Gell, William: The itinerary of Greece: With a commentary on Pausanias and Strabo and an account of the monuments of antiquity at present existing in that country (London, 1810)

KRABATA. MYCEN^. 37

are imperfect, so that it cannot be known which way they turned, or
whether they were seen in front.

The lions have much the appearance of the supporters of an armo-
rial shield, the fore paws being placed on a projecting ornament,
while the hinder feet rest on the architrave of the gate. Between
them is a semicircular pillar, which might be called Doric, but it di-
minishes from the capital to the base, which consists of a double
torus. The echinus of the capital is ornamented with three annulets,
at some distance from each other. The abacus is that of the Doric
order; it supports four balls or circles, which are again surmounted by
a second abacus, similar to the first.

It seems impossible to ascertain the meaning of this curious
device; but on examining the remains of the Mithratic sculptures of
Persia, which, according to Le Bruyn, are executed in the same
manner, some of the symbols bear so near a resemblance to those of
Mycenae, that they may perhaps throw some light on each other, for
the style and the subject are so similar, that it appears as if both
must have had a common origin. Thevenot gives representations of
sculpture on the rocks of Persia, in which pillars are introduced. One
is a plain cippus supporting a bull's head; another has a flame
issuing from its summit, above which is a ball; and a third has a ball
half seen, rising from its capital.

The lion is a well known symbol of Mithras, and is often repeated
in the Persian sculptures; in fact the priests of that divinity were