inds himself around. In this connection I point out that the name Na,
given to the serpent, is the inversion of an. Kher-an=he who fights and
turns or winds himself around. As kher is likewise the word for ring or
circle (_cf._ Greek kirkos, Latin circus or circulus, Scand. kring), it is
evident that the name Kher-an admits of being interpreted as "he who winds
or turns around in a ring or circle," kher=the fighter or combatant. At
the same time, the word kher likewise signifies ring or circle; moreover
ker=night and rek=time. Therefore the name Neb-kher, cited by Brugsch
(_op. cit._ I, 176), as one of those given to the god of the city of
At-Nebes, besides signifying, as he says, the "lord of strife or
fighting," clearly means "the lord of the circle or ring." This is
undoubtedly one of the most appropriate of names for the god of the pole
star and Ursa Major and is, besides, the Egyptian equivalent for the Hindu
"lord of the wheel," the Persian "god of the ring," and the Mexican "lord
of the circle and of the night"=Yaual or Yohual-tecuhtli. The other titles
of the same god recorded by Brugsch are "the flame or light"=Neser, and
"the lord of life"=Neb-ankh.

I merely point out here what I shall discuss more fully later on, that, in
the Egyptian An, "he who turns himself around," we have the counterpart,
not only of the Assyrian An-shar (fig. 65, 5) who shoots his darts in all
directions, but also of the "North god" of the ancient Mexicans, who,
fully armed is held by one foot, by the sign of the North, to the centre
of the cross, the symbol of the Four Quarters, and like the Akkadian "lord
of heaven," Akanna, is identified with Ursa Major.

I note, moreover, that, whereas the common name for hawk is bak, that
employed by Brugsch is hru (_cf._ inversion ur=the Egyptian name for cross
symbol) which is sometimes transcribed as hur, her or heru, hor or har=and
translated as Horus or Ra Harmachis. An interesting image of the hawk god
is found in another inscription in the temple of Denderah containing the
group (pl. V, 6) consisting of a single star, the bull and hawk,
transcribed by Brugsch as "Hru-Ka" and translated as "the bull (of) Horus"
(_op. cit._ I, p. 7). Another interesting case of the combination of the
bull and hawk is the hawk with a bull's head also figured by Brugsch, and
which is obviously a variant of "hru-ka." A curious instance which seems
to contain a reversal of these syllables is the bull, repeated in