CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA MID 5TH CENTURY B.C.

The subject of an eagle carrying an animal occurs several times on gems. The prey is frequently a hare, but a fawn, a snake and a dolphin are also known (see H.C.L. Wiegandt, Die griechischen Siegel der klassischen Zeit: Ikonographischer Vergleich, nos. Eha8-14). The present example is closest in style to one in a private collection in Frankfurt and to a fragmentary one in Heraklion, the latter of which J. Boardman considered related to the work of Dexamenos or one of his contemporaries (see Greek Gems and Finger Rings, p. 198). The subject also occurs on the coins of Elis, which controlled the games at Olympia, thus the eagle would have had associations with Zeus (see no. 327 in C. Kraay, Archaic and Classical Greek Coins). The type also occurs at Acragas in Sicily, perhaps minted to commemorate the Olympic victory of the Acragantine Exainetos in 412 B.C. (see no. 793 in Kraay, op. cit.).