DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.807#0750
THE PALACE OF MINOS, ETC.
Under-
lying
Egyptian
Motives.
beyond a doubt. We see here the oval knob of the Axe and its forked
base symmetrically converted into a pair of eyes, vertically set, which turned
round-about have given the suggestion of the goggle-eyed faces. These
' goblin' vessels were found associated on a house floor at Phylakopi with
imported M. M. II polychrome ware1 of the finest egg-shell fabric, and
belong to an epoch of intensive intercourse between Minoan Crete and
Melos. The anthropomorphization of the Double Axe that they illustrate
is on all fours with the appearance of the 'bird griffin' on similar vessels.
An analysis of these seal-types emphasizes the fact, already noted, that
certain Egyptian elements lie at the root of many recurring features in the
The Waz:
Symbol of
Buto.
Its Talis-
manic
Value.
Fig. 527. Evolution of 'Winged Goblin' Type: a, Double Axe Symbol, Sealing, Knossos
(M. M. II); b, Melian adaptation ; c, d, Goblin Types on Melian Vases (M. M. II).
designs. Some geometrical types of Egyptian association occur, indeed in
an unadulterated form, as in the case of the examples given in Fig. 523
above. Once more we find, among the elements from this source, a con-
spicuous place occupied by the waz (w'z) or papyrus stem symbol, which,
as we have seen, had already made its appearance on Cretan seals of the
First Middle Minoan Period.2 The waz itself, signifying ' green' or
'flourishing',3 was the special symbol of the Goddess Wazet (Buto), and
is placed on scarabs, as already noted in connexion with the Snake Goddess,4
with a definite amuletic intention. On the Cretan seals, where it is of very
early appearance,5 it may originally have been borrowed with some vague
sense of its talismanic value. That the symbol of the Delta Goddess
should find a ready currency in Zakro, indeed, is easily intelligible when
its special geographical aspect is considered. Its harbour, to-day a favourite
place of call for the Aegean sponge fishers in Libyan waters, would have
1 D. Mackenzie, Phylakopi, p. 260. The 3 See F. LI. Griffith, Hieroglyphs, p. 28,
information as to the character of the fabric Fig. 125. Under the New Kingdom waz
is due to a subsequent communication from appears as a sign of the North Country.
Dr. Mackenzie. 4 See above, p. 509.
2 See above, p. 201, Fig. 150. 5 See above, p. 201, Fig. 150.
Under-
lying
Egyptian
Motives.
beyond a doubt. We see here the oval knob of the Axe and its forked
base symmetrically converted into a pair of eyes, vertically set, which turned
round-about have given the suggestion of the goggle-eyed faces. These
' goblin' vessels were found associated on a house floor at Phylakopi with
imported M. M. II polychrome ware1 of the finest egg-shell fabric, and
belong to an epoch of intensive intercourse between Minoan Crete and
Melos. The anthropomorphization of the Double Axe that they illustrate
is on all fours with the appearance of the 'bird griffin' on similar vessels.
An analysis of these seal-types emphasizes the fact, already noted, that
certain Egyptian elements lie at the root of many recurring features in the
The Waz:
Symbol of
Buto.
Its Talis-
manic
Value.
Fig. 527. Evolution of 'Winged Goblin' Type: a, Double Axe Symbol, Sealing, Knossos
(M. M. II); b, Melian adaptation ; c, d, Goblin Types on Melian Vases (M. M. II).
designs. Some geometrical types of Egyptian association occur, indeed in
an unadulterated form, as in the case of the examples given in Fig. 523
above. Once more we find, among the elements from this source, a con-
spicuous place occupied by the waz (w'z) or papyrus stem symbol, which,
as we have seen, had already made its appearance on Cretan seals of the
First Middle Minoan Period.2 The waz itself, signifying ' green' or
'flourishing',3 was the special symbol of the Goddess Wazet (Buto), and
is placed on scarabs, as already noted in connexion with the Snake Goddess,4
with a definite amuletic intention. On the Cretan seals, where it is of very
early appearance,5 it may originally have been borrowed with some vague
sense of its talismanic value. That the symbol of the Delta Goddess
should find a ready currency in Zakro, indeed, is easily intelligible when
its special geographical aspect is considered. Its harbour, to-day a favourite
place of call for the Aegean sponge fishers in Libyan waters, would have
1 D. Mackenzie, Phylakopi, p. 260. The 3 See F. LI. Griffith, Hieroglyphs, p. 28,
information as to the character of the fabric Fig. 125. Under the New Kingdom waz
is due to a subsequent communication from appears as a sign of the North Country.
Dr. Mackenzie. 4 See above, p. 509.
2 See above, p. 201, Fig. 150. 5 See above, p. 201, Fig. 150.