M. M. Ill: SEAL TYPES AND GREATER ART

673

letic purpose. Indeed, under the name of yaXontTpais—' milk-stones '—many Modern
of them are still worn for their special virtues by the Cretan women. Stones.

Among" frequent motives represented are rough designs of fish and
squids ; plants, often associated with two-handled cups and spouted ewers,
like those in the hands of the Genii who water vegetation, as seen on Late
Minoan gems,1 heart-shaped figures like Fig. 491, b\ lions' masks, the Double
Axe, and pillared structures. Though steatite is also used, the materials,
as we see them at Sphungaras, are mainly of hard stones such as jasper, cor-
nelian, rock-crystal, and occasionally amethyst. It is noteworthy as showing
that representatives of this class were already current throughout the whole of

d

Fig. 492, a, l>, c, d, e. Successive Degenerations of Lion's Mask Sign on Gems used

as Talismans (f).

the Third Middle Minoan Period, that several of these types are in fact
survivals of earlier hieroglyphs, which, it may be recalled, always retained an
ideographic as well as a phonetic value. The lion's mask which occurs in sign-
groups (Fig. 492, a) 2 and is often repeated has a specially prominent place
among these later amuletic types. It first appears as the sole type on stones
of the early round form, lentoids with the edge cut square, Fig. 492, d, and
passes, through intermediate stages such as c and d, to a series of almond-
shaped bead-seals under a more or less conventionalized aspect, till, without
a knowledge of the intervening links, the original meaning- of the design would
hardly be guessed (Fig. 492, e).3 This latter type (e) doubtless possessed

1 See Myc. 'free and Pillar Cult, p. 3, Fig. r. 45 • c, steatite, E. Crete ; d, steatite, Knossos ;

2 See p. 643, Fig. 477, 74. e, cornelian, Siteia, and similar, haematite,
Fig. 492,/;, Agate,'E<£.'Apx., 1907,'Pl.VII. Knossos district. A. E. Coll.

I X x