Two headed dragon

"Two headed dragon" 🙂 golden cup, 1000 BC, Iran.

This is just one of many amazing golden vessels discovered at Marlik, an elite burial ground located in the Gilan province of North Western Iran (https://iranicaonline.org/articles/marlik)

The "dragon" is actually two headed leopard with eagle wings and twisted eagle legs with huge talons. The legs are twisted in a spiral and the body is done in such a way as to resemble a female body..

The "dragon" has human hands with which it holds two Goitered gazelles. 

WTF?

Well, first leopard...

I talked about leopard as a symbol for winter, more precisely the symbol for the end of winter (Jan/Feb) in several articles. 

Asia: "Vessel from Tepe Hissar", "Ibex and leopard"

Europe: "Leopard and tiger", "Thyrsus", "Furious maenad", "Maenads and hare"...

In short, the leopard mating season in Eurasia coincides with the end of winter, beginning of spring...Two heads = mating...

What about the wings? The wings could be here just emphasize that we are dealing with heavenly things...Like on this artifact from Iran which I analyzed in my post "Goat bull man"...

But considering that the two headed leopard creature has eagle legs and talons, I believe that this is composite "leopard-vulture" calendar marker...For winter...

So why vulture?

Vultures are another symbol for the beginning of winter because their mating season in the area of Western Iran - Central Asia - Mesopotamia starts at the beginning of wither...

I talked about this in my article about this amazing "Double headed eagle axe" from Bactria, on which we can see double headed eagle separating autumn (lion) and winter (boar)...

What about goitered gazelle?

Goitered gazelles mating season starts in early winter (Oct/Nov)...At the same time as Ibex (Bezoar) goat. Our "Goat of Rain"... This is why both of these animals are the symbol of winter, more precisely the beginning of winter...

On some artifacts the gazelles are depicted together with Ibex (Bezoar) goats

I talked about this in my post "Pissing gazelles", "Diadem of queen Puabi"...

In Central Asia (Bactria) and Iran, the Goitered gazelle is even more prominent symbol of green winter than Ibex (Bezoar) goat. Most likely because it was the dominate horned animal which mates in winter in the Caspian steppe...

Because Goitered gazelle mating season coincides with the beginning of the rain season in Bactria, on some seals we find the clouds in a shape of "gods" with gazelle heads...

I talked about this in my post "Fluffy"...

So what does the image on the Marlik cup mean? Two headed dragon? Nah...The end of winter, beginning of spring...

Is this bird a migratory bird??? "Most of the waterfowl and shorebirds depart Caspian sea for northerly climes, beginning in late February"

Oh, and why is the "dragon" made to look like a woman? Because the rain season in Iran is a "feminine" yin (cool, dark, wet) part of the year...Which is why Iranians have a rain, water goddess.

I talked about her in my posts "Anahita" and "Jiroft flood vase"

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...