Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 3,1): Zeus god of the dark sky (earthquake, clouds, wind, dew, rain, meteorits): Text and notes (Cambridge, 1940)

The owl of Athena 827

passages of Aristophanes1, but remains unexampled. It was, I
think, modified into the owl on her helmet, of which sundry
specimens are extant2. W. Deonna3 illustrates the motif from
a couple of Graeco-Egyptian terracottas at Geneva, a lamp at
Berlin4, and a fine bronze statuette of Roman date found in 1916
at Avenches6 (fig. 635). He assumes an original emanating from
the school of Pheidias in the second half of the fifth century and
dedicated on the Athenian Akropolis. But again we may reason-
arjly suspect that the type had a long history behind it, being
a late but lineal descendant of such figures as the Cnossian goddess
with a dove on her head6.

Fig. 636. Fig. 637. Fig. 638.

Imperial coins of Athens presuppose other statues of Athena
^lth an owl on her hand. She stands uplifting the owl in her left
nd and holding out a phidle in her right (figs. 636, 637)'—clearly
cult-image8. Or, bearing the owl and leaning on a spear (fig. 638)fl.

• .„r's'°P'1- e1- 1092 f. Kai ixovSbKU t) 8eos airi) | in w6\cbis iXffeiv Kai y\av£ avrrj
*c0a\ ^1 ^ ^* ° 2ei)s yap 6 vvv fiacriXeijwv | atTOv opviv Zo-njKei' ?xw*' TV$

1!> Pacrikevs wv \ t] 5' aD dvydrrjp y\avx', o 8' 'AjriXXwj' wcrirep depdirun Upaxa.
3 f'Pr" p. 46 n. 4.

MuS(i>^',^eonna t'le ^eVk Arc^- IQ29 '■ 281—284 with fig. 1 (head of Athena in the
P*tt of 6t ^ H'st0're' Geneve, no. 10004), fig- 2 (do. do. no. 10005), fig- 3 (upper
Sll ° e Athena from Avenches), pi. 2 (the Athena from Avenches ( = my fig. 635))—

*m\yiSed tlle Am- Journ- Arch. 1930 xxxiv. 205 f.
A~/ ' ^Veber Die agyptisch-griechischen Terrakotten tier cigyptischen Sammlung der

\ ^Sem zu Berlin Berlin 1914 p. 114 no 155 pi. 16.
Stat ' ^art m the Indicateur d'antiquitis suisses 1917 p. 87 f. pi. 11, Reinach Rep.

e- v- 121 no. a.

Evanf"r™ 536 flg- 406 c> H- T- Bossert slltkreta* Berlin 1923 p. 82 fig. 115, Sir A. j.

? g , Palace of Minos London 1928 ii. 1. 340 fig. 193 a 1 and a 2.
tttt,,, ^"S~ Cat' C°'"s Attica etc. p. 84 pi. 15, 3, Imhoof-Blumer and P. Gardner
ilunj", Patts. iii. 133 pi. aa, 2 Loebbecke, j. N. Svoronos Les monnaies d'Athenes

Col]ectio^9J3—1926 pi. 25, 1—4, 5 — 10. Figs. 636, 637 are from specimens in my

8 E r

(0. Teg . ^es "">»"<*'" d'At/lines Paris 1858 p. 387 suggests Athena 'Apxvyens
av- S^886-11 ?D Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. ii. 444) on the strength of schol. Aristoph.

Brit ^XTy^TiSoi 'Affijcat to a7aX/ia 7\ad*a fZxex if B. V. Head in the

9 B •' C<Xt' Co'"s Attica etc. p. 84 n. J hesitates to accept the suggestion.
"A cit Cat- Coins Attica etc. p. 93 pi. 16, 2, Imhoof-Blumer and P. Gardner

• '33 pi. aa, 3 London, j. N. Svoronos op. cit. pi. 83, 35 London, 36 Munich