Aetos Dios
The Eagle of Zeus.
A New Limited Edition Reduction Linocut Print, Inspired by the Myth of Aetos Dios & Vintage Postage Stamps.
For this limited edition linocut reduction print, I took inspiration from Greek Mythology and the golden eagle as the divine bird, herald of victory and messenger of Zeus - Aetos Dios.
Humans have long had a fascination with the Golden Eagle, they are national animals (Albania, Germany, and Mexico), appear as motifs on coats of arms and flags, and in myth and legend throughout the world, especially in classical antiquity.
It’s commonly thought that the eagle became so prevalent because of the Aquila - the standard of a Roman legion which appeared in silver or bronze with outstretched wings, and was carried with soldiers when on military exercise. However eagles have appeared in many other forms, whether it be Griffins, Thunderbirds, or the Aethon, and that even persist to this day in contemporary culture, with creatures like Tolkein’s Gwaihir.
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Two myths exist as an origin story of this divine Golden Eagle, (Ancient Greek: ἀετός Διός, romanized: aetos Dios).
The first concerned a legendary king of Attica, called Periphas. He was a just king and priest of Apollo, who was loved by his people, but they began to honour and revere him above even Zeus, so the King of the Gods sought to destroy him. Apollo intervened and convinced Zeus to instead transform Periphas into an eagle, making him the king of all birds and the guardian of his sacred sceptre.
The other, states that the primordial deity Gaia, the personification of the Earth, created Aetos Dios. He then appeared before Zeus at the start of the Titanomachy, the battle between the Gods of Olympus and the Titans (The Battle of the Titans), which Zeus took as a good omen of their impending victory. This myth could be the reason why the later Roman legions carried an eagle into battle, and is accepted as the origin story for the naming of the constellation Aquila - one of the original 48 constellations described by early astronomers Ptolemy, Eudoxus, and Aratus.
Aetos Dios was also believed to carry the thunderbolts of Zeus, and also features in the myth of Ganymede, where an eagle (although possibly Zeus himself disguised as an eagle as he was known to do) carried the youth off to Olympus to become the cupbearer of the Gods.
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I've always had a fascination with folklore and myth, with a special place in my heart for Greek Mythology, mainly from playing games such as God of War and watching the movie classic, Clash of the Titans. And the choice to style this print as a vintage postage stamp came from an image of an American art deco stamp issued in 2001, which itself was based on the architecture of the Chrysler Building. Coincidentally the Golden eagle is also the eighth-most common bird depicted on postage stamps with over 246 stamps having been created world-wide.
Using three-colours (Diarylide Yellow / Ochre and Gold) I designed and linocut reduction print that was printed in a limited edition of 25 on Somerset Satin 300gsm paper, you can watch the making of in the videos below and you can buy the print from Etsy (international customers) or on my own shop if you live in the UK.
Sources
http://www.birdtheme.org/statistics/mostdepicted.php