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279 Figure 97 Literature)—looking, perhaps, like the fearsome "griffins" (Fig. 97) that were created to guard temple treasures. An encounter with a whole troop of such beings is reported in a text known as The Legend of Naram-Sin; he was the grandson of Sargon I (the founder of the Akkadian dynasty) and engaged in several military campaigns—on orders of the Enlilite gods, according to his annals. But at least in one instance, when the divine oracles discouraged further warfare, he took matters into his own hands. It was then that a host of "spirits" were sent against him, apparently upon a deci- sion or order of Shamash. They were Warriors with bodies of cave birds, a race with raven's faces. The great gods created them; in the plain the gods built them a city. Bewildered by their appearance and nature, Naram-Sin in- structed one of his officers to sneak up on these beings and prick one of them with his lance. "If blood comes out, they are men like us," the king said; "If blood does not come Angels and Other Emissaries