Why was the owl once considered a symbol of the 'God of War' and was worshiped in ancient times?

This bronze artifact is a national treasure on display in the museum of Henan Province, China. Its shape is very strange. At first glance, it looks like a squatting dog. But look carefully, the head is a bit like a cat's head, but on the back has wings, the end has a tail, with the hind legs and the front legs create a strong tripod.

According to research, this artifact is over 3000 years old, comes from the Shang Dynasty, was called "moat" by the ancients , and is an instrument used to store wine. "Hao" is another term for ancient Owl species. There have been netizens jokingly calling this item the "Angry Bird" version of Shang!  

This bronze artifact has a strange shape.

 According to reports, in 1975, near the ruins in Anyang (Anyang), Henan Province, archaeologists accidentally discovered an ancient tomb. According to appraisal, this is the tomb of a legendary woman more than 3,000 years ago in the middle of the Shang house. This woman is the wife of Wu Ding - the 22nd king of the Shang Dynasty in Chinese history.    

According to historical records, Vu Dinh was a king who needed to enlighten himself, defined in the four words "Vũ Đinh trung hung" (in the Shang Dynasty). However, few people know that half of that revival belongs to Queen Phu Hao . Among the many armored remains unearthed in An Duong, many records recorded that Phu Hao had bathed in blood, enlarged the territory and even played an important role in important ceremonies. 

There have been netizens jokingly calling this item the "Angry Bird" version of Shang.

In other words, this queen is not only a strategist, but also a politician. However, it is a pity that the legendary woman in this history died early at the age of thirty.

Thuong Vuong Vu Dinh, who always missed his queen, was deeply saddened when he passed away. Experts believe that burying a partner with him is a way for Vu Dinh to emphasize the status and power of Phu Hao. This is related to the cult of the Shang people.  

In ancient times, people handed down the saying: " Legend of love". Trade King Dinh Vu always capitalized himself, thinking that he was a descendant of the miracle. However, what kind of bird is the "magical bird" , there is no specific record in history.

Most experts believe that the "magical" referred to by the ancients is the "moat" (cricket) - the ancient term for owl.

However, after archaeological excavations, most experts believe that the "magical" referred to by the ancients were " moats" - ancient ways of calling owls. Because up to now, the designs made of stone, ceramic, or bronze found in the Shang Dynasty or earlier have only had owls. Especially among the bronze ritual articles of the Shang Dynasty, the most common bird shape is the owl.

In addition, according to the scholars, the "injured" hieroglyphs in the body armor are very similar to the shape of the owl face. This shows that, for the Shang Dynasty, people had a habit of worshiping (birds), and owls were their main object of worship! This is confusing for us. Because, not only in Asia, but in Europe, owls are not welcome birds. But why, could the ancient Shang people worship the owl?

In fact, this kind of worship changes with the times. Many people have heard of the goddess Athena in Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, Athena represents wisdom, reason and justice. Her favorite bird is an owl, which is also worship of the ancient Greeks, why?

As explained, as a night bird, the owl can see in the dark and calmly in chaos. This is the wisdom that the owl species is endowed with. Experts believe that in ancient times, whether in the East or the West, this characteristic of owls may have been recognized by people, so they worship owls.

However, experts believe that there is another reason the Shang people worship owls. Many of the antiques unearthed in the ancient tombs of the Shang house have the image of an owl, even some owl-shaped artifacts have been specially created or exaggerated. Examples are especially sharp mouths, aggressive faces, or stylized legs. According to the concept, in addition to the eyes, the owl is especially quick at night hunting. Therefore, some experts believe that the Shang people pushed owl images to the "God of War" level and thought that they were symbols of victory over the enemies.  

Many of the antiques unearthed in the ancient tombs of the Shang house have the image of an owl, even some owl-shaped artifacts have been specially created or exaggerated.

Fei Hao led the army many times and made contributions to the development of the Shang Dynasty. That is the god of war by Vũ Đinh . This empress is a very intelligent and wise person, is the right arm of Vu Dinh. In a certain aspect, Vu Dinh said that Phu Hao was the incarnation of "Huyen Dieu".  

So, why would such a "miraculous" species become an ominous bird for people more than three thousand years after the Shang Dynasty? Experts believe this may be related to dynastic replacement.

As we all know, after the Shang Dynasty, it was the Zhou Dynasty, because the owl was a bird that the Shang Dynasty worshiped, of course, the Zhou people could not allow the Shang culture to influence and survive. From here, people began to discriminate against owls and owls became bad birds.