Tétradrachme du royaume Lagide à l'effigie de Ptolémée

The Eagle of Zeus ( grc, ἀετός Διός, aetos Dios) was one of the chief attributes and personifications of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

, the head of the

Olympian pantheon Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

Eagles in antiquity

Eagles were considered the most prominent of birds in

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

. Several legends attested to their unique qualities, such as

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's claim that the sea eagle only raised the young who could look at the sun directly without their eyes watering, or

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

's claim that they were immune to being struck by lightning, while the ''

Geoponica The ''Geoponica'' or ''Geoponika'' ( el, Γεωπονικά) is a twenty-book collection of agricultural lore, compiled during the 10th century in Constantinople for the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The Greek word ''Geoponic ...

'' claimed that they protected from hail. They were considered endowed with oracular properties, and a divine bird, as messenger of

and herald of victory. In fact, Zeus himself is said to have transformed himself into an eagle on occasion. From these divine associations, the eagle came to be used as an emblem of several rulers, from the

Achaemenids The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

and the

Diadochi The Diadochi (; singular: Diadochus; from grc-gre, Διάδοχοι, Diádochoi, Successors, ) were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The War ...

, and finally of the Roman emperors. Zeus being equated with Jupiter, the eagle holding Jupiter's lightning became the chief symbol ('' aquila'') of the

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...

s. The eagle was placed amongst the stars as the constellation Aquila alongside Lyra.

Legends

There are several schools of thought regarding the origin of this eagle, coming from different Greek legends.

Aëtos

In one version, Aëtos was a childhood friend of Zeus who kept him company while the god was hiding in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

from his father. After Zeus became king,

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

turned Aëtos into an eagle out of fear that Zeus was in love with him. Zeus made the eagle his most prominent and sacred symbol. In some versions, Aëtos is supplanted with Ganymede, the Trojan whom Zeus abducted in the form of an eagle.

Periphas

Perseus of Macedonia Tetradrachm 90060057

According to Antoninus Liberalis, Periphas was a legendary king of Attica who was a just king, and a dutiful priest of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

. Zeus, however, became indignant because Periphas was revered and honoured as if he were Zeus himself, so Zeus wanted to destroy Periphas and his entire household. But Apollo interceded, and instead Zeus transformed Periphas into an eagle, making him king of all birds and guard of his sacred sceptre. Antoninus Liberalis, ''Metamorphoses'
6pp. 118–121
Cook 1925
pp. 1121 ff.

Creation of Gaia

In other accounts the eagle was in fact an ancient creation of the goddess Gaia. He appeared before Zeus at the start of the

Titanomachy In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy (; grc, , , Titan battle) was a ten-year series of battles fought in Ancient Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Twelve Olympi ...

. Zeus took this to mean a good omen of victory, leading to him using the emblem of a golden eagle on his war standard:

...For so happy an omen, especially since victory did ensue, he made a golden eagle for his war standards and consecrated it to the might of his protection, whereby also among the Romans, standards of this kind are carried. — a translated excerpt from Fulgentius' "Mythologies" ''(Mythologiarum Libri III)''

Notes

References

* Antoninus Liberalis, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with Commentary'', Edited and translated by Francis Celoria, Psychology Press, 1992. * Cook, Arthur Bernard 1925, ''Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion, Volume 2, Part 2'', Cambridge University Press, 2010. . * Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

'', London (1873)
"Periphas 5."
* {{Authority control Greek mythology Zeus Eagles