The snake is sacred to Apollo as he fought the great serpent Python and slayed him. The hawk was always thought to be Apollo’s messenger, just like the eagle was Zeus’. Apollo SACRED ANIMALĬow, hawk, snake, crow/raven, cicada, swan, mouseĪpollo, the god of music and the arts, is associated with several different animals.Īpollo is associated with the cow as he has had the famous cattle that Helios, the god of the sun, was looking over and which Hermes stole when he was born. Other goddesses like Aphrodite are also associated with it, but the goose’s intelligence makes it Athena’s too. The goose is an unusually intelligent bird, aggressive and opinionated. More obscurely but not too rarely, Athena is also associated with the goose. It was also associated with wisdom, so it naturally became Athena’s sacred animal. The owl was considered a very clever, deadly bird. Athena SACRED ANIMALĪthena, the goddess of wisdom and righteous war, was mainly associated with the owl. He sent it to Minos, and he made his wife Pasiphae fall in love with it and giving birth to the monster Minotaur. Like his brother Zeus, Poseidon was also associated with the bull, but not just any bull: the Cretan bull, symbolic of the Minoan civilization and the mythical king Minos, was also Poseidon’s sacred animal.
He was also associated with many other fish, and his chariot was pulled by horses with fishtails.
The horse symbolizes strength and beauty, as well as prowess and valor.Īnother animal symbolic of Poseidon was the dolphin, as he is the master of the seas. Poseidon was said to be the creator of horses, and he is the father of the famous winged horse, Pegasus. The most prominent and prevalent animal symbol was the horse. Poseidon, the god of the sea and earthquakes, had three animals associated with him, and sacred to him. It was in the form of a cuckoo that Zeus conquered her. Later, more animals became sacred to her: the peacock, to symbolize her beauty, and the cuckoo, because it symbolizes her love for Zeus. The cow was originally the major animal that was especially sacred for Hera, as the cow is associated with nurturing and life-giving support through her milk and birth of calves just like Hera nurtures and supports women who perpetuate and hold families together. Hera, the wife of Zeus and the goddess of women, childbirth, and marriage, also had many animals associated with her. Zeus also had a great golden-feathered eagle called Aetos Dios, who served as his personal messenger and companion by his throne. Both animals are symbols of strength, force, superiority, and power. He kidnapped the young man Ganymede in the form of an eagle, and the maiden Europa in the form of a bull. Of these animals, Zeus was mostly associated with the eagle and the bull. He did that often when pursuing and accosting women he wanted to be amorous with.
The king and father of the gods, Zeus, who commanded the sky, lightning, and thunder, had the capacity to turn into various animals. Which animals did each Greek god have, then? Let’s find out! Animal Symbols of the Greek Gods Zeus Sacred Animal That made some animals sacred to more than one god, though each one tended to be depicted with one more frequently rather than others. These animals are symbols of the Greek gods, and they were considered sacred and hallowed.Īs with all symbols, these animals were associated with their respective god for various reasons, usually due to the animal’s own characteristics that were somehow overlapping with the powers and elements the god represented. The ancient Greek religion is no exception to this basic rule: the famous pantheon of the 12 Olympian Gods had their own symbols, and all of them are connected to animals. Symbols in religion are used to convey various concepts and values associated with the religious dogma, and they offer a sense of inclusivity and resonance to those who observe it, as they are often present in art, connecting members of the religion and making the community stronger.
0 kommentar(er)
