Roman Eagle

Considered by the ancients to be the only animal capable of looking directly at the sun without lowering its gaze, the eagle was a symbol of power and victory. It was, in fact, the sacred animal of Zeus, father of the gods and conqueror of the world’s darkest forces —the Titans.
Already in the second century BC, the Eagle was adopted by Rome as a military standard, and in particular, it was depicted with the thunderbolt—Zeus’s exclusive weapon—clutched in its talons. By choosing the symbol of the most powerful and radiant of the gods, the Romans saw themselves as participants in his war against barbaric and "anti-Olympian" forces, fighting not in the heavens but on earth—first for the Republic and later for the Empire.
Due to its highly important symbolic role, the military standard bearing the Eagle left the Roman camp only when the entire legion was on the move, and the one who carried it—the Aquilifer—was tasked with defending it with his own life.

The sculpture from Ithaca is inspired by the original standards, now unfortunately lost, and enlivens the background of the relief with a flaming red reminiscent of imperial purple.