614

DOUBLE AXE AND ROSETTE GROUP

and execution. Its association with the incurved altar-bases itself or
back at least two generations on Cretan soil.

It is in L. M. I b continuing into L. M. II, that the Lions' Gate tvo
attains its greatest vogue on seals. Often, as in Fig. 597 a, g% two confronted
hounds, collared, but of very wolf-like aspect, place their feet on the in-
curved altar-block, the central column is omitted, though the celestial
element is here indicated by the stellar symbol above. In Fig. 597 a / there
appear two Griffins back to back, of the crested kind like those of the
Throne Room frescoes, without any baetylic block or pillar between
them. A flying bird, inserted in their stead, is itself a well-known
emblem of spiritual manifestation.

Fre-
quency of
Lions'
Gate
scheme

Fig. 601. Ceiling Pattern restored from Decorative Group of Double Axes
and Rosette on Seal Impressions (P. 608, Fig. 597 a, d).

Double

Axes

decor.v

tively

grouped.

Decorative Double-Axe Group suggestive of Ceiling Pattern.
Fig. 597 a, d, showing four sacred Double Axes symmetrically grouped
round a central rosette,, suggests an appropriate pattern for the ceiling
of a Palace Shrine (Fig. 601). In k, above a running spiral band that
also implies an architectonic association, three 'sacral knots' appear betweei
two Minoan shields, also a recurring symbol of the divinity. The foreain
on/, adorned with a bracelet, grasps the sacred fleur-de-lis.