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From the very beginning, animals played an important role in Joseph Beuys work. Bees, hares, stags, swans and several other animals constantly appear in his work. He attributed complex symbolic meanings to animals, building on his knowledge of mythology and Christianity. Beuys believed that animals had the capacity to inspire people. The stag, the animal of the gods in Germanic myth, often occurs as the companion of the soul and as a guiding and protective sign appearing in times of danger. The swan, inspired by the Lohengrin mythology, stands for the forces connecting life and death. The swan's neck, searching for food, forms the connection between what is below and above the surface and fetches energy from inside the Earth. Hares symbolise boundless freedom. Whereas Beuys relates the organisation of bees to societal processes. Bees also produce honey which Beuys saw as a source of natural energy.