The two-headed eagle is one of the oldest and most widespread symbols of power. It is not less than five thousand years old, and it appears simultaneously with the first states on earth. This symbol has received many interpretations, but what meaning was given to it initially?
Sumerian god Ninurta
Since ancient times, the eagle has been a solar symbol - the image of the sun. That is why it also became a divine or royal sign. The lion-headed eagle Anzud among the Sumerians was depicted as striking a snake. The eagle was considered the bird of the storm god Ashur among the Assyrians, Zeus - among the Greeks and Jupiter - among the Romans. In the Old Testament, the eagle is a very multifaceted symbol. The almighty and loving God of Israel Himself is compared with the eagle: “When the Most High gave inheritance to the peoples and settled the sons of men, then he set the limits of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel; For the Lord's portion is His people, Jacob is His inheritance. He found him in the wilderness, in the sad and wild steppe, protected him, looked after him, kept him like the apple of his eye; as an eagle calls up its nest, flies over its chicks, spreads its wings, takes them and bears them on its feathers, so the Lord alone led him,and there was no strange god with Him”(Deut. 32: 8–12). The eagle can be the executor of God's will: “I called an eagle from the east, from a distant country, the executor of My determination” (Isa. 46: 11). The eagle also personifies a formidable, irresistible force: “And Moab will be a mockery and terror for all those around him, for thus says the Lord: behold, like an eagle, he will fly and spread his wings over Moab. Cities will be taken, and fortresses will be conquered, and the heart of the brave Moabites on that day will be like the heart of a woman tormented by childbirth”(Jer. 48: 39–41). But the eagle can also be a symbol of pride: “For behold, I will make you a little one among nations, despicable among people. Your formidable position and the arrogance of your heart have seduced you, who lives in the crevices of the rocks and occupies the tops of the hills. But even though you, like an eagle, have built your nest high, and from there I will bring you down, says the Lord”(Jer.49: 15-16). It is no coincidence that the three-headed eagle in the non-canonical III book of Ezra (chapters 11-12) personifies the power of the earthly kingdoms. Later, already in Christian symbolism, the eagle became the personification of the mountain world, the sign of the evangelist John the Theologian. Orlets - carpets depicting a two-headed (in Byzantium) or one-headed (in Russia) eagle soaring over the city - became a symbol of episcopal power.
Hittite two-headed eagle depicted on the gates of the royal capital of Hattusa (13th century BC)
The double-headed in ancient times was a symbol of the firmament, solar dawn and sunset. The two-faced Janus was originally revered by the Romans as the god of the sun and the firmament. In the "Rig Veda" the same role was played by the twin equestrians of Ashvins, in Greek mythology - the brothers of Dioscuri: Castor and Polideukos.
Solar symbolism was the main one among the Indo-Europeans. Around 1800 BC, during the time of Abraham, in Asia Minor and Syria, the first Indo-European state in world history arose - the Hittite kingdom, which successfully fought against the Egyptian pharaohs. The Hittites are mentioned in Genesis (ch. 23) as Abraham's hospitable neighbors in Canaan. Coming to Asia Minor from the Balkans, the Hittites borrowed here the image of a two-headed eagle. It was very popular in the Middle East already in the III millennium BC. Initially, the two-headed eagle symbolized the Sumerian god of war, Ninurta. The Hittites crowned the eagle with a royal crown. The Hittite king was called "the sun", and the two-headed eagle thus became a symbol of the deified royal power. The Hittites depicted an eagle with hares in its claws. Hares were a symbol of twilight, darkness, evil. The eagle that caught the haresacted as the personification of the king's victory over his enemies, light over darkness, good over evil. The idea of the nobility and justice of the king was extremely important in the Hittite state ideology. One of the great Hittite kings, Telepinus (16th century BC), bequeathed to his descendants: “From now on, whoever becomes king after me, let his brothers, his sons, his relatives, people of his family and his warriors gather together … And you, the future king, will come to the land of enemies, conquer with a strong hand. But do not say so: “I am letting go without punishment” if in fact you do not forgive anything, but oppress. Don't kill any of your kind. This does not lead to good. ") so bequeathed to his descendants: “From now on, whoever becomes king after me, then let his brothers, his sons, his relatives, people of his family and his warriors gather together. And you, the future king, will come to the land of enemies, conquer with a strong hand. But do not say so: “I am letting go without punishment” if in fact you do not forgive anything, but oppress. Don't kill any of your kind. This does not lead to good. ") so bequeathed to his descendants: “From now on, whoever becomes king after me, then let his brothers, his sons, his relatives, people of his family and his warriors gather together. And you, the future king, will come to the land of enemies, conquer with a strong hand. But do not say so: “I am letting go without punishment” if in fact you do not forgive anything, but oppress. Don't kill any of your kind. This does not lead to good."
Eagle Holy Roman Empire Germanic Nation
The Medes, Persians, Arabs, Armenians, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, and also the Byzantines borrowed from the Hittites the two-headed eagle. In the XII century in Western Europe state heraldic symbols - coats of arms - appeared. The double-headed eagle appears on various European coats of arms already in the 13th century. At the same time, it becomes the coat of arms of Serbia, later also Montenegro, Albania, it was used in the Chernigov and Tver principalities. At the beginning of the 15th century, a black double-headed eagle also appears on the coat of arms of the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”, in 1806 it was inherited by the Austrian (from 1867 - Austro-Hungarian) Empire, which collapsed after defeat in the First World War.
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Eagle Holy Roman Empire Germanic Nation
In Byzantium (the Roman Empire), the state emblem did not exist as such. However, the golden double-headed eagle on a red field was a personal symbol of the last Byzantine dynasty - the Palaeologus. Zoya, the niece of the last emperor Constantine XI, brought him with her to Moscow in 1472, but he appears on the state seal of her husband Ivan III only since 1497. This is most likely due to two reasons. Since 1489, diplomatic relations between Russia and the Habsburg Empire were established, and the emperor of the "Holy Roman Empire" recognized the Moscow sovereign as his equal, "brother". Thus, Ivan Vasilievich could lay claim to the use of imperial symbols - a two-headed eagle. In addition, in 1494, Zoe's elder brother Andrei, who had preemptive rights to the Byzantine throne, sold them to the French king. The second brother Manuel had earlier renounced his rights in favor of the Ottoman Sultan. Thus, only the Moscow empress Zoya (Sophia Fominichna), her husband, son Vasily III and subsequent descendants remained the legal heir.
State seal of Ivan III 1497
The Russian two-headed eagle, like the Paleologian and Habsburg eagle, was depicted either with open paws, or holding a cross, sword or orb. Since the 17th century, a new image has been established - with an orb and a scepter. Under Peter I, the eagle turns black. Unchanged since Hittite times was only the crowning of the eagle with one, two or three crowns - the main royal attribute. The symbolism of the eagle was combined with the idea of the Third Rome, as it was expressed in 1523-1524 by the elder Philotheus of the Pskov Spaso-Eleazarov monastery. When the famous elder wrote that “two Rome has fallen, and the third is worth, and the fourth will not be,” he spoke not about an object of pride, but about the greatest responsibility of Russia: the fourth Rome will not happen, not because the third Rome will stand forever - and the world will stand only as long as the third Rome, keeping the Orthodox faith, can last. Therefore, the two-headed eagle is not a symbol of self-exaltation, but a sign of striving to fulfill God's will.
We can only repeat the words of the prophet Isaiah, which are relevant to all of us: “To whom will you liken Me, and [with whom] will you compare, and with whom do you compare, so that we may be similar? They pour the gold out of the purse and weigh the silver on the scales, and they hire a silversmith to make a god out of him; bow to him and bow down before him; lift it on their shoulders, carry it and put it in its place; he stands, does not move from his place; shout to him - he does not answer, does not save from trouble. Remember this and show yourself as men; take it to heart, you apostates; remember the former, from the [beginning of] the age, for I am God, and there is no other God, and there is none like Me. I proclaim from the beginning what will be at the end, and from ancient times what has not yet been done, I say: My counsel will take place, and whatever I please, I will do. I called an eagle from the east, from a distant land, the executor of My determination. I said, and I will carry it out; I have planned, and I will. Listen to Me, cruel hearts, far from the truth: I have brought My righteousness nearer, it is not far, and My salvation will not slow down; and I will give salvation to Zion, my glory to Israel”(Isaiah 46: 5-13).
Fyodor Gaida