The peacock is native to South Asia, found throughout the Indian subcontinent and in dry areas of Sri Lanka, mainly at altitudes below 1800 m, living in regions close to 2000 m on rare occasions.4 They live in forests deciduous both wet and dry, but adapt to life in crop regions and around human populations, often where water is available.
Some authors suggest that this species was introduced into Europe by Alexander the Great, 5 while others believe that it was already in Ancient Greece around 450 BC. C., being able to be introduced even before.6 Since then, it has been introduced in many other parts of the world, becoming wild in some areas.
This bird is native to India. When Alexander the Great conquered western India he met these birds and brought several specimens to the city of Babylon. From here these birds spread to Persia, Media and then from these kingdoms it was from where the Romans took them to Italy.
The ancients had much appreciation for the meat and eggs of these birds. The fifth Hortensius Hórtalo speaker was the first to introduce among the Romans a taste for the meat of these birds that he served in a great treat that he gave when augur was created. Marco Anfidio Luco was the first one who tried to make them walk herds to fatten them.
The peacock is very common in ancient monuments. Juno is seen accompanied by the turkey to be particularly consecrated. It is also observed in the medals of Samos, famous for the cult that paid tribute to this goddess and in the Roman medals in which Juno regina is seen. In some it is seen the turkey and the feet of Isis and of the Providence and indicates particularly the consecration of the empresses. A turkey with its tail spread can be considered as the symbol of vanity.
In the time of the cavalry the peacock was also very appreciated that qualified as a noble bird. His flesh was the food of the brave and of the lovers and the decoration of the banquets. A figure of turkey served as a target to the knights who were trained in the exercise of arms and when there was to be pronounced some oath or solemn vow, a turkey roasted in a large fountain was carried to the table with great apparatus by the ladies or damsels. of gold or silver. After having pronounced a vote on it, each one of the guests was distributed among all the attendees.
The symbolism of the peacock is long, since its majesty caught the attention of man already in past times. Although it is associated with the concept of vanity, the peacock is, in almost all cultures, a solar symbol related to beauty, glory, immortality and wisdom. It originated in India and it was Alexander the Great who brought it to the West along with its symbolic meaning through Babylon, Persia and Asia Minor, reaching Greece in the Classic Period. Its solar symbolism is undoubtedly related to its long tail of colors and its drawings in the form of eyes that, due to its circular shape and its brightness, also connect with the life and eternal cycle of nature.
The peacock is the national bird of India. In Hinduism, the peacock serves as a mount for Skanda, the god of war. Numerous traditions, especially in southern India and Sri Lanka, also relate it to local deities, representing for example the power of thunder. Many of the folk dances of India show steps inspired by the courtship dance of the peacock. A popular belief of Hindu countries holds that when the peacock deploys its tail it is a sign of rain. In ancient Greece, it was the symbolic bird of Hera, the most important Greek goddess of Olympus, legitimate wife of Zeus and goddess of women and marriage. As they say, Hera commissioned Argos, a giant with a thousand eyes, to watch over one of the lovers of his infidel husband but was killed by Hermes. When the goddess learned of Argos' death, she took her hundred eyes and put them on the peacock's tail, giving her the look she currently has.
In Rome, the princesses and empresses took the peacock as their personal symbol. In this way, the peacock went on to Christian symbolism strongly related to the Great Goddess, so it is not difficult to understand its positive connection with the Virgin Mary and the delights of Paradise. In the Christian religion, it is considered a symbol of the resurrection of Christ because in spring, Easter time, the bird changes its plumage completely. He is not usually represented with his tail unfolded as it is an image that suggests vanity, a concept contrary to the charity and humility of the message of Christianity. You can see mosaics of the fourth century with this figure in the church of Santa Constancia, in Rome, as well as in some Christian catacombs. In general, representations of peacocks show the bird drinking from a chalice or a fountain (Source of Life) symbolizing a spiritual rebirth, associated with baptism and the eternity of the soul.
The majesty of the peacock caught the attention of man from ancient times, incorporating it into popular culture and religion of different historical periods, starting from the geographical regions that constitute its original habitat.
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