"--Griffith,
"Beni Hasan," Part III, Plate VI, Fig. 88 and p. 29). (b) "A
basket of sycamore figs"--Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians," Vol.
I, p. 323. (c) and (d) are said by Wilkinson to be hieroglyphic
signs meaning "wife" and are apparently taken from (b). But (c)
is identical with (i), which, according to Griffith (p. 14),
represents a bivalve shell (g, from Plate III, Fig. 3), more
usually placed obliquely (h). The varying conventionalizations
of (a) or (b) are shown in (d), (e), and (f) (Griffith,
"Hieroglyphics," p. 34). (k) The sign for a lotus leaf, which
is a phonetic equivalent of the sign (h), and, according to
Griffith ("Hieroglyphics," p. 26), "is probably derived from
the same root, on account of its shell-like outline". (l) The
hieroglyphic sign for a pot of water in such words as _Nu_ and
_Nut_. (m) A "pomegranate" (replacing a bust of Tanit) upon a
sacred column at Carthage (Arthur J. Evans, "Mycenaean Tree and
Pillar Cult," p. 46). (n) The form of the body of an octopus as
conventionalized on the coins of Central Greece (compare Fig.
24 (d)) 179

Fig. 7.--(a) An Egyptian design representing the sun-god Horus
emerging from a lotus, representing his mother Hathor (Isis).
(b) Papyrus sceptre often carried by goddesses and
animistically identified with them either as an instrument of
life-giving or destruction. (c) Conventionalized lily--the
prototype of the trident and the thunder-weapon. (d) A
water-plant associated with the Nile-gods 180

Fig. 8.--(a) "Ceremonial forked object," or "magic wand," used in
the ceremony of "opening the mouth," possibly connected with
(b) (a