On one side are seven lines of characters, principally consisting of the seven Greek vowels used to denote the Ineffable Name. On the reverse is cut a laurel branch with 18 leaves, enclosed within each of which are characters expressing the name of one of the personifications of Gnostic theosophy. Brought from Egypt and deposited by its possessor, General Lefroy, in the Rotunda at Woolwich. Now in the Egyptian Department of the British Museum. (See page [129].)
A good example of these talismanic cylinders shows the figure of the god Nebo, seated on a throne and holding a ring in his left hand. Before him are two altars, over which appear, respectively, a star and the crescent moon; in front of the god is the figure of a man in an attitude of adoration. Borsippa, where the cylinder was found, was the special seat of the worship of Nebo, whose name appears in those of the kings Nebuchadnezzar, Nebopalasser, and Nabonaid. Regarded as the inventor of writing and as the god of learning, Nebo was the lord of the planet Mercury, and this shows a close connection between Babylonian and Græco-Roman ideas in reference to the god associated with that planet. Nebo was also believed to be the orderer of times and seasons, and this character is indicated by the star and the crescent.[181]
The Cretan peasants of to-day set a high value upon certain very ancient seals—dating perhaps from as early as 2500 B.C.—which they find buried in the soil. These seals are inscribed with symbols supposed to represent the prehistoric Cretan form of writing. Of course these inscriptions, which have not yet been deciphered by archæologists, are utterly incomprehensible for the peasants, but they undoubtedly serve to render the stones objects of mystery. The peasants call them galopetræ, or “milk-stones,” and they are supposed to promote the secretion of milk, as was the case with the galactite.[182] The careful preservation of these so-called galopetræ by Cretan women has served the purpose of archæological research, as otherwise so large a supply of these very interesting seals would not now be available.
1. ENGRAVED HELIOTROPE.
Head of Serapis surrounded by the twelve Zodiacal symbols. From Gori’s “Thesaurus Gemmarum Antiquarum Astriferarum,” Florence, 1750. Vol. i, Pl. XVII.
2. ENGRAVED RED JASPER.
Head of Medusa, Museum Cl. Passerii.