Late re-
action of
Syro-
Hittite
cylinder
motives
on
Minoan.

Fig. 437

Harbour Town of

49S CYLINDER FROM HARBOUR TOWN, KNOSSOS

to the manufacture, by the Minoan settlers themselves, of local classe
cylinders, not only of the same Oriental form, and, like Fig. 436, of the sa
haematite material, but with kindred religious representations. A o-rou
displaying versions of the Egyptian palmette pillar seems to belong to thi
class.1 In other cases, as
on cylinders referring to
the cult of the Dove God-
dess, Cypriote and Hittite
Art traditions show such a
close parallelism with that
of Minoan Crete that the
respective contributions
cannot always be easily
distinguished.

Examples of such have
been given in Section 102 above, including a faience cylinder of Syro-Hittite
character, found at Vari,s in Attica, and illustrating" the wide Aegean diffusion
of such models. The question indeed suggests itself whether they may
not have been imitated in Crete by Minoan engravers. The haematite
cylinder of Cretan provenance described above in connexion with the Minoan
Genii3—though the daemon is there coupled with a Minotaur—may still be
assigned to the Cypro-Minoan class. But another specimen, Fig. 437, found
some years back on the site of the harbour town of Knossos, near the river-
Minotaur mouth* bears internal evidence, not only of deviation from the normal

from J

Harbour cylinder style, but of details traditional with the Cretan seal-engravers.

The first episode, of a horned animal—in this case a stag—pounced

upon by a hound while suckling its young, is a known Minoan motive.

There follows a man-stag, with the head and upper part of his body bent

down in a manner characteristic of designs of single- and double-bodie

Minotaurs, and similar fantastic creations on Cretan lentoids.6 There is

Haematite Cylinder :
Knossos.

'Cypro-
Minoan
class.

Haema-
tite cylin-
der with

Town,
Knossos.

1 See A. E., iljc. Tree and Pillar Worship,
p. 48 seqq.

- See p. 409 above, Fig. 339.

1 See p. 459 above, and Fig. 383,

* Fig. 437 was drawn by M. E. Gillieron,
fils, from an impression obtained by me at the
time. I am ignorant as to the present owner-
ship of the cylinder.

B E.g. B.M. Cat. Gems, PI. II, 5 5 and p. 7 (cf.
J.H.S., xvii, 1S97, PI. Ill, 9 and p. 69) where

in both works the group is wrongly described as
a deer and fawn. 1

' A similar figure of a ' man-stag' occur
on a Late Minoan Cornelian lentoid founoj
the West Porch at Knossos (Knossos, Rep >
A parallel design 01

1905, p.

Fi

1 man-bull' or Minotaur is seen on a
tite lentoid obtained by me
Crete. _
a conjoined man-bull and man-goat is

hae«»-

frorn MU»«»

tola ootaineu u, ..- n,.1,seI1ting

Another Cretan specimen pie

„,,.ir id no- ■'