Charles York Miller informs us, "The crook (heqa) was carried by Kings, Gods and high officials. It derived from a shepherd's staff, and in this form, it was carried by Anedijti, the shepherd God. Later, it was depicted as a smaller sceptre, and it came to denote the carrier as a 'ruler'. The crook is often depicted being held with the flail across the chest. Opinions differ regarding the origin of this symbol, it possibly representing a shepherd's whip or a fly-whisk. It was associated with the Gods Osiris and Min, but when carried by kings it symbolised authority, hence the combination with the crook denoting the 'authority and power of the ruler'."
Both of these symbols are part of the repertory of Dionysian imagery. The cowherd's crook (kalaurops) was carried by Dionysian priests or boukoloi during processions, and were probably used during initiation ceremonies as well. It was even depicted on a funerary plaque for a Dionysian initiate named Herophilus, alongside a switch or flail. (Susan Guettel Cole, Dionysos and the Dead) The flail is also depicted in the context of an initiation at the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, where the initiate is being flogged by a winged spirit in preparation for receiving the vision of the unveiled liknon.
Copyright 2005 Sannion
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