Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/229

 HiTTiTE Monuments in Lycaonia. 21 r the rest was suffered to remain in its natural state. The monu- ment consists of two colossal figures of unequal size, cut in relief, not exceeding 10 c. The larger figure is about 6 m. 8 c, and the smaller 3 m. 60 c. The subject is not hard to grasp. It seems to portray a priest or king offering prayer or thanksgiving to a deity : a god it would seem combining the attributes of Ceres and Bacchus. As is well known, difference of height, in all primitive art, serves to indicate difference of station. The god is clad in a short tunic, turned up in front and behind in a kind of volute ornament ; in his outstretched left hand he holds some ears of bearded wheat, cultivated at the present day in the country. The stalks reach the ground behind his left foot, which is stepping forward, and a vine stem is between his feet, the ten- drils of which are gracefully arranged about his waist, alternating with foliage and large clusters of grapes, his right hand holding the extreme end. The ** Baal of Tarsus,'* before the introduction of Grecian types, was similarly represented. On a coin of that city, surmounted by a Semitic legend, supposed to date from the Persian age, we find him figured in the attitude of a Greek Jove ; his sinister hand holds a sceptre, and the other carries a bunch of grapes (Fig. 355). fig. 355^'^er coin To return. "The expression of the face," U^^J^^T:;, writes Mr. Davis,  is jovial and benevolent, the ^^•^^' ^^s- 2- features well indicated, especially the high aquiline nose, the lips are small and not projecting, the short moustache allows the mouth to be seen." Whether due to inadequate drawing or not we cannot say ; but we have failed to detect the joviality referred to. On the head of the god is the distinctive tiara ornamented with horns, the emblem of strength with the Assyrians and Greeks, and tip-tilted boots on the feet, bound round the leg and above the ankle by leather thongs. The legs from the thigh are bare, the muscles of the calf and knee well delineated. Around the waist is a richly ornamented girdle, probably of metal, with carved parallel lines, which form the "herring-bone" pattern. It will have been observed that the costume of the principal figure is exactly that of the Hittite heroes and deities at Ghiaour-Kalcssi and lasili-Kaia. The claim of the god to be distinguished above his fellows is not in gorgeous attire, but in his superhuman height ; compared to which