GANYMED

The statue depicts Ganymede, symbolizing the male beauty of the son of the king of Troy, who was liked by Zeus, and he brought him to Olympus, where he was the bearer of the Cup of the Gods.

In the statue, he is seen facing an eagle representing the god Zeus (according to mythology, the eagle that carried Ganymede to Olympus was actually Zeus), who according to mythology was also Ganymede’s bed partner.

The statue was inaugurated in 1952, 10 years after the historian Heinrich Wölfflin suggested to the sculptor Hermann Hubacher to make a male statue for the city of Zurich, especially after homosexuality was allowed in Switzerland and was no longer considered a criminal act.

On the base of the statue (not visible in the picture, or perhaps erased) is engraved a line from Goethe’s work: Ganymede
WIE IM MORGENGLANZE — DU RINGS MICH ANGLÜHST, — FRÜHLING, GELIEBTER!
(As in the morning light - you glow all around me, - spring, my love!)

The statue was photographed on the same day by the same photographer Click for a larger image Click for a larger image