Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/283

THE TEMPLE IN PHOENICIA. 263 temple, a considerable number of broken statues were found, their heads separated from their bodies. These figures were cut from the white limestone of Amrit. 1 Some of them appear to be figures of gods. The only torso to which a head still adheres has been recognised as one of a Hercules with lion-skin o FIG. 192. Votive stele from Carthage. From the Gazette Archeologiqiie. head-dress. But this is quite an exception. The iconic character of most of the figures is beyond a doubt. As these statuettes were found in a grotto within the precincts of a temple, there is every reason to believe that they once 1 Such details as we possess on the subject of this find arc furnished by a letter from M. GAII.LARDOT inserted by M. Renan among his Additions et Corrections (Mission, p. 850).