Image Details

Taanach cult stand: This 3-foot-high, terra-cotta stand, from the late-tenth-century B.C.E. Israelite site of Taanach, has four tiers. The second tier from the bottom shows two sphinxes, which may represent the cherubim that adorned the Jerusalem Temple (see 1 Kings 8:6–7). The bottom tier has two lions flanking a female figure—possibly the Canaanite goddess Asherah,who is often described as riding on the back of a lion.