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262 Gate of the Sun in Tiahuanacu (Fig. 88b)—evidence of Hittite contacts with that distant place. Though modern scholars, perhaps wishing to avoid reli- gious connotations, refer to the depicted beings as "protective geniuses," the ancient peoples considered them to be a class of lesser gods, a kind of rank-and-file divine being that only carries out the orders of the "Great Lords" who were "Gods of Heaven and Earth." Their representation as winged beings was clearly intended to indicate their ability to fly in Earth's skies; and in that they emulated the gods themselves, and specifically so those who had been depicted as winged deities—Utu/Shamash (Fig. 89) and his twin sister Inanna/Ishtar (Fig. 90). The affinity to the Eaglemen (see Fig. 16) whose commander Utu/Sha- mash was, is also obvious. In this regard the Lord's statement (Exodus 19:4) that he would carry the Children of Israel "on Figure 87 DIVINE ENCOUNTERS