ANIMALS AND PLANTS FIGURED ON THE CYLINDERS. 421 
The Cock appears doubtfully only on quite late cylinders, of the Persian period 
or not much earlier (see figs. 554, 556, 1126). ‘This suggests the late introduction 
of this bird to the country. In his Introduction to Count d’Alviella’s “Migration 
of Symbols,” p. x, George Birdwood calls attention to the fact that in the fifth 
century the cock had reached Lycia, as shown by cocks’ heads on a Lycian 
coin forming the three “legs” of the triskelion; and the cock is also on the harpy 
monument at Xanthus. It is somewhat earlier on the cylinders, probably; and, 
as it seems characteristic of the Persian period, we may connect it with the 
Avestan honor to the cock Parodans which calls to early prayer. See Vendidad, 
VIII 32 3551): 
The Sparrow was doubtless abundant everywhere in Babylonia from the 
earliest times as now; but it does not clearly appear in the cylinder art until we meet 
it with the eagle and vulture in the Syro-Hittite art, evidently taken, with these 
two birds, from Egypt. The sparrow is distinguished from the eagle by its round 
head, while that of the eagle is represented as slender and flat. The sparrow was 
the standard of the West in Egypt, and formed the head of Horus (see fig. 943). 
It is very likely the sparrow that is on the plow in a kudurru (fig. 1286.) But 
compare figs. 1289, 1290. 
The Dove appears as the special bird of the nude, or semi-nude, goddess on 
the Syro-Hittite cylinders. We have examples in figs. 902, 924, 926, 927, 938. 
Occasionally a bird is seen on a tree, or standard, as in figs. 702, 712, which 
can not be identified with any particular bird and perhaps was not intended to be. 
In some cases, as in fig. 697, it may represent a mythologic Persian bird, simurgh. 
The Locust: Once or twice the locust is distinctly shown, as in figs. 770, 1091. 
On Assyrian bas-reliefs we sometimes see locusts strung on a stick, as if for food. 
The Fly: Once in a while a vacant place is filled with a fly, or bee, as in figs. 
425, 475, 480, 523. We need not forget that there was a Syrian god Baal-zebub, 
Baal of the Fly. 
The Scorpion is one of the most frequently figured objects on the cylinders. 
The scorpion was a rather abundant insect and much feared. It therefore became 
the emblem of the god. For examples see figs. 178, 194, 1021. It appears on the 
cylinders from a very early period. It was the emblem of Iskhara. 
Fishes: Little need be said of fishes. No particular species is indicated. 
In the earlier cylinders we see the fish figured to indicate that the stream flowing 
from a vase in the god’s lap (Chapter xiv) was really water. It often appears to be 
used in later seals simply to fill a space otherwise vacant. 
The Crab is seen in fig. 199. 
TREES AND PLANTS. 
There is by no means the care in the delineation of trees and plants that we 
find in that of animals, and only a very few are distinguishable. Thus, the vine 
which we find on Assyrian bas-reliefs is not, I think, to be found on any cylinders. 
Among those that we meet are the following: 
The Cypress: It is not possible to say certainly that it is the cypress that is 
found especially on the older cylinders, and it may be considered a pine or a cedar. 
It has a conventional form and is at times figured as growing on a mountain. We 
may fairly take it to be a tree of the hills, and so of either Elam or Arabia, much 
