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>In Zoroastrian literature of the Sassanian period it was said to have sat upon the Tree of All Remedies, also known as the Tree of All Seeds, which was located in the middle ofthe mythical Vourukasha Sea (see Chapter Eleven). When it 'alights upon the branches of the tree it breaks off the thorns and twigs and sheds the seed therefrom. And when it soars aloft a thousand twigs shoot from the trees.' Imagery of this type refers quite specifically to the passage of time and the movement of the starry firmament around the cosmic axis - the thousand twigs symbolizing a thousand years, the seeds representing stars, and so on. Did the legends surrounding this mythical bird therefore also preserve knowledge of the precessional cycle and the age of Leo?
>And if we include the Simurgh in this formula, we cannot forget that other half lion, half eagle - the Imdugud, or Anzu, of Mesopotamian myth and legend (see Chapter Sixteen). This monstrous creature was said to have stolen the Tablets of Destiny from the god Enlil (Ellil in Akkadian), which, when in its possession, gave 'him power over the Universe as controller of the fates of all', enough to endanger 'the stability of civilization'. Saying that the Imdugud had become 'controller of the fates of all', aligned it directly with the figure of Zurvan, who was also the controller of 'fate' or 'fortune'. So, in addition to its proposed connection with the Watchers, might the story of the Imdugud refer to the 'theft', or revealment, of hidden knowledge concerning the precessional time-cycle, which was seen by the Zurvanites as ruling over earthly 'destiny'?
