956 THE MINOAN GODDESS REPOSING ON THE WAVES

The
Minoan
proto-
types
of Hagia
Pelagia.

and wearing, it would seem, her triple tiara, on a seal impression found in an
isolated position on the East side of the Domestic Quarter of the Palace
(Fig. 925). Here, as Lady of the Sea, she actually reposes on the waves

The Goddess depicted on the signet designs with this marine con-
vention as a background and in the
act of navigating her bark, and whose
shrine appears on the sea-girt head-
lands of rock on either side, may surely
be regarded as here representing her
sea dominion. It would seem indeed
as if, under later titles, her particular
cult, more recently embodied in that
of Hagia Pelagia, had survived on
the actual site of the old harbour
town of Knossos.1 As traditional
founder of the first sea dominion in
Mediterranean waters, it might well be thought that Minos himself could
have selected no fitter design than that before us as the subject of the
signet-ring. A suggestive detail in the Temple Tomb described below is
an incompleted graffito sketch of a Minoan galley, engraved on a slab of
the gypsum casing of the rock-cut sepulchral chamber.2

1 See especially P. ofAf., ii, Pt. I, pp. 251, 252.

' See Suppl. PI. LXVI b. The slab with this is opposite to the entrance.

Fig. 925. Seal Impression from
Domestic Quarter showing God-
dess reposing on Waves.

Fig. 92(>. Gold Signet prom Tiryns Treasure, showing Parallel
Scene of Departure Overseas, in this case probably of a Heroic
Character : See Note 3. p. 954. (3)