Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 1): Zeus god of the bright sky (Cambridge, 1914)

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Ritual Horns

the Cretan type of horned altar (fig. 371)1 with one found at Oficio
near Almeria in the south of Spain. Here Monsieur L. Siret in
a deposit dating from the beginning of the bronze age came upon
an altar-shaped structure of earth built against a wall and sur-
mounted by ritual horns (fig. 372, a, by.

It appears, then, that ritual horns were used at an early date,
not only in Crete, but also in various countries to the east, north,
and west of the Mediterranean basin. If, however, we would
ascertain the original significance of the custom, we must, I think,
turn our attention towards the south ; for here only can we hope to

Fig- 373-

find outlying regions that have not been repeatedly swept by the
ebb and flow of advanced civilisations.

My brother Dr A. R. Cook, on returning from a visit (1905—
1906) to the Dinka tribes of the White Nile, informed me that the
boys there make small models of cows out of mud. He brought
back a specimen (fig. 373), which though only three inches in length
shows well the humped back, large horns, and slit ears characteristic
of the native cattle. He also reported that outside the hut of every
chief is a big heap of mud roughly shaped like a bull and known

1 M. j. Lagrange La Crete ancienne Paris 1908 p. 83 fig. 62 (about ■§■) a votive altar in
red baked clay with horns painted white and remains of a metal tenon beneath, found at
Knossos in the treasury of the serpent-goddess and now preserved in the Museum at Kandia.

2 j. Dechelette op. cit. ii. t. 80 f. fig. 25.