Figures with human bodies and the head and legs of an animal (bird, wild goat, bovid or dog). They wear long, unpleated garments, drawn in at the waist with tasselled belts. Minoan genii may be derived from the Egyptian hippopotamus goddess Ta-wrt (Taweret). In the iconography of Minoan Crete, two to four genii are usually depicted in procession, carrying ritual vases or long staffs with curved ends, perhaps a kind of ceremonial insignia. They are interpreted as attendants of the goddess participating in cult ceremonies.