34 



quity abound with instances of it, and the more ancient their 

 date, the more simple appear the representations of the heavenly 

 bodies. A Babylonian frieze may assist us in this enquiry. 

 On it we cannot mistake the peculiar attitude of the priest. 

 He appears holding in his hand the stem of one of those 

 groves, and is adoring the winged sun, as Baal the lord of 

 heaven, the moon at the time of conjunction, and Aldebaran, 

 the principal star in the Bull. Horns surmount the winged 

 sun, denoting the ancient equinox — the propitious season for 

 invocation. 



In the obelisk from Nineveh, we find two instances of the 

 worship to which I referred at the commencement of this paper. 

 Here the king, who, probably, in the Sabsean nations officiated 

 like Jeroboam as the high priest on great occasions, is dedica- 

 ting to the winged Baal and Aldebaran the spoils of a victory. 

 In the second compartment, the time indicated is perhaps a 

 week after the former, as the sun has passed to the other side 

 of the star. In both cases the worship of the host of heaven, 

 under these emblems, cannot be mistaken. But here I beg 

 your particular attention as to this early representation of the 

 winged Baal, so common on all the ancient monuments. The 

 earliest representation of the sun, I believe to have been simply 

 the plain orb, such as we see it upon the shoulders of the bull of 

 Dendera, where it is purely astronomically represented, or on 

 the horns of Isis and other ancient sculptures. The addition 

 of the rays or wings, expressive of the influence of the solar 

 light and heat, and superintending power, was the second step, 

 as appears from the extreme antiquity of the representations; 

 the third was to complete the bird. The soaring eagle in 

 Chaldea, the bright-eyed hawk in Egypt, became the emblems 

 of the sun. The bird described by Mr. Layard, borne by 

 warriors, as one of the sacred birds, I believe to be simply the 

 solar eagle. Seen from the front, the body, wings, and tail 

 would closely resemble the winged Baal. Now, as we have 

 seen the solar orb placed on the head of the principal zodiacal 



