Sandas (more commonly spelt as "Sandan") was the Anatolian ( Hittite) lion god during the Classical period. He used to be represented in association with a horned lion, and often resided inside a pyre surmounted by an eagle. Sandan was often associated to the Greek god Herakles, and sometimes to

Marduk Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...

. In ceremonies, an image of the god was placed inside a pyre and was set on fire. Sandan appears in the coins of the Seleucids, as well as on other coins of Tarsus (

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...

) during the time of the Roman emperors. In Tarsus, Sandon (sometimes spelled Sandes, Sandan, or Sanda) was visually represented as a mitre-wearing human form carrying a sword, a flower, or (commonly) an axe who stands on the back of a horned and winged lion. Associated primarily with war and weather, Sandon was the chief god in the

n pantheon from at least the beginning of the second millennium BC. The ancient Greeks and Romans equated Sandon with Herakles.Goldman, p. 544. A large monument to Sandon existed at Tarsus at least until the third century AD. File:AntiochusGrippusCoin.jpg, Coin of Antiochus VIII Grypus. Reverse: god Sandan standing on the horned lion, in his pyre surmounted by an eagle. File:TarsusCaracallaBronze.jpg, Bronze sesterce from Tarsus (Cilicia) with bust of Caracalla (211-217) on the obverse, and god Sandan on the reverse. File:Coin for Antiochos X at Tarsos.jpg, Coin of Antiochos X Eusebes Philopator depicting Sandon.

References

{{reflist Hittite deities Lion deities Heracles

See also

References