Many studies have already been devoted to Bronze Age seals and amulets (mainly from the end of the third and first half of the second millennium BC) from the region of later Bactria and Margiana, despite the fact that they became known mainly only from the 70s of the XX century. Images on them are one of the main sources of reconstruction of mythological representations, rituals, and social relations of a non-written civilization, about which until recently there were only scanty data. The complex of material monuments received the conditional name of the Bactrian-Margian Archaeological Complex (BMAC) or "Oxus civilization". A sad feature of the large body of finds from this culture is that they come from predatory excavations and lack an archaeological context. Some images and compositions were interpreted already when the first finds were published, linking them with those known in the glyptic of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, and the Indus Valley civilization. It is clear, however,that only a comprehensive internal analysis of all the accumulated material can allow us to understand at least to some extent the peculiar phenomenon that this civilization was. Such an opportunity has now appeared thanks to the publication of V. I. Sarianidi of the corpus of all currently known seals (1).

In a short article devoted to individual pictorial motifs, it is not necessary to give a general description of the seals and amulets that interest us, especially since this has been done repeatedly in the literature, in particular on the pages of VDI. Nevertheless, it should be noted that these things are made of minerals, to a large extent-from chlorite, as well as from metals-an alloy that is conventionally called copper-

1. Sarianidi V. Myths of Ancient Baktria and Margiana on its Seals and Amulets. Moscow, 1998.

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Samples of images of the "eagle" and "snake" in various combinations (according to V. I. Sarianidi)

bronze, rarely-from precious metals. In shape, these are rectangular, rhombic, rounded and shaped stamps with one-sided or two-sided images; a small number of cylindrical seals are known. In the corpus of V. I. Sarianidi, two groups of seals are distinguished - from Bactria and Margiana. Here they are considered as a single whole. It should also be noted that the author did not set out to highlight the whole variety of images of "snakes" and "eagles": attention was focused on those that, in his opinion, shed light on the meaning of these images in culture.

Among the various images of animals, anthropomorphic creatures, and plants, two large groups of characters attract attention, which with a certain degree of convention can be called snake - and eagle-like (Fig. Quotation marks in the title of the article indicate the convention of designations: the fact is that it is rarely possible to accurately determine whether the depicted creature belongs to a real species (the names of other animals are also enclosed in quotation marks, when their definition is not unconditional). It is clear that predatory eagle-like birds enjoyed special attention. Snakes were depicted as close to their real prototypes, and in the form of "dragons "(they are distinguished by a protrusion on the lower jaw and an open mouth). Serpentine features include dragons with four legs, the body of a feline predator, a long neck, a lion or snake-like head, a horn and a protrusion on the lower jaw, a tail in the form of a snake or scorpion, and sometimes wings.

Like other characters, snakes and eagles in the Bactrian - Margian glyptic occur in isolation or in combination with others. A characteristic feature of the snake's transmission is its emphasized tortuosity or intertwining. (Further in the text, the numbers of samples for the mentioned V. I. Sarianidi case will be given in parentheses without additional references to it.) The association of geometric plaits with intertwined snakes is likely (251, 253, 885). Snake-like creatures in some cases frame scenes of a feast between two characters (49) or surround images of land animals (87, 1380, 1398), similar to the rim characteristic of seals. Snakes are depicted coiled up as if to attack (232-235, 238). They occur as an element of vortex sockets of four, less often - five, six, seven (241-248, 251, 255-259). A significant group is formed by small flat, usually rounded or rectangular seals made of various minerals, including lapis lazuli, with conventional images on one side of a wriggling snake, on the other - plants (all from the territory of Afghanistan-1007-1231). It should be noted that the images on the two sides of the seals are likely to be considered complementary.

Plants are a frequent element of compositions with snakes. An expressive example is a three-sided granite pyramid from Margiana (1781), which apparently did not serve as a monument to the Russian Empire.

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printed, but containing the same characters. On its sides is a conventionally rendered tree on a mountain, flanked by snakes with open mouths on their tails.

Snakes and snake - like creatures are frequent "participants" in some not quite clear actions, in which various characters appear. A detailed description of such compositions is out of the question. We give only a "diagram" of the relations of snake-like creatures with others within the same composition, i.e. we focus on those cases when the characters are connected by some kind of interaction. Most often, snake-like creatures are depicted under the belly of zoomorphic creatures in the genital area (while, as a rule, it is not clear whether they are facing the body or away from it) - a winged lion (dragon) - 8 cases, a tiger-1 case, a "goat" - 3 cases, a hare and a bull - 2 and 1, respectively cases. There are images located in front of and behind a winged lion (3 cases) and "goats" (4 cases). Finally, in a few samples, snakes are placed over a male character-a bird and a bull (1 sample each). It is noteworthy that similar combinations give conditional images of snakes," snake dragons " and similar reptilian creatures - they are placed under the bellies of a winged lion or predator (11 cases) and in one case - a humpback bull. Once the "dragon" is depicted near a camel.

The positions and appearance of serpentine characters (not four-legged dragons) suggest that, despite some differences in the details of appearance, they were perceived as similar by cultural carriers. Note that the serpentine dragon rarely appears as an obviously aggressive creature attacking a "human" (1010) or" goat " (990). A significant number of images indicate that snakes were closely related to anthropomorphic male creatures, which in many cases have the characteristics of eagles (the conventionality of this definition was mentioned at the beginning of the article) - their heads, wings, and sometimes bird legs. Such characters are depicted standing or sitting on a "chair", but more often-with one leg tucked up and the other knee raised. Their clothing is a short skirt or belt, and sometimes they are naked. In their hands, facing to the sides, they hold vertically arranged snakes. There are known images of such characters in shoes with curved toes - "mountain boots" (28, 29, 33). A special place belongs to the silver seal, in the center of which is an eagle-headed winged character in a sitting (without sitting) position, holding in his hands, folded in the upper part of his stomach, the tails of seven winged snakes or dragon snakes (57).

As in the case of images of snake-like creatures, an analogy is found in the combination of various characters-orloanthropomorphic and outwardly quite anthropomorphic-with snakes. It is as if a completely humanoid male character is depicted standing in "mountain shoes" with snakes in his hands (25, 30-32).

Finally, it is interesting to see how birds of prey, which we here refer to conventionally as eagles, are depicted in combination with snakes. Their proximity to an anthropomorphic character with eagle-like features is indicated by such a feature of the figure's interpretation as spread legs - the lower limbs of anthropomorphic characters are transmitted in a similar way. Snakes are placed on the sides of the eagle figure, as in the case of the eagle-headed character. At the same time, a special feature in the communication of the relationship between eagles and snakes is noteworthy - a feature that is not clearly shown, as far as one can judge, in compositions with eagle - headed creatures-the eagle attacks the snake and carries it in its beak (927). Snakes and birds are perceived by us as diametrically opposed creatures, all the more remarkable is the combination of signs of both in one image. There are known examples of images of eagles, where snakes appear in the form of their paws or snakes appear from under the eagle's wings [984].

In the complex we are interested in, snake-like characters are associated with male beings-this follows from their placement in the same visual field, in situations that may suggest semantic proximity. At the same time, only male characters, eagles and combining signs of these creatures are depicted in such a way that it can be assumed that the serpents are in their power. This is an example of-

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an interesting circumstance: the snake is a chthonic being, and it is natural to assume its connection with the feminine principle. Indeed, in the Anau culture of the Kopet - Dag sub-mountain zone of the Bronze Age, there are signs, although not always convincing, of a connection between the image of a snake and a female being [2]. These observations are of interest, since it can hardly be doubted that it was the bearers of the Anau culture who played an important, if not the most important, role in the formation of the complex phenomenon called the BMAK, or "Oxa civilization". However, the glyptic data not only from the BMAC, but also from other regions of the ancient East, show that the image of a serpent-like creature is much more extensive and diverse in order to be associated with only one fundamental principle of the world [3]. At the same time, data from ancient Iran and Mesopotamia suggest that the connection with such creatures is mainly male mythological characters.

Judging by the published materials, female supernatural beings in the BMAK glyptic were associated to a much lesser extent and indirectly with serpentine characters. Here we will not find anything like the Minoan goddess with snakes. Let's turn to some representative samples.

If male anthropomorphic creatures have some kind of relationship with snake-like creatures (as well as predatory and other animals, which is not mentioned here), then the mythological woman, sometimes winged, depicted in contrast to male characters in long clothes, appears as having power over four - legged dragon-like creatures-she sits on them (16-rare silver seal). It seems that the glyptic does not emphasize the connection of female characters with serpentine ones, it exists, but not so direct. An example is one of the few cylindrical seals from the burial site in Margiana (Northern Gonur). It shows a female creature with plants coming out of its head and body. The head is turned to the lying "goat", above it - a "tulip" flower. Under the female character is a coiled snake facing a non-preserved four-legged creature (1786).

One of the most difficult questions in studying the semantic content of images of seals and amulets of the BMAK is their relationship. Archaic art, and this art, of course, can be considered such, as a rule, does not know the relations between characters that are clear to modern researchers - they are placed side by side, combined in one field. These relationships can be interpreted based on images that are relatively clear in this regard, as well as by referring to data from traditions that researchers, for one reason or another, seem to help them understand what they are studying. One of the difficulties of attracting foreign cultural data is that visual sources are studied, and for their interpretation, written sources are also used, and even those belonging to a tradition or religion, the connection of which with the studied ones is by no means unconditional.

In one of the first publications of samples of glyptic Margiana V. I. Sarianidi distinguished the place of snakes and serpent-like dragons - the former, placed next to the image of the hero, appear as symbols of his power, as the personification of the secret forces of earth and water, fertility with phallic associations, the latter - as the personification of evil (4). (In favor of the phallic meaning of the snake as evidenced by the image on the Bactria seal of a man with a bull's (?)head. head, standing on a fantastic animal; below his waist is placed an 8-shaped braid (915), in a clearer case, so intertwined snakes were depicted-241). In a recent article summarizing to some extent the results of many years of research, V. I. Sarianidi writes that snakes and

2. Kozhin P. M., Sarianidi V. I. The snake in the cult symbolism of the Anau tribes // Istoriya, arkheologiya i etnografiya Srednoi Azii [History, Archeology and Ethnography of Central Asia].

3. Antonova E. V. Murgab seals in the light of religious and mythological representations of primitive inhabitants of the South of Central Asia and their neighbors / / Central Asia, Caucasus and Foreign East in ancient times, Moscow, 1983.

4 Sirianidi V. I. Seals-amulets of the Murgab style / / SA. 1976. N 1. pp. 46, 63, 64.

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dragons under the bellies of animals express the idea of stealing the "life seed", and this theme "literally permeates the glyptic of BMAK". The relationship between an anthropomorphic or eagle-headed figure and two serpents on its sides or serpentine dragons is most likely to convey the struggle between the characters (5). One of the main ideas of V. I. Sarianidi, known from his numerous and very informative articles and monographs, is that the relationship between the characters of the glyptic is primarily anthropomorphic They represent the concept of the struggle between good and evil, which precedes the one that later became so powerful in Zoroastrianism.

M.-E. Pottier emphasized the beneficial function of the snake, which steals seeds and transmits them to the earth and plants, thus playing a positive role in life on earth. She noticed that a four-legged dragon could also be associated with fertility. Although, like V. I. Sarianidi, M.-E. Pottier uses the religious ideas of Indo-Aryans and Indo-Iranians to interpret glyptic images, but she does it a little more cautiously (6).

Of interest are the assumptions about the meaning of the images on the seals of the "Ox civilization", expressed by A. Frankfort, according to him, in a preliminary form. His position is attractive - to be based not on individual motives, but on the system of characters and their interrelations (7). He suggests a dual, beneficent, and only partially harmful role for the four-legged dragon with serpentine features, while referring to the widespread understanding in Asia of this fantastic creature, which found such a vivid embodiment in China. In the images on the seals and other products of the "Oxus civilization", the dragon is a polymorphic character combining the characteristics of terrestrial and celestial beings, and it is also the originator of snakes that arise, as can be assumed from some images, from its genitals. Images of eagle-like creatures, female goddesses, snakes and reptiles, as well as some land animals that meet with them in a single composition, in his opinion, are associated with the most important moment of the year, the spring renewal of nature, when in this region of Central Asia, due to spring rains and floods of rivers flowing from the Pamirs and Hindu Kush, everything is it comes to life, and on the surface of the earth, along with flowering plants, snakes and some insects appear after hibernation. At the same time, a snake - eating eagle (circaetus gallicus) arrives in Central Asia, crossing the Hindu Kush, feeding mainly on reptiles. In this case, A. Frankfort relies on the assumptions of W. Lambert (8) about the specific definition of eagle-like birds on seals.

The dragon, according to A. Frankfort, is subordinate to the goddess, who controls plants and animals that are born in the spring. He, like the goddess and the serpents, is associated with the earth and birth, but also with the underworld and death. A snake can represent a deadly beginning, but it can also be a creature that revives to a new life. The relationship between the characters of the seals is considered by the researcher as a relationship of domination and submission.

It is obvious that the interpretation of ancient pictorial monuments of non-written civilizations, whether they are "verbose" or "concise", is extremely complex and provokes little-founded explanations. One of the important points is to identify the predecessors of the characters being studied. Images of birds in general, especially birds of prey, are rare, and in combination with snakes, apparently, are even rarer on monuments from the regions adjacent to Bactria and Margiana of the Eneolithic and Middle Ages.

5. He's the same. Syro-Hittite origin of the Bactrian-Margian glyptic / / VDI. 1999. N I. pp. 57, 59, 71.

6. Pettier M.-H. Materiel funeraire de la Bactriane Meridionale de 1'Age du bronze. P., 1984. P. 77, 86.

7. Frankfort H.-P. Dungeons and Dragons: Reflections on the System of Iconography in Prehistoric Bactria and Margiana // South Asian Archaeology Studies. V. 4 / Ed. G. Possche. New Delhi-Bombay-Calcutta-Oxford, 1992.

8. Lambert W.G. Seals from West Central Asia and Adjacent Regions // Archaeologische Mitteilungen aus Iran. 1986. 19.

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early Bronze age periods. The human world was centered on the surface of the earth and in the Chthonic sphere. The visual monuments emphasized them, and the celestial region, if it played a role in the perception of the world (which is very likely), was not reflected in the visual monuments in a way that is distinguishable for modern researchers. It can be said that the earthly world attracted the heavenly world to itself, the area of the terrestrial and celestial was "compressed" in some images, which in this case could acquire small but important signs (for example, the sign of the heavenly body inside the bend of the horns of a mountain ram). The relevance of the two lower spheres of the universe is most likely associated with the images of four-legged animals with snakes reaching for their bellies on seals and vessels of Eneolithic monuments in Mesopotamia and Iran, similar to those known in the BMAK glyptic [9]. Therefore, the widespread distribution of images of birds, notably carnivorous ones, is a significant fact, indicating significant changes in the perception of the world and their society by the carriers of the Bronze Age culture in the south of Turkmenistan and the north of Afghanistan, as well as, probably, in the nearby territories with which they were in contact.

Let's return to the interpretation of images of zoomorphic creatures as reflecting the concepts of good and evil that existed among their creators. These definitions are essential, since when analyzing the meaning of monuments of non-written cultures, as already mentioned, analogies are used, and their choice is reflected not only in the interpretation of individual images, but, ultimately, in the understanding of the whole picture of religious and mythological representations of the studied societies.

The question arises: what circle of analogies is it advisable to focus on when trying to interpret the monuments of a civilization similar to the "Oks" or the culture of BMAK carriers? Should we proceed from the positions of such a developed religion as Zoroastrianism, which originated in this or a nearby region, a religion created by the prophet in tense social conditions, or should we try to delve into the layers of archaic ideas of the "grassroots" culture, whose carriers more directly connected their lives with nature and perceived the world as an arena of interaction of powerful forces, one of which combined both positive from the point of view of people, and negative beginnings? E. Porada wrote that the familiar image of the snake as a sign of danger for the ancients was by no means so unambiguous, it was associated, in particular, with life-bearing streams of water. At the same time, the animals depicted as attackers with sharp teeth or beaks could not be dangerous for those who wore them as amulets, on the contrary, they were their defenders (10).

In the visual monuments of the BMAC, the snake and its varieties are not only in the supposed external opposition to terrestrial animals, eagles, and anthropomorphic creatures with eagle characteristics, but also closely approach them, forming part of their bodies. At the same time, the motif of fighting and dragon-fighting remains almost unspoken: in fact, what is dragon-fighting about a character sitting quietly with snakes in his hands? You might as well assume that the snake is a symbol of its power, a sign that the winged creature's power extends to the area controlled by the snake. Of course, he dominates the snake at the same time, but without such a sharp confrontation. It is significant for our story that not only the absence of opposition, but even the transformation of a snake "into a bird is not unique, but is a common place-from the Mayan feathered serpent to various flying kites, dragons, etc. in European, Asian and other traditions". T. V. Tsivyan, who owns these words, emphasizes, that the archetypal model of the world is characterized by a shuffling of elements or body parts of various living beings, resulting in

9. Sarianidi. Seals-amulets ... p. 64.

10. Porada E. Introduction // Monsters and Demons in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Papers Presented in Honor of E. Porada / Ed. A.E. Farkas, P.O. Harper, E.B. Harrison. Mainz on Rhine, 1987. P. 2.

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As a result, various combinations are formed, and "the snake, as a kind of "semi - finished product" that does not have a complete form, most easily accepts and "assimilates" means of transportation-wings and legs" (11) . It seems that the data of traditional "folk" culture, if they are connected with universal ideas, can shed light on the monuments of ancient non-written culture. This is especially productive in cases where the ethnicity of its speakers remains hypothetical. The remoteness of analogies in this case, it seems to us, should not confuse.

In the cited article, T. V. Tsivyan describes a wedding jug from Romania, depicting a hen sitting surrounded by chickens, from under the wings of which two snakes rise to the level of the neck [12]. The combination of a prolific bird and a snake is remarkable in the wedding item. This is one of the arguments in favor of the fact that images of eagles with snake feathers and eagle-like creatures with snakes in general in the BMAK glyptic had associations with fertility. The grounds for identifying snakes and birds are based on their common characteristics - variegated coloration, flat head, long neck, egg reproduction, similar malicious actions (bites, poisoning), and hissing [13]. In the conditions of the Central Asian region, the similarity already noted by a number of authors could contribute to the convergence in the images of a snake and an eagle: their simultaneous appearance in spring, with the flowering of nature.

So, the image of a snake in combination with terrestrial four-legged creatures is not new in the Central Asian region in the Bronze Age, although before it was not implemented in known monuments as systematically as in the BMAC. A significantly new feature is the prevalence of eagle-like characters and winged creatures in general (including anthropomorphic ones). The latter circumstance, along with other phenomena in culture, is evidence of the development, perhaps in a less pronounced form, of phenomena that existed before - the growing importance of ecstatic cults, the increasing power of leaders and social differentiation, i.e., phenomena that in human culture are associated with the emphasis on the top, the sky, with realization in a more tangible form than before the three-term vertical of the world.

THE "SERPENT" AND THE "EAGLE" IN THE GLYPTICS OF THE OXUS CIVILIZATION

Ye.V. Antonova

The author aims to prove that it is doubtful whether the meaning of the glyptic images found on the territory of later Margiana may be interpreted from the point of view of their analogy with such well developed religions as Zoroastrianism.

The images of eagles and eagle-like creatures are not just opposed to those of serpents and serpent-like creatures (though such oppositions are not to be excluded), but rather complement them, describing the world whose elements are not merely "evil" or "benevolent", but may well combine features of both. It is more advisable to interpret the characters depicted on seals and amulets of this period in the light of Eurasia's inhabitants' archaic outlooks, and only after that to connect them with what survived of these outlooks in religions like Zoroastrianism.

11. Tsivyan T. V. Zmeya-ptitsa: k istolkovaniyu tozhestva [Snake-bird: to the interpretation of identity]. U etnograficheskikh istokov fol'klornykh zagoretov i obrazov [At the ethnographic origins of folklore plots and images].

12. Ibid., p. 52.

13. Ibid., p. 49.

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