iPhone 7, all auto. |
"The imposing gate of the citadel with the representation of the lionesses or lions was an emblem of the Mycenaean kings and a symbol of their power to both subjects and foreigners It also has been argued that the lionesses (assuming they are not male lions) are a symbol of the goddess Hera. The Lion Gate may be compared to the gates of the Hittite Bronze Age citadel of Hattusa, in Asia Minor. In fact, since lions did not actually exist in Greece, it is likely that the entire idea of lions as a symbol of strength, power, and nobility came from Near East contacts whose elite classes frequently used this symbol themselves. Since the heads of the animals were of a different material from their bodies and originally were fashioned to look toward those approaching below, a number of scholars have suggested that they were composite beasts, probably sphinxes, in the typical Middle Eastern tradition On the top of the pillar is a row of four discs, apparently representing rafters supporting a further piece of sculpture that has since been lost. Another view is as follows: above the head of the column and what is probably a slab supporting an architrave is a row of discs (ends of transverse beams) and another slab the same size as the slab on top of the column. The beams and the block above them represent a more extended superstructure shortened here because of the diminishing space in the triangle. Thus, no further piece of sculpture has been lost." — "Lion Gate", Wikipedia |
