Zagreus 13 Inch Original Agalma (Sacred Statue)

Description

The God Zagreus is one shrouded in mystery. Before His adoption into the Greek pantheon, Zagreus had cults in Minoan Crete where He was worshipped as the highest of the Underworld Gods, a son of Hades and Persephone. In this most ancient cult, He was seen as a bloodthirsty hunting God Whose prey would be caught and consumed raw and alive. Associated with the life-force found within warm blood, Zagreus was and is a vampiric God of Renewal and Immortality.

He is crowned with henbane, the royal plant of the Underworld, and carries a chalice of blood representing life force called “zoe”. Distinguishable from biological and even spiritual life force, zoe represents it as Divine and immortal. He carries a torch directed towards the earth, Gaia, as a symbol of zoe’s inextinguishable nature. Standing among the graves, He is attended by His sacred familiars: the bat, the screech owl, and the serpent. Grape vines spring forth from the graves as a symbol of renewal and resurrection.

This hand-sculpted agalma, or sacred statue, is set with garnets found on each wrist, His chalice, and His eyes. Within the statue is an amulet bound in black snake skin leather containing His sacred plants: asphodel, aconite, henbane, pomegranate, grape, wormwood, acacia, fig, and ivy. It also contains a star ruby, garnet, smoky quartz, amethyst, lead, gold, human ashes, fox bone, blood, graveyard dirt, and semen bathed in oils.

This is by far one of my favorite works, my most current masterpiece. It took a lot out of me creating this, and I am not sure I will ever create another like Him.

He stands 13 inches tall and is made of professional grade polymer clay.