Avian imagery in ancient Egypt was ubiquitous. Birds were associated with a number of gods and goddesses. They were also venerated in their own right. The falcon in particular was revered for its hunting abilities. Associated with Ra, it became a symbol of divinity and was mummified in great numbers. The Ibis, long observed in the Nile Valley, served as a living symbol of divine wisdom and order. It was also the embodiment of the Earthly form of the god Thoth. Therefore, the imagery of the ibis became a visual indicator of knowledge, writing, and the forces that commanded life and the afterlife. Waterfowl, raptors, and songbirds appeared across temple walls and tombs in naturalistic scenes of the abundance of Egypt. Birds figure prominently as Hieroglyphic symbols.

In ancient Greece, birds were associated with specific deities. The owl, sacred to Athena symbolized wisdom and strategy, appearing frequently in art, coins, and pottery. The eagle was a manifestation of Zeus himself—soaring above as a sign of divine authority and justice. The peacock was sacred to Hera and the dove to Aphrodite. In Greece, birds were inseparable from the divine and the prophetic. Greek priests practiced Ornithomancy, divining omens from the observation of birds. Greek art and material culture made frequent use of avian forms—both as decorative motifs and as structural forms—especially in ceramics, metalwork, and ritual objects. These forms often blurred the lines between utility, symbolism, and aesthetic beauty. Greek myth overflowed with avian figures, including the metamorphosed women of tragic myths who took wing as nightingales or swans.

Roman civilization inherited and institutionalized the Greek belief in birds as divine messengers. The Auspex, trained in reading auguries or bird signs was an important priest whose pronouncements could greatly affect affairs of state and the military. The eagle, already a potent symbol, was adopted as the standard of the Roman legions, representing strength, conquest, and imperial destiny. Birds also adorned Roman homes, gardens, and dining rooms, appearing in mosaics and frescoes that blended beauty with symbolic meaning. For the Romans, birds were not only sacred intermediaries but also reflections of worldly power and refinement. Even in the simplest of household goods – including hardware and the handles of vessels – the Roman’s could not resist fashioning objects of daily use in the form of the fowl that surrounded them.