TRIPOD HEARTH WITH ASHES ENCLOSED 15

see here a boat-shaped object—apparently some kind of cauldron or
large bowl—from near the edge of which on either side rise two coiling

objects that have the appearance of a pair
of snakes.1 Above appears a horizontal
bar from which, it seems, another serpent
descends.

Cauldron with Three Snakes
above, (f)

Bar

Tripod Hearth with Ashes enclosed.

In the Gournia shrine, as ha
noted above, was a clay tripod with remains
of a stucco coating in which we must
recognize one of the usual movable hearths,
Fig. 116. Seal-impression from also probably used for offerings. A tripod
Little Palace': apparently hearth of the same form and construction

was set before the altar-ledge in the
Shrine of the Double Axes. Considering
how nearly in all parts of the world the household snake cult is associated
with the domestic hearth, the warmth of which is known to attract these

reptiles, such an object seems
to be a natural appurtenance
of a little sanctuary of this
kind.

A tripod stand, from the
Knossos repository, with three
double-legs (Fig. 117 and Fig.
109, 7) might be taken at first
sight to be a movable hearth
of the same kind. Its upper
face, however, consisted of
what resembles a flat lid with
two perforated ears, which
had been moulded on to the
section below. A break in
this cover disclosed the fact
that the interior had been filled with ashes while, from the blackening of
its walls, it further appeared that it had enclosed live charcoal.

been Tripod
hearth
with
ashes
enclosed.

Fig. 117. Tripod Hearth with Ashes enclosed :
Snake Room, Knossos. (Heighti3'5CM., D1.-u1.20cM.)

1 It is possible to compare the snakes boss below on a black-figured vase, Corpus
rising from shields seen in profile with the Vasorum(France), Fasc..7, PI. 29, Figs. 4, 5.