Bird Gods in Ancient Europe 



those of America, of Italy and the Baltic we 

 find the bird gods acting their parts. Is it any 

 wonder that Zeus should have an attendant 

 eagle, whose divinity cannot be concealed, who 

 acts as messenger to bring Hebe or Gany- 

 medes to act as cup-bearer to the gods and 

 bears in its talons the dread thunderbolt? 

 When human gods were conceived of, the 

 animal gods were not dismissed, but became 

 their adjuncts. It is plain enough that Zeus 

 and his eagle were once the same, just as Picus 

 and his woodpecker, Athene and her owl. 



Achilleus has a parallel in Wales in the 

 god Lieu " light " son of Arianrhod " silver 

 wheel " (a close parallel of " silver-footed " 

 Thetis) and the god Gwydion. Lieu cannot 

 be destroyed ; like Samson he is a sun god in 

 whose armor his foes can find no flaw. But he 

 has his Delilah and she tells them how to kill 

 Lieu. So Achilleus the invulnerable was said 

 to have been slain because he went to a tryst 

 he had made with Polyxena, daughter of Priam. 



226 



