Ganymede and the Eagle, Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Ganymede and the Eagle, Farnese Collection

Sculpture – Marble (Height 156 cm) Second half of the 2nd century

Ganymede and the Eagle This beautiful statue depicts Ganymede and the Eagle in a pose of mutual affection.

Ganymede has draped his arm—which holds his shepherd’s crook—around the eagle’s neck, whom he gazes at with a smile.

The eagle has its gaze fixed on Ganymede’s face, clearly captivated by the androgynous beauty of the young man.

The enamoured eagle spreads its right wing as it tenderly caresses Ganymede’s back.

According to legend, the young Ganymede was tending his father’s flocks in the mountains around Troy when he was abducted by an eagle who carried him to Mount Olympus.

Ganymede and the Eagle Zeus had fallen in love with Ganymede, for he was, in his view, the most beautiful of mortals.

Traditions differ regarding Zeus’s abduction of Ganymede.

According to some, it was Zeus himself who transformed himself into an eagle to carry Ganymede up to Olympus.

According to others, Zeus had instructed his eagle to seize the boy in its talons and bring him to him.

Out of love for Ganymede, Zeus granted him immortality and, from that day forward, Ganymede became the cup-bearer to the Olympian gods, serving them Ambrosia and thus taking the place of Hebe, the goddess of youth.

Ganymede and the Eagle