Zeus : a study in ancient religion - Warburg Institute

544
The deity of the double axe
enabled here to publish (fig. 419)^ a lenticular gem of onyx-marble,
probably from Melos, now in his possession. It shows a bearded
god with wings on his shoulders^ and winglets on his heels, who is
Fig. 419.
rushing through the air with a double axe in his hand. We can
hardly be wrong in identifying him as the ' Minoan '
stormy aspect.
sky-god
in his
It would seem, then, that, just as various nations of antiquity
worshipped axe^ or spear* or sword^ meaning thereby to extol the
^ Fig. 419 is drawn from an impression, to the scale of f . Fig. 419 a is a sketch of
the gem itself.
* In accordance with a well-known convention of archaic art {e.g. Furtwangler Vasen-
samnil. Berlin i. 38 no. 30 [, E. Gerhard in Arch. Zeit. 1854 xii. 180 ff. pi. 6i = Reinach
Rtip. Vases i. 380, 4, F. Studniczka in Roscher Lex. Myth. ii. 1751 f. fig. 7), which aptly
illustrates E. Loewy's law of memory-pictures, the wings, seen in their greatest extension,
are simply superposed on the figure without organic connexion.
* The Egyptian term for 'god,' 'spirit,' 'supernatural power' is neter— a word of
very uncertain origin. The hieroglyph that is used both as the determinative of this word
and also as an iideograph
is ]. Thus
cr
nil'
I
m i1"1i