Ancient Symbols

The concept of  “archetypes’ or “forms” or “ideas” that are beyond what we humans can actually see, hear, touch, smell or taste was first described most explicitly by the 5th century Greek philosopher Plato. Everything around us on this earth is but a representation of those archetypes - a symbol.  In short, a symbol is an idea that has been given a physical form.



This explanation may have only begun to be thrown around during the time of the Greek philosopher Plato just about the 5th century BC, but humans have long been using symbols for many thousands of years before then. The use of symbols may very well be as old as humankind itself. Many ancient symbols continue to play an important role in the lives of modern men. People carry them around in the form of jewelry, display them prominently in key areas of their home, use them as company logos or emblems for their organizations etc.  

Hecate’s Wheel


Hecate was the ancient Greek goddess of the moon, the night, of magic, ghosts, witchcraft and necromancy. She has power over heaven, the earth and the sea. Hecte’s wheel is actually a labyrinth serpent signifying rebirth. In the middle of the labyrinth is a star-like spiral reminiscent of a whirlpool that represents how divine thought moves. Today it is a popular emblem for Hellenic Recon practitioners.

Hevate's Symbol


Hevate's Symbol talisman

Talisman from: http://dragondreaming.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/hecates-dragon/

Tanit

Tanit was the great goddess of City of Carthage, an ancient Phoenician colony in Northern Africa. Mother Goddess Tanit ruled over the sun, stars and moon and was invoked for fertility and protection of Carthage. Tanit’s symbol is uniquely her own, a circle sitting on top of a triangle, separated by a horizontal line with vertical bars on both ends, in a close representation of a woman in a long dress with arms outstretched upwards as if in worship.

Tanit Symbol

Omphalos


A stone carved in the shape of a beehive is called the omphalos by the ancient Greeks. Omphalos is Greek for navel. It is said that two eagles were sent out by Zeus on opposite directions to fly across the world to meet at the center. This point, the “navel” of the earth is depicted in several key areas by erecting an omphalos stone.

Omphalos

Tattwas


Tattwa or Tattva is a Sanskrit word meaning “principle”, “essence” or “element”. It is a concept that is said to pre-date even the Greeks’ teachings about the elements of nature. The five primary Tattwas are:
• Akasha – black or indigo egg shape; represents the element of spirit and the void or nothingness of space.
• Vayu – sky blue circle; represents the element of air and is felt by our sense of touch.
• Tejas – red tringle; represents the element of fire and is visible to our sense of sight.
• Apas – silvery crescent; represents the element of water and relates to both our senses of touch and of sight.
• Prithivi – yellowish-brown square; represents the element of Earth.

Tattwas

Horned God

This ancient symbol was often used in Wicca as a representation of the masculine energy of God and other gods of fertility and vegetation. In Dianic Wicca, it is used as a symbol for the Lunar Goddess.

Horned God


On this Page: Easter Island    Etruscan   
Related Categories: Alphabets    Ancient Symbols    Fonts    Visual Languages    Writing Systems   

 

Ancient Scripts of the World
Designed to give an introduction to writing systems, which hopefully will tantalize the reader into searching for more information on the web or in books and publications.
ancientscripts.com/
Mesoamerican Writing Systems   

 

Ancient-Symbols.com
Ancient Symbols, egyptian, celtic, native american, chinese, japanese and more.
ancient-symbols.com/

 

On the Trail of Ancient Symbols
From Three Hares to the Green Man...a Devon researcher is out to unravel what lies behind these ancient symbols found across the county.
bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/02/16/three_hares_feature.shtml

 

Maya civilization - wikipedia.org
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization
Mesoamerica   

 

Ancient Symbols in Architecture by Balwant Saini
Symbols have always been an important part of an architect's design vocabulary. In recent years some architects in India have used ancient symbols such as Vedic mandalas as a basis for planning and design of buildings.
fengshuiseminars.com/articles/ancientsymbols.html

 

Ancient Ideas, Megaliths, Rock-Carvings, Rituals
Essays on ancient ideas, megaliths, laws, myths, petroglyphs, time-symbols in rock-carvings, monuments and figurative arts. Covers cultural developments in the Old World and especially in Scandinavia. Then it is about our roots and ancestors 7000 years back.
freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~catshaman/
Ancient Symbols of Dal   

 

Linear B
The hieroglphic script appears only on seal stones and has yet to be deciphered.
omniglot.com/writing/linearb.htm
OmniGlot: Writing Systems   

 

Mandorla - Ancient Symbol of Wholeness
An ancient symbol of two circles coming together and overlapping one another to form an almond shape in the middle. Jensen (1996) describes the mandorla as similar to the image of two mandalas (Sanskrit for circle) merging together until an almond shape is formed in the center.
sandplay.org/symbols/mandorla.htm

 

Cuneiform Collection - Science Museum of Minnesota
Over five thousand years ago, the people dwelling in southern Iraq invented one of the world's earliest systems of writing.
smm.org/anthropology/cuneiform/

 

Symbols of the Ancient World - symboldictionary.net
Ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Babylonian.
symboldictionary.net/?page_id=3315
Home   

 

UponReflection
Learn about the symbols and imagery used in the ancient world. Covering aspects of runes, ogham, hieroglyphics, the alphabet, gods & goddesses, plantlore, etc.
uponreflection.co.uk/

 

 

 

Easter Island

 

Easter Island - Moai - Crystalinks
Easter Island is the world's most isolated inhabited island. It is also one of the most mysterious.
crystalinks.com/easterisland.html

 

Rongorongo - wikipedia.org
Twenty-six wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rongorongo
Easter Island   

 

Easter Island's Rongorongo Script
The past has seen many different attempts at reading Rapanui's rongorongo inscriptions.
netaxs.com/~trance/fischer.html

 

 

 

Etruscan

 

Mysterious Etruscans - Pre-Roman Civilisation in Italy
The enormous contribution that the Etruscan civilization has made to our Western civilization.
mysteriousetruscans.com/

 

Etruscan alphabet - omniglot.com
The Etruscan alphabet is thought to have been developed from the Greek alphabet by Greek colonists in Italy.
omniglot.com/writing/etruscan.htm