Images Patera of Parabiago. Silver incised with gold, IV century A.D. Found in Parabiago, Italy. (Details)

According to some interpretations, the patera resembles a cosmogony map, of pagan inspiration. In the upper part the sun and the moon are represented: on the left there is the chariot of the sun with an upright torchlight while on the right part the chariot of the moon with the lowered torchlight. In the centre there are Cybele and Attis, her mortal lover to whom Zeus allowed immortality, on a chariot drawn by lions. Near, there is Time, represented both in his annual running through the circle of zodiac and as “Aion”, personification of eternal and immutable time in the Greek world. A snake is depicted at the extreme right, twisted around an obelisk; the snake is the symbol of life after death, for after changing skin he’s still alive, he never dies. Under the chariot of Attis and Cybele there are the four seasons, represented by four little angels carrying the fruits of every season. In the lower part the scene is closed by the god Ocean together with the Nymphs of rivers and the earth with the horn of plenty, symbol of abundance.