The reason why it assumed a phallic character in the locality which gives it its name, is not perhaps clear, but the study of Assyrian antiquities has revealed the meaning attached to it in the palmy days of Nineveh and Babylon; it referred to the four great gods of the Assyrian pantheon--Ra, and the first triad--Ana, Belus, and Hea; and when inserted in a roundlet, as may be seen in the British Museum, it signified Sansi, or the sun ruling the earth as well as the heavens. It was therefore the symbol of royalty and dominion, which accounts for its presence on the breasts of kings. On the Etruscan and Pompeian monuments generally, this cross is as gross and offensive in form as in ancient Malta, but it is found in a character as unobjectionable as in Assyria, on the official garments of the Etruscan priesthood. It has been found in Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Sicily; and Dr. Schliemann discovered many examples of it (with other crosses) on the vases which he dug from the seat of ancient Troy. It was also found in what was described as a "magnificent cruciform mosaic pavement, discovered about thirty years ago in the ruins of a Gallo-Roman villa at Pont d'Oli (Pons Aulae), near Pau, in the Basses-Pyrenees, accompanied by several other varieties of the cross, including the St. George and the St. Andrew, all glowing in colours richly dight, and surrounding a colossal bust of Proteus, settled in the midst of his sea monsters." The cross generally regarded as the most notable type of that emblem, because it is said to have figured in the religious systems of more peoples than any other, is that known as "Thor's hammer," or "Thor's battle-axe." It may, perhaps, also be set down as the most ancient of the crosses--how many years back it dates we cannot say, several thousands evidently. It consisted of the last letter of the Samaritan alphabet, the tau or tav in its decussated or most primitive form, and may be described, as it has been sometimes, as a _cruciform hammer_. It derived its name from being borne in the hand of Thor, as the all-powerful instrument by means of which his deeds recorded in the Eddas were accomplished. "It was venerated by the heroes of the north as the magical sign which thwarted the power of death over those who bore it; and the Scandinavian devotee placed it upon his horn of mead before raising it to his lips, no doubt for the purpose of imparting to it the life-giving virtues." To this hour it is employed by the women of India and of the north-eastern parts of Africa as a mark of possession or taboo, which they generally impress upon the vessels containing their stores of grain, &c.