An "erastes", an adult man, when enamoured
of a male youth, an "eromenos", he offered
as a gift to the eromenos, a bird. The bird was often a cockerel. It became
popular to use an Eagle to symbolize the idea of a ganymede.
The statue above is of an "ephebe", a young
man (18 to 20 years old) undergoing military training in ancient Greece,
with his Hyacinthus at his side. An ephebus was a soldier (c. 21-22) that bonded
with a young adolescent (17-18) male of the same class (education and wealth).
The ephebos and his Hyacinthus thus both fought and were expected to strongly
protect each other due to their emotional and sexual bonds.
Both Ganymedes and Cupids are pretty boys, and are often conflated together.
Often artistic works, sculpture or visual art such as paintings show flight,
which is intended to symbolize the uplifting sensations of love. Thus scenes
of Eagles raping a ganymede or a cupid figure intend not violence, but the
pleasures of love.
Why an Eagle? An Eagle is a raptor, the name suggestive of rapture or to
ravish, to enrapture.
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