Zeus is the supreme ruler of gods and mortals, and the chief of the twelve Olympians. The eagle is one of his main attributes as myth relates that an eagle flew towards him as he was about to make war against the Titans, the bird later regarded as an augury of his subsequent victory. The mythological thunderbolt is the ancient attempt to represent lightning, usually depicted as a double ended, two or three pronged fork, although this statue follows the tradition commonly used in baroque painting, with Zeus holding a bunch of flames lowdown in his left hand

Later, the eagle was sent by Zeus to bring Ganymede up to heaven to become the handsome and youthful cupbearer of the gods. And amongst the stars, the eagle is the constellation Aquila, appearing beside its consort the heavenly vulture, Lyra.