282 SEAL CYLINDERS OF WESTERN ASIA. 
Perrot and Chipiez, Hist. de l’Art Chald. et Ass., fig. 162), where we have the dead 
laid out on a bier (but without flames), an attendant spirit (fish-god) at the head 
and foot, and other objects in the register representing this world, while just below, 
in the register representing the lower world, are vases, a tripod, feet of animals 
(not heads), and haunches (?) or provision for the dead. We see from fig. 854 that 
the monsters of the lower world are not wholly malicious, but may be kindly attend- 
ants, bringing food to the dead. The three personages with “lituus,’’ who approach 
the seated goddess in figs. 855 and 856, it is not easy to explain satisfactorily. They 
are the same that look like apparitors following the soul in fig. 854. Their attitude, 
with one hand raised, 1s one of profound respect; and they are therefore not gods, 
notwithstanding an apparent crescent over the 
headdress of one of them. Yet the presence 
of the headdress is not usual for human beings 
in such an approach. ‘They hardly represent 
the multitudes that enter the realm of Allat 
Ninkigal. The “lituus,” as well as the head- 
dress, indicates a dignity like that of a king. 
They may correspond to the assessors in the 
Egyptian scenes of the judgment of the dead, 
and to Minos, Rhadamanthus, and A®acus in 
Greek mythology. 
At any rate, we are brought in these three 
seals into the realm of the lower world. We 
see the judgment, in two cases by Shamash, 
with his familiar streams, or by some similar 
western god; in another we see the dead laid 
on his bier, prepared for cremation, and the 
provision for his food in the other world. In 
two we seem to see one of the dead lifting his 
head and hands to drink; in one a dead per- 
son appeared to be seizing food; and we may 
conjecture that the boat with a person in it, supported by such lion-headed 
creatures as we also see on the bronze funerary plate described by M. Ganneau, 
may have something to do with the passage of the soul. 
In this connection attention may be called to a cylinder shown in fig. 858, which 
shows strong Egyptian influence and which may well be related to the scenes in 
the underworld. Before a purely Babylonian bearded and flounced god, except 
that he holds up the crux ansata, stands a worshiper in Babylonian style, except 
that there are bands across his inner garment and he holds an antelope or ibex by 
the hind leg instead of a goat in his arms. Above them is the winged disk with asps. 
Behind the god are two registers. “The upper one shows two winged genii, one with 
an ibex head and the other with the head of a bull, carrying a deer slung on a pole, 
while the one in advance holds a rabbit in his hand, and a vulture rests on the 
forward end of the pole. In the lower register are two human figures, who carry 
an ibex slung from a pole, while in front is an ibex recumbent, and behind is the 
head of a goat. The composite, winged figures carrying food can hardly represent 
any scenes in this life and may be supposed to be connected with such provision 
en A area 
Magne fa Foe oe LO Role 
“Witiinnmimuntih 


