130 THE CURIOUS LORE OF PRECIOUS STONES
deed,
it was not really a pagan symbol, as the Gnostics were "indifferent
Christians," although their system was a fanciful elaboration of the
doctrines of the late Alexandrian school of Greek Philosophy and an
adaptation of this to the teachings of Christian tradition. In many
cases, however, gems with purely pagan designs were worn by Christians,
designs such as Isis with the child Horus, which was taken to be the
Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus.
A
curious amulet, apparently belonging to the Gnostic variety, and
intended to bring success to the owner of a racehorse, is now in the
collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. The material
is green jasper with red spots. On the obverse the horse is figured
with the victor's palm and the name Tiberis; on the reverse appears
the vulture-headed figure of the Abraxas god and the characters, "zacta iaw bapia," which have been translated, "Iao the Destroyer and Creator."19 Possibly
this amulet may have been attached to the horse during his races to
insure victory, as we know that amulets of this kind were used in this
way.
As
illustrating the eclectic character of some of the amulets used in the
early Christian centuries, we may note one in the Cabinet de Medailles,
in Paris. This has upon the obverse the head of Alexander the Great; on
the reverse is a she-ass with her foal, and below this a scorpion and
the name Jesus Christ. Another amulet of this class, figured by Vettori,20 also has the head of Alex-
"King, Catalogue of Engraved Gems, Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 81, No. 302, 1885.
20
Dissert, apol. de quibusdam Alexandri Severi numismat., p. 59. Cited in
Dietionnaire de Parch, chret., vol. i, Pt. II, Paris, 1907, cols. 1789,
1790, where the amulet is figured.
