Bird Gods in Ancient Europe 



hill and dale compared to the wild hunts- 

 man legends of the north of Europe. This 

 may be the point of contact between the swan 

 god and the wine god. But after all the 

 relation is as mysterious as that between the 

 owl and the opposite to drunkenness. For 

 it appears that owls* eggs were a sure cure for 

 that vice in the pharmacopoeia of the Middle 

 Ages. The owl is a thing of fear; and fear 

 sobers. There may lie the connection of 

 ideas. 



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