Eagle-Head

I had never seen such an iconography before, but the statue of Zeus in the temple in Olympia was supposed to have head an eagle's head on the staff he is holding

"...Within this temple the statue of the supreme god sat upon an intricately carved cedarwood throne that was decorated with mythical scenes of lesser gods and heroes rendered in gold, ebony, and precious stones. In his left hand Zeus carried a scepter made of a multicolored alloy of rare metals; crowned with an eagle's head, it symbolized his rule over the earth...."
http://amazeingart.com/seven-wonders/statue-zeus.html

So, I'd suppose that the eagle-headed guy is Zeus, but I have to research on that. It definitely drew my interest, so I'll see what I can dig up from the net.

That seems to be an Urupa that I talked about it in this thread: Northeast European Tribe, Scythian

Originally posted by Cyrus Shahmiri That seems to be an Urupa that I talked about it in this thread: Northeast European Tribe, Scythian

It doesn't have wings though. This is a description of the Greek Grupa, that you mention in the above cited thread:
"...Aelian, On Animals 4. 27 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :
"I have heard that the Indian animal the Grupa (Gryphon) is a quadraped like a lion; that it has claws of enormous strength and that they resemble those of a lion. Men commonly report that it is winged and that the feathers along its back are black, and those on its front are red, while the actual wings are neither but are white. And Ktesias (Ctesias) records that its neck is variegated with feathers of a dark blue; that it has a beak like an eagle's, and a head too, just as artists portray it in pictures and sculpture. Its eyes, he says, are like fire. It builds its lair among the mountains, and although it is not possible to capture the full-grown animal, they do take the young ones. And the people of Baktria, who are neighbours of the Indians, say that the Grypes (Gryphons) guard the gold in those parts; that they dig it up and build their nests with it, and that the Indians carry off any that falls from them. The Indians however deny that they guard the aforesaid gold, for the Grypes have no need for it (and if that is what they say, then I at any rate think that they speak the truth), but that they themselves come to collect the gold, while the Grypes fearing for their young ones fight with the invaders. They engage too with other beasts and overcome them without difficulty, but they will not face the lion or the elephant. Accordingly the natives, dreading the strength of these animals, do not set out in quest of the gold by day, but arrive by night, for at that season they are less likely to be detected. Now the region where the Grypes live and where the gold is mined is a dreary wilderness. And the seekers after the aforesaid substance arrive, a thousand or two strong, armed and bringing spades and sacks; and watching for a moonless night they begin to dig. Now if they contrive to elude the Grypes they reap a double advantage, for they not only escape with their lives but they also take home their freight, and when those who have acquired a special skill in the smelting of gold have refined it, they possess immense wealth to requite them for the dangers described above. And they return home, I am told, after an interval of three or four years."..."
http://www.theoi.com/Thaumasios/Grypes.html

This statue  is nothing like the Grupa - no wings, the body is human. I'd think about some influence by Egyptian iconography, the Greeks thought that many of their gods were born in Egypt, and Amun-Ra was Zeus. But Amun wasn't potrayed with eagle head, Horus was. I have no idea what the Greeks thought Horus was, I have to check that.

It also got me thinking of Horus. Ollios, where did this statue come from?

If I were to go on record for my actual thoughts on it, I would go with Ganymede as the wine-bearer for Zues. To me, the phrygian cap gives it away.

Originally posted by okamido If I were to go on record for my actual thoughts on it, I would go with Ganymede as the wine-bearer for Zues. To me, the phrygian cap gives it away.

Looking at a slightly better picture of the scene I would have to agree with you, okamido. Not so much on the evidence of the phrygian cap, which is not altogether irrelevant, but because of the sheep next to him, considering he had been tending his sheep when taken by Zeus. My guess is that the figure right behind Ganymede is his own father, and is turned away from his son indicating his loss. It's just such a shame that the scene is incomplete to show this in full.

"...In the rest of Egypt, however, the popularity of the cult of Amun was rapidly overtaken by the rise of the new cult of Isis and Osiris. Outside Thebes, Amun's identity first became subsumed into Ra (Ra-Herakhty), who initially remained an identifiable figure in the Isis and Osiris cult, but ultimately, Amun became an aspect of Horus...." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amun

So, ultimately Amun became an aspect of Horus, /since the myths and religions develop/, and since Amun was identified with Zeus by Herodotus, by the 2-3 century AD Horus would be identified with Horus. Hence, I'd go with the supposition that on the Crete statue the eagle headed guy is Zeus-Horus, presented with the regalia of Horus, and identified with him; with the priest Padiuiset identified with Ganymede. I'd think that whoever did the statue most probably dished the homoerotic aspect of the story of Ganymede, /at least there are no hits about that in it/ so the same image would speak to the Greeks about  Ganymede bringing wine to Zeus; and to an Egyptian about Padiuiset making an offering to Horus.

Originally posted by Sidney To me the phrygian cap suggests a link with Mithraism. Mithras always wore one. His was a very secretive religion, with not a great deal known about it, although it was widely practised throughout the Roman Empire. It included certain levels of initiation, the first one being the 'Crow'. The man in the pictures above is holding a vessel very similar to the one in your picture, Ollias. The man with the Phrygian cap could be Mithras, or someone representing the initiatory rank of the 'Persian/Perseus'. The damaged figure could have a lion-head (judging by the possible remnants of hair), or maybe represented the sun - both the 'Lion/Leo' and the 'Sun/Helios' being other intiatory ranks.

Thanks to remind Mithra. Mithraism is one of the strong cult in Roman Empire. Actually, I was thinking, how bad god is it? It is not looking like an eagle (According to roman sculpture level).

If it was a crow, it must symbolise Mercury/Hermes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraic_mysteries

Staff with snake is a symbol of Mercury so do you think that there is a snake in the statue ? (there is a second thing near the staff which is held by eagle guy) ?  If your answer is yes, I think we find our eagle-head( sorry crow head ). He is Mercury






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Thanks for posting the larger pictures Ollias. It looks more like a lion-headed figure on the right to me now, and something like a bull or a sheep is standing in the background of the man with the pot. Also the bird-headed figure is holding what looks like a peacock-head in his hand, and that he may have another figure stood next to him (of which you can see some drapery). The peacock is a symbol of Persia, where Mithraism came from. I would definately look in that direction, rather than Egyptian or Christian religion (although there is some overlap between all three).
However, thanks to the enlargement, it also looks like the left arm of the man with the hat, and the body of the vessel, has been restored, and the right arm, upper body and whole head of the bird-man figure looks suspiciously new, as if it has been restored/recut. Is this so, and if so, how accurate is the later reconstruction?


Edited by Sidney - 09-Mar-2012 at 12:40

Which he?