Along the main street of Sirkap, the ancient city, sits the Double-Headed Eagle Shrine. Its original name is lost, but is now referred to as the double-Headed Eagle Shrine because of the bird bas-relief that adorns the arch (images two and three). Of Scythian origin, the double-headed bird motif is common in Eurasia, appearing in Byzantine and European armor crests as well.
The shrine is awash in Bactrian Greek influencess brought to the area by Alexander's army, who unwittingly left a Hellenic cultural imprint. The columns decorating the sides of the shrine are clearly Corinthian and the pediment is classically Greek. This is not to say that the shrine is entirely Greek - far from it. There are also Indian influences, notably in the other niches (image 3). The one on the left is almost an ogee (onion-shaped) arch, while the one on the right is a torina, or ornamented Indian gateway
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