The Carrock 

Alan Lee created this watercolor painting of The Carrock, a location from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit." Here, the towering rock becomes a visual anchor, a beacon rising from the landscape. The prominent eagles remind us of Zeus's totemic animal. They're not merely birds, but symbols of foresight, power, and spiritual ascent, capable of bridging the earthly and divine. The motif of the elevated stone also transcends time. The steps carved into the rock lead upwards, echoing the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia, places of both worship and dominion. This urge to ascend, to reach a higher plane, resonates with the eternal human quest for understanding. The psychological weight of this scene rests on the dream of transcending our earthly bounds, a universal aspiration that surfaces again and again in our collective imagination. This powerful image is a testament to the enduring nature of symbols, continuously reborn in new forms, inviting us to reflect on our shared cultural inheritance.