8o CURIOUS CREATURES. 



by day, and rejoiced his heart with the creeping things 

 of the waters.' 



"Hea-Bani was true and loyal to Gizdhubar, and when 

 Istar (the Assyrian Venus), foiled in her love for Gizdhu- 

 bar, flew to heaven to see her father Anu (the Chaldaean 

 Zeus), and to seek redress for the slight put upon her, 

 the latter created a winged bull, called ' The Bull of 

 Heaven,' which was sent to earth. Hea-Bani, however, 

 helps his lord, the bull is slain, and the two companions 

 enter Erech in triumph. Hea-Bani met with his death 

 when Gizdhubar fought Khumbaba, and ' Gizdhubar for 

 Hea-Bani his friend wept bitterly and lay on the 

 ground.' " 



Thus, centuries before the Romans had emerged from 

 barbarism, we have the prototype of the classical Centaur, 

 the man-horse. The fabled Centaurs were a people of 

 Thessaly half-men, half-horses and their existence is 

 very cloudy. Still, they were often depicted, and the two 

 examples of a male and female Centaur, from a fresco at 

 Pompeii, are charmingly drawn. It will be seen that 

 both are attended by Bacchantes bearing thyrses a 

 delicate allusion to their love of wine; for it was owing 

 to this weakness that their famous battle with the Lapithae 

 took place. The Centaurs were invited to the marriage 

 of Hippodamia with Pirithous, and, after the manner of 

 cow-boys " up town," they got intoxicated, were very 

 rude, and even offered violence to the women present. 

 That, the good knights, Sir Hercules and Sir Theseus, 

 could not stand, and with the Lapithae, gave the Centaurs 

 a thrashing, and made them retire to Arcadia. They had 

 a second fight over the matter of wine, for the Centaur 

 Pholus gave Hercules to drink of wine meant for him, 

 but in the keeping of the Centaurs, and these ill- 



