Handwritten: "His [the god's] body terminates in that of an eel. Among the sea anemones [flower-like marine creatures] and other zoophytes [sea animals that look like plants] is a lion. Royal Museum, Berlin."
Source Note: Elite des monuments céramographiques : matériaux pour l'histoire des religions et des moeurs de l'antiquité. (Paris : Leleux, 1844-1861) Lenormant, Charles (1802-1859), Author.

Physical Description

Lithographs
Extent: 30 x 50.5 cm

Abstract

Oannes was a Sumerian/Babylonian "culture hero" who taught humans about writing and other arts of civilization. Dagon was a Philistine agriculture god, sometimes believed to be half-fish. Cadmus, in Greek mythology, was a Phoenician prince who founded the Greek city of Thebes and invented the alphabet. He supposedly turned into a snake or dragon when he died. Small illustration at upper left shows placement of painting on pottery vessel.

Identifiers

Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 14538e40-c5be-012f-49b1-58d385a7bc34

Rights

The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Type Of Resource

Still Image

Date Issued

1844

Cite this item

MLA format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "A winged ichthyomorphic [fish-form] god, perhaps Oannes, Dagon, or Cadmus" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1844 - 1861. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/14538e40-c5be-012f-49b1-58d385a7bc34

APA format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. (1844 - 1861). A winged ichthyomorphic [fish-form] god, perhaps Oannes, Dagon, or Cadmus Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/14538e40-c5be-012f-49b1-58d385a7bc34

Chicago/Turabian Format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "A winged ichthyomorphic [fish-form] god, perhaps Oannes, Dagon, or Cadmus" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/14538e40-c5be-012f-49b1-58d385a7bc34

Wikipedia citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/14538e40-c5be-012f-49b1-58d385a7bc34 | title= (still image) A winged ichthyomorphic [fish-form] god, perhaps Oannes, Dagon, or Cadmus (1844 - 1861) | author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library | accessdate=November 7, 2025 | publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>