This marble panel, once part of a larger stone screen decorating a Byzantine East Orthodox church, is decorated with a number of elements derived from Iranian designs. Eagles pouncing on hares or grasping snakes in their talons were common to Middle Byzantine art, though the iconographical meaning behind the imagery is lost to us today. As noted by scholars at the British Museum, both eagles and snakes were associated with the sun and considered positive symbols by the Parthians¹, and hunting birds of prey capturing game frequently appear in Parthian, Sassanian, and Central Asian art. These motifs, along with the palmettes and ivy that also decorate the relief, may ultimately be inspired by textile designs imported from Persia, Sogdiana or points even further east.

(1) See the British Museum web page dedicated to this object.