Bird Gods in Ancient Europe 



German armies ; and these remains certainly 

 show the action of fire. Among the idols 

 were some called those of Radigast, a historic 

 god of the old inhabitants of Mecklenburg, 

 carrying a bull's head (still the badge of 

 Mecklenburg) in the right hand, a battle axe 

 in the left and a swan on his head. In this 

 case the face of the idol is not human, but that 

 of a dog, bear or lion. A grille ornamented 

 with the figure of a swan was found in the 

 same hoard ; it was supposed to belong to the 

 service of the temple. All these objects were 

 rudely inscribed with names of gods in runic 

 letters, which may of course have been placed 

 on them by the finders in order to enhance 

 the value of the idols. The swan or goose, 

 however, would very well suit the coarsely 

 fashioned idol of a tribe of Vends among the 

 lakes and watercourses of Mecklenburg, since 

 it fits exactly the accounts we have of other 

 heathen idols about the Baltic, such as the 

 owl gods of the Livonians, whose last resort 

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