Mary Brueckner, age 15, of Baton Rouge, La., for her question:

WHAT IS THE WINGED BULL AND THE WINGED LION?

The winged bull is an imaginary creature of Assyrian sculpture. It has the head of a man and the body of a bull and wings on its shoulders. These figures first appeared about 1000 B.C. and were often placed in pairs at palace entrances to frighten away evil spirits.

The winged lion is an imaginary creature found mainly in the art of Babylonia and Assyria. It is represented as a figure with the head of a man,. the wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Winged lions, like winged bulls, also stood often in pairs at the entrance gates of a king's palace.

Sculptors carved both the bull and the lion with five legs. From the side they appear to be walking, but from the front they seem to be standing still.

Some of the winged bulls stood up to 17 feet high. The Persians later erected similar figures at their palace gates.

A much later than ancient example of a winged lion is the one standing today in Saint Mark's Square in Venice, Italy.