Dioscuri plate from Iran

Sasanian plate with youths and winged horses ca. 5th–6th century A.D. Currently kept in the Met Museum...

 

Official description: 

"Two youths stand on platforms facing one another, each holding a staff and the reins of a winged horse. This is reminiscent of representations of the hero Bellerophon and Pegasus as well as of the Dioskouroi (the divine twins Castor and Pollux)...

Both horses bend their necks down to drink from a large vessel supported by a female figure, who appears in bust form emerging from a frieze of half-palmettes. 

She is most likely either a personification of water or the Iranian river goddess Anahita (This girl. I talked about her in this post)

The scene may have cosmic significance, if indeed the two youths represent the constellation Gemini, called Do Paykar (Two Warriors) in Middle Persian astronomical texts"... 

The end of the official description...

Now this is interesting...Winged horses, winged horses...Have you seen this?

Bronze Age "Sun Chariot" pulled by a horse, Denmark 1400 BC. 

Why are horses so prominent in solar cults?

Did you know that horse mating season, which is characterised by vicious stallion fights, is governed by the sun and it peaks on summer solstice. Two horses facing each other as symbols of summer solstice...Hmmmm...

Hence horse pulling sun chariot...I talked about this in my posts "Svetovid", "Trojan horse", "Unicorn", "Re'em"...

So? What does this have to do with this Iranian plate?

Well, have you seen this? 

This is the flow chart of the rivers in Western Iran, in the Zagros mountains...The flow is directly dependent on the snowmelt...Which is directly dependent on sun's heat...Symbolised by the horse...Winged horse to make sure we are in heavens...

The snowmelt starts at the beginning of Spring (February) which is when the earth starts to warm up...Which is why this part of the Solar year is marked by Aquarius...This is also when the snowmelt starts in Europe by the way...

The snowmelt then sharply increases in Taurus, when we have the annual flood depicted on so many Jiroft culture vessels coming out of bulls...Like this one I talked about in my post "Jiroft flood vase"...

The flood peaks during the part of the year marked by Gemini twins. Coinciding with the most fertile period of the mares and the main mating season of the wild horses...

When Anahita, the goddess of water, fills the rivers to the brim...

Party time? Anyone knows how to play a lute?

PS: Sasanian plate depicting two winged horses in the same drinking position facing the tree of life (?) 🙂, currently in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery...