All are given animals. The high gods have the lion, bull, goat, eagle, falcon, symbols of solar creative energy. Zeus has the eagle, Brahma the goose, Horus is the falcon-god, Amen Ra of Thebes has the ram. Marduk, the sun-god of the Babylonians, has the goat and the lion. Ashur, the mighty sungod of the Assyrians, has the lion and eagle and is also the "bull of heaven," the bull in this instance typifying the power that resides in the sun, or possibly the "self-power" of the god who is thought to combine the creative forces in himself. Thor, the god of thunder, is depicted in a chariot drawn by goats. Odin has two ravens and two dogs. The lesser gods are given the animal that best suits their characteristics. Anubis is the jackal-headed or dogheaded god. Hermes has many animals sacred to him-the tortoise, cock, ram, goat. In a drawing by Raphael he is depicted in a chariot drawn by cocks. The same artist depicts Venus in a chariot drawn by doves. The Egyptian Bast was a feline goddess. In Scandinavia Freija, the goddess who presides over smiling nature, is depicted in a car drawn by cats. All feline goddesses represent the variable power of the sun as reflected in nature. The serpent, lioness, vulture, cow were given to the goddesses of maternity and productivity. The Greek Aphrodite has the sparrow, swan, swallow, dove, dolphin, hare, tortoise, ram, and when it is wished to typify the hermaphroditism of the goddess she is given the lion and bull. Artemis, the "huntress among the immortals," is given dogs, stags and the boar. Four stags with golden antlers draw her chariot. This association of the gods with birds and animals forms an epic in itself and one of far too great moment and beauty to be more than suggested here.
