Where now is the king under whose direction these sculptures were made, and whose figure on the analogy of all the commemorative sculptures of the ancient East should occupy a place and rank second only to the gods? On the main façade he finds no place, for the attendant figures in each case are in pairs, and the youth who follows the leading goddess to the right shows no insignia of royalty, but seems to be grouped naturally with his leader. Looking around, we find facing this scene the majestic figure clad in a toga,[555] accompanied by a whole group of emblems which indicate his rank. He stands alone, exalted and distinguished, yet following as it were in the train of the goddess. In the other procession, to the left,[556] he follows the figures of the lesser gods. In the inner gallery he is embraced by the godlike figure of the same youthful deity who, in the outer gallery, accompanies the goddess; and we are reminded of the Egyptian text[557] which describes the representation of the god of the Hittites embracing their king as the design upon the royal signet which was attached to a treaty.[558] Now this figure is that which is generally regarded as representing the high priest, and not without reason; it reappears without insignia as leading in the act of sacrifice before the bull-shrine at Eyuk,[559] and on two sculptured blocks recently discovered at Boghaz-Keui, we find the same again ministering before the altar.[560] It mattered little what was the object of the cult; the costume was evidently that of the priesthood. Now the same treaty informs us that the great king of the Hittites was also chief priest of the god. The king-priest indeed was a feature of Hittite national life, and in this light we are able to interpret their monuments across the Taurus also.[561] We are led to conclude that such is the explanation of these sculptures, and that in the figures before us we have both chief priest and king. The problem is now much simplified. The kingly figure accompanies both processions: that in which his majesty is most clear is that of the great goddess and her consort; while on the other side he seems to embrace or at least to sanction by his presence the worship of the other deities. [Illustration: PLATE LXXI BOGHAZ-KEUI: HITTITE GOD EMBRACING THE PRIEST In the small gallery at Iasily Kaya Sutekh of the Hittites embracing the great King. (_See also p. 228._)] It is possible, however, that when the minutiæ of the royal insignia, the winged rosette, shall be more thoroughly understood, it will be found that these two kings are not one and the same person. Who then can they be? Why are they associated here together with so many different deities? Who are these deities? What can be the meaning of the whole series of representations?