Brooch with Zeus and Eagle

Gold plated pin with Zeus holding an eagle.

The eagle is the sacred bird of Zeus (Διὸς ὂρNIS). When the gods divided the birds, Zeus got the eagle, the bird that flies highest of all, close to the sun, without burning its wings. It is said that when Zeus came of age and moved against the Titans, he manifested himself as an eagle and from then on made it his sacred symbol and destroyed it (Eratosthenus, Catasterisms, 1.30).

The god took the form of an eagle to charm Ganymede, the most beautiful of mortals, whom he brought to Olympus making him his wine bearer. Because of its association with the king of the gods, the eagle became a symbol of royal authority both in Macedonia and in the kingdoms of Alexander’s successors and, later, the Roman emperors.