In Roman mythology, Jupiter appears as the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus. In an infinite embrace, Uranus (the heavens) and Gaia (the earth) conceived twelve Titans, of whom Kronos was one. He long ruled over the world. But this did not last for ever. And when Kronos fell, taking the Titans with him, Zeus assumed charge of the world. He settled on Olympus in Thessaly. As ruler of the world he could look out cross his entire realm from this high mountain. He also ruled the heavens. And when, as the god of weather, he left Olympus on a thundercloud he could go far and wide. Notice the lightning – a bunch of flames – that Zeus is holding in his hand in Giovanni Jacopo Caraglio’s copperplate engraving. The eagle already appears in the story of Zeus at the juncture when Zeus is embarking on a battle with the Titans. It was on that occasion that the eagle came flying towards him, even prophesying victory for Zeus. After this, the eagle was Zeus’s regular attendant. The print shows Zeus riding on the eagle. But in other cases, Zeus’s eagle might well appear alone, either as the messenger of the god or as a personification of Zeus himself. And in the universe which Thorvaldsen created on the basis of Roman mythology there are also examples of Jupiter’s eagle as the personification of Jupiter.
