Religious Symbols. Much of the art of the ancient Near East was of a religious character and can, as a result, be difficult to interpret. Gods were depicted more often in some periods than in others, and there is a relative dearth of representations of deities from particular periods. Depictions of supernatural beings were generally of minor deities, monsters, demons, or symbols of the gods. The symbols remain the most consistent aspect of religious imagery. From prehistoric times until the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 B.C.E. there was little change in their form or meaning. Some of the best evidence for understanding these symbols comes from the second half of the second millennium B.C.E., when symbols of gods were used on the so-called Babylonian kudurru (entitlement monuments). These legal records of land transfers were decorated with...