How the gods were represented.On cylinder-seals.
Many representations of the gods occur， both on bas-reliefs， boundary-stones， and cylindrical and ordinary seals.Unfortunately， their identification generally presents more or less difficulty， on account of the absence of indications of their identity.On a small cylinder-seal in the possession of the Rev.Dr.W.Hayes Ward， Merodach is shown striding along the serpentine body of Tiawath， who turns her head to attack him， whilst the god threatens her with a pointed weapon which he carries.Another， published by the same scholar， shows a deity， whom he regards as being Merodach， driven in a chariot drawn by a winged lion， upon whose shoulders stands a naked goddess， holding thunderbolts in each hand， whom he describes as Zer-pan？tum.Another cylinder-seal shows the corn-deity， probably Nisaba， seated in flounced robe and horned hat， with corn-stalks springing out from his shoulders， and holding a twofold ear of corn in his hand， whilst an attendant introduces， and another with a threefold ear of corn follows， a man carrying a plough， apparently as an offering.On another， a beautiful specimen from Assyria， I？tar is shown standing on an Assyrian lion， which turns his head as if to caress her feet.As goddess of war， she is armed with bow and arrows， and her star is represented upon the crown of her tiara.
On boundary-stones， etc.
On the boundary-stones of Babylonia and the royal monoliths of Assyria the emblems of the gods are nearly always seen.Most prominent are three horned tiaras， emblematic， probably， of Merodach， Anu， and Bêl (the older).A column ending in a ram's head is used for êa or Ae， a crescent for Sin or Nannar， the moon-god； a disc with rays for ？ama？， the sun-god； a thunderbolt for Rimmon or Hadad， the god of thunder， lightning， wind， and storms； a lamp for Nusku， etc.A bird， perhaps a hawk， stood for Utu-gi？gallu， a deity whose name has been translated "the southern sun，" and is explained in the bilingual inscriptions as ？ama？， the sun-god， and Nirig， one of the gods of war.The emblem of Gal-alim， who is identified with the older Bêl， is a snarling dragon's head forming the termination of a pole， and that of Dun-a？aga is a bird's head similarly posed.On a boundary-stone of the time of Nebuchadnezzar I.， about 1120 B.C.， one of the signs of the gods shows a horse's head in a kind of shrine， probably the emblem of Rimmon's storm-bird， Z？， the Babylonian Pegasus.
Other divine figures.
One of the finest of all the representations of divinities is that of the "Sun-god-stone，" found by Mr.Hormuzd Rassam at Abu-habbah (the ancient Sippar)， which was one of the chief seats of his worship.It represents him， seated in his shrine， holding in his hand a staff and a ring， his usual emblems， typifying his position as judge of the world and his endless course.The position of Merodach as sun-god is confirmed by the small lapis-lazuli relief found by the German expedition at the mound known as Amran ibn 'Ali， as he also carries a staff and a ring， and his robe is covered with ornamental circles， showing， in all probability， his solar nature.In the same place another small relief representing Rimmon or Hadad was found.His robe has discs emblematical of the five planets， and he holds in each hand a thunderbolt， one of which he is about to launch forth.Merodach is accompanied by a large two-horned dragon， whilst Hadad has a small winged dragon， typifying the swiftness of his course， and another animal， both of which he holds with cords.
