Discussion of the Konstellations

[Koen G]

I was hoping to find out what this ring referred to in iconography. I only found Allen's tentative proposal that it symbolizes the Zodiac belt, which is not so strange since Aries is the leader of the Zodiac. It is only found on a minority of Aries images, so perhaps it once had a separate meaning. I've seen images of Capricorn with such a ring as well, though on him it can be explained as a transition between his two parts... If the ring was exclusively associated with Aries, however, it might still refer to other things, like March or the March equinox or...