Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Sculptures : Pair of stone birds [Γ381, Γ382]

Pair of stone birds

Γ381, Γ382

Stone (Poros stone)

Restored in many places.

Γ 381. Height: 95 cm. Length: 100 cm.Γ 382. Height: 99 cm. Length: 89 cm.

Amnissos

Sanctuary of Zeus Thenatas

Archaic-Classical period:

525-480 BC:

Gallery:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Geometric - Archaic - Classical period (10th-4th c. BC). Cities and Sanctuaries

Sanctuaries

Description

Pair of stone birds set on bases with three scrolls, from the Sanctuary of Zeus Thenatas at Amnisos. Opinions vary as to both their precise location and the type of bird depicted. As they were found in the Sanctuary of Zeus, the prevailing view is that they are eagles, although one of the pair (Γ381) does not present all the necessary iconographic characteristics. However, the cult of Zeus is also associated, mythologically at least, with other birds. Next to the eagle of Zeus there might stand a falcon, the sacred bird of Hera. According to another interpretation it might be a cuckoo, the messenger of spring, because Zeus transformed himself into a cuckoo as a trick to gain her. The bird might also be a crow or a dove. Whatever its species, this second sculpture (Γ381) was probably made at a slightly later date than the first and by a different sculptor. It is noticeable that the artist has given it five talons on each foot instead of the normal four.

Bibliography:

Marinatos, S., "Ἀνασκαφή ἐν Ἀμνισῷ τῆς Κρήτης", Πρακτικά της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρίας 1934, 131-132. Marinatos, S., "Ἐπί τά ἲχνη τοῦ Χερσίφρονος καί Μεταγένους ἐν Ἀμνισῷ", Κρητικά Χρονικά 7, 259-266. Brize, Ph., " Die Adler des Zeus Thenatas", in Schäffer, J., Amnisos. Nach den archäologischen, historischen und epigraphischen Zeugnissen des Altertums und der Neuzeit, Berlin, 1992, 256-273. Karetsou, A. and Andreadaki-Vlazaki, M., Crete-Egypt. Three thousand years of cultural links, Herakleion-Cairo, 2001, 352.

Author:

S. P.

Photographs' metadata