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their virginity in the sanctuaries of Astarte. For their personal magical protection the Phoenicians appear to have adopted the type of amulets used in Babylonia and Assyria, and a collection of cylinder seals has been preserved in the British Museum. Some of these artifacts, which are shown in Wallis Budge's book Amulets and Superstitions, may date from a few centuries B.C., probably from about 400 to 300 B.C. Five of these cylinder seals depict a Winged Disk, often with appendages. Figures that are referred to in the literature as "divine beings" are seen emerging from these disks in four cases. And in every one of them human figures in ceremonial dress appear to be involved in rituals that contain. Assyrian features. The first cylinder seal shows a hero holding in each hands the foreleg of a winged beast. One of these two beasts has horns on its head and a tail. Above the human being is the winged disk, from which a god is emerging. ("Ahuramazda or some Assyrian god," writes Sir Wallis Budge.) The interpretation of the second amulet involves scorpion-men and sexual symbols. It is apparent that two strange creatures, obviously male, are supporting a winged disk above a sacred tree. To the right is a worshipper, while another person is bringing some sort of animal as a sacrifice. Here, again, two divine figures are to be seen, emerging from the disk. In the third amulet two large winged figures — classically interpreted as "priests wearing winged garments" — frame a large disk with extended legs. Directly beneath the disk is a symbol of lightning or a thunderbolt, before which a man appears to be standing in adoration. There is something on top of the disk. Another artifact: a sphinx and a goat stand on either side of a sacred tree above which is a winged disk. Two men are performing a ritual in connection with the scene. In the last amulet two of the strange dwarfish figures, which authorities call scorpion-men (despite their large breasts on this particular seal), are supporting a "winged disk from which project the heads of three divine beings." Two men are in adoration before the disk, beneath which a sort of vaulted door can be seen. To the left is a very strange figure interpreted as "a god holding a gazelle 4 1 " or goat under each arm." The interpretation of this collection of artifacts raises several questions, because the classical statement that the flying disk is simply a primitive representation of the sun or the soul leaves much to be desired. Is it common for the winged disk (a frequent symbol in antiquity) to show several beings emerging from its upper part? In what context are such representations encountered? If the disk is interpreted as some mythological symbol connected with the cosmos (as is indicated by the abundance of astronomical designs in the seals: stars, crescent moons), should we speculate that the representation of a disk with extended claws may in fact seek to preserve the memory of a vision, or observation, of a flying craft capable of landing? This speculation does not answer all our questions but it provides a stimulating avenue of research into ancient symbolism. It is certainly fascinating to read the best accepted interpretation for the zig- zag symbol in some of the amulets is lightning or a thunderbolt. Why should a thunderbolt be associated with a winged disk, and why should three people in elaborate magical garments stand in adoration before it? The scene suggests plan and purpose rather than a chance occurrence of some 1 . 71 a purely natural phenomenon. It suggests overt contact with a flying craft. Equally fascinating to the student of close-encounter cases are the scenes in which animals are carried to the hovering disk. In one case, a god is seen holding a horned animal under each arm — a scene certainly reminiscent of many a claim of animal kidnapping by UFO occupants. Three of the cylinder seals show approximately the same thing: a disk above some elaborate ground structure, a human in adoration, and someone bringing a horned animal toward the center of the scene. The beings themselves fall into the following categories: 1. Human beings that Assyriologists call worshippers, priests, kings, etc. Sometimes they are wearing winged garments. The gods. They are shown either emerging from the disk and wearing, in some cases, elaborate headdresses or walking outside the disk, as in one amulet where an entity seems to