208 SEAL CYLINDERS OF WESTERN ASIA. 
myth, in which the bull attacked by the hero, as well as the hero himself, is orna- 
mented with wings. But the bull is by no means always winged. Thus in fig. 615 
the convention of one of the forms of the Gilgamesh story is well revived. ‘The god 
lifts the bull, here the short-horned bison, by a hind foot, while on the other side 
it is attacked by a lion. This is an unusually fine and large seal, in red quartz. 
On the ends the copper plates are preserved, through which the doubled copper 
wire passed, making a loop at one end of the cylinder, for suspension, and the two 







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618 619 
extremities of the wire are clamped over on the other end. So in fig. 616 the bulls 
are not winged and the thick hair of the bison is well expressed. ‘The bull with 
wings is seen in fig. 619 where the god carries his scimitar, and in fig. 618 where 
he attacks two bulls. A very elaborate example of gem engraving is given in fig. 
617, which shows admirably the rich embroidered garments with their succession 
of fringes. 
The artist may vary his conceit as well as his symmetry, by representing the 
god as attacking on the one side a lion-sphinx and on the other a winged bull. Such 

a case we have in fig. 620, where we have also, in the field, an ibex, a star, a fish, 
perhaps a scorpion-man, and another uncertain object. In fig. 621 he attacks on 
one side a winged bull and on the other a griffin. 
In quite a number of cases the god, generally without wings, attacks not a 
composite animal, but a lion or bull or other animal naturalistically drawn. There 
may be figured with him, however, a subordinate object which indicates his divine 
character. We have such a case in fig. 622, where the god, attacking a lion with 
his scimitar, has his foot on a griffin. There is also a sacred tree evidently patterned 
