Show ancient Roman icons. Roman Empire: flag, coat of arms, emperors, events
Signs and symbols rule the world, not word and law
Confucius
“Since ancient times, a person has been accompanied by symbols, with their help he tried and tries to make his ideas visible and recognizable. People still fight and die under the emblems and banners that have symbolic meaning ”1. Every symbol carries a semantic load by definition. This is especially true of religious and state symbols that carry ideological motives. The coat of arms of the state as a visual symbol affects consciousness directly, almost “magically” arousing in compatriots a sense of unity, their patriotism. This "magic" (metaphysical, mythical) state emblem makes the latter the object of the closest attention of clergymen, be they church hierarchs or Masonic masters. Eventually the coat of arms acquires specific visible features (for example, Christian or anti-Christian), depending on who (the Church or Freemasonry) in a given European state controls the spiritual power.
The eagle, the lord of the air, is one of the most unambiguous and universal state symbols, embodying strength, greatness and power 2. Since the time of Julius Caesar, the emperor's staff with the figure of an eagle - the sacred bird of Jupiter - has become the symbol of the Roman Empire (27 BC - 395) since the time of Julius Caesar. As you know, the empire, with all its shortcomings, is the best form of state structure of multinational and multiconfessional education. The Roman Empire rightfully remained in ancient times the best European example of this form. Therefore, the coat of arms of the 3rd majestic Roman Empire has forever retained its sacred appeal and relevance.
So, the one-headed Roman eagle embodies power, imperial greatness, a claim to world domination, universal cultural significance. This is true. But that's not all. In the Roman Empire, Jesus Christ was born, who changed the worldview for millennia and spiritual world Europeans, having separated once and for all truth from falsehood, righteousness from sinfulness. The Roman Empire distinguished itself by His crucifixion. And then for three more centuries she persecuted and executed the followers of Christ. The one-headed Roman eagle began to reluctantly personify not only power, greatness and power, but also outright anti-Christianity (fighting against God), manifested, first of all, by hatred of orthodox Christianity. The one-headed eagle symbolically frees the politics and politicians of the empire from Christian morality. The latter circumstance made the one-headed Roman eagle the most sacredly attractive symbol of European theomachists (first of all, Masons), which later became the most popular world heraldic brand 4.
But back to the beginning of the Middle Ages. By the 4th century AD, the Roman Empire consisted of four parts and for some time had four emperors. Becoming the sovereign emperor in 323, Constantine the Great in 330 moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Constantinople ("New Rome" or "Second Rome") and made Christianity the official religion of the entire Roman Empire. Unlike the pagan one-headed eagle, symbolizing, among other things, the fight against God, Constantine the Great introduced in 330 a new imperial emblem - the two-headed eagle, which visualized not only the secular power of the emperor (the first head of the eagle), but also the spiritual authority of the Church (the second head) 5 ... The second head of the eagle symbolizes the moral component of imperial politics, it kind of obliges statesmen to be moral in the Christian understanding of morality. The two-headed eagle becomes for eternity a binary opposition to the one-headed eagle.
"Second Rome" made all of Europe Christian. Until the 11th century, the Christian Church was one, that is, there was no division into Catholics and Orthodox. But the Western hierarchs of the Church, led by lust for power and political intrigues, caused her schism, opposing their Roman Church (Catholic) to Constantinople (Orthodox). The West, which fell under the rule of the golden calf, gradually became a Christian apostate. By the beginning of the 13th century, there was more gold in Constantinople than in all of western Europe. The greedy West, at the suggestion of the Venetian merchants and with the blessing of the Pope, treacherously attacks Constantinople, plunders it and brutally destroys the local population. The Byzantine Empire 6 fell in 1204 under the onslaught of the knights-crusaders (in fact, professional militants, killers, fanatically loyal to their Catholic orders and hierarchs) and never really recovered 7. As a result of this tragedy, Europe and Christianity suffered wounds that, as it turned out over time, turned out to be incurable 8. The crusaders showed themselves to be by no means pious adherents of the Christian faith, but, on the contrary, greedy, unprincipled and bloodthirsty invaders. In 1204, they dispelled the aura of holiness of the Catholic Church.
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1. Coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 to 1440 |
2. Coat of arms of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire |
and all Western piety. This was the first, at the level of a global cataclysm, a symbolic attack by the West on the two-headed eagle. Note that the united West of the XII-XIII centuries is associated to a large extent with the Holy Roman Empire, whose coat of arms was a one-headed eagle.
The far-sighted Greeks (the titular ethnos of the Byzantine Empire), long before the decline of their outstanding empire, which existed for eleven centuries, spiritually and culturally built the entire European civilization, managed to prepare for themselves a truly loyal successor - Russia. The Greeks provided a powerful and extremely talented Russian ethnos with their literacy (Cyril and Methodius), cultural tradition (Theophanes the Greek) and, most importantly, the Orthodox faith. Later, Russia under Ivan III, after a wedding in 1472 with the Greek princess Sophia Palaeologus, also adopted the Byzantine coat of arms - a two-headed eagle as a symbol of the continuity of the greatest civilization and the Orthodox faith. The imperial symbol in Russia later became fully consistent with its essence. In 1704, Tsar Peter I assumes the title of emperor. Russia became a new Orthodox empire, and its capital, Moscow, the symbolic "Third Rome".
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1. Seal of Ivan III |
2. Coat of arms of Peter I |
The double-headed eagle soared over Europe again as a symbol of a true Christian empire, a political player of the highest European echelon, claiming the succession of European civilization and its new spiritual center.
At the same time, the official process of parting with the Christian tradition began in the West. In France, at the end of the 18th century, there were revolutions organized by Freemasonry. Among other things, the revolutions carried an openly anti-Christian worldview. Bonaparte Napoleon, a military genius and atheist, comes to power. Napoleon controlled the Masonic "Grand Lodge of France", perhaps the most powerful political organization of the time. The rejection of God and His commandments is one of the foundations of the ideology of Bonapartism. Morality of Napoleon clearly contradicts the Christian commandments "Do not build yourself an idol ...", "Do not kill" and Christian morality in general. That is why the Russian people, who possessed spiritual vision, saw in Napoleon the prototype of the Antichrist and rightly christened him as such. Creating his empire, Napoleon had to decide on its symbol, personifying imperial power, greatness, power and ... fighting against God. The Roman single-headed eagle, which quite logically becomes the emblem of Napoleon's empire, was already such a symbol. The latter liquidated the remaining Western European empires: the Austro-Hungarian and the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, which had two-headed eagles as their coats of arms. The one-headed eagle of Napoleon metaphysically "cut off" the second heads of the eagles of the rival empires, as if trying to consign their spiritual Christian component to oblivion.
It should be noted that Western European double-headed eagles, as symbols, were more a tribute to historical tradition, a claim to the succession of the majestic Byzantium, than a reflection of the Christian spirit. But even such a formal (as if by inertia) Western succession of the Byzantine Empire was disgusting to Napoleon. Everything that concerned the Byzantine Orthodox Empire was to be erased by the Freemasons from the memory of generations. So, in our time it is easy and simple to find information about all the emperors of Ancient Rome, cultural monuments, philosophers and poets. Cultural Monuments of Ancient (pre-Christian) Greece are also carefully preserved by the West. About the Romans (in translation - the Romans, as the Greeks of Byzantium called themselves), information is practically erased, despite the fact that the "Second Rome" existed twice as long as the "first" Rome, and by the beginning of the XIII century in Constantinople alone there were more cultural achievements and educational institutions than in all of Western Europe combined. As you can see, "nothing personal", nothing national, only frank godless motives.
However, in the east of Europe, the last two-headed eagle remained as the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, which is in religion, in foreign policy unwaveringly remained the faithful successor of Byzantium. A clash of eagles was becoming inevitable. Emperor Napoleon had to put an end to this stronghold of Orthodoxy and state independence. The one-headed eagle had to "deal" with the two-headed, the last imperial eagle left in Europe. Napoleon's troops went to war against Moscow ("Third Rome").
However, Napoleon's project to conquer Russia (including the subordination of the Church to the Pope) was smashed to smithereens by the power of the Russian Orthodox spirit, which Napoleon intended to eradicate. The universal battle of the eagles ended with the complete victory of the two-headed eagle, for a century having discouraged the one-headed predator to measure strength.
No longer counting on a military victory, the one-headed predator "decides" to act by cunning and destroy the two-headed eagle with revolutionary viruses. The plan was a success. The revolutionary "viruses" of 1917 "infected" the two-headed eagle, which "got sick" for many decades. But metaphysically, he remained alive as long as his bearers - human souls - were alive. Joseph Stalin, unexpectedly for the West, began to restore the continuity of the USSR from the Russian Empire. Orders and shoulder straps returned tsarist army, the concepts of "officer" and "officer's honor", the continuity of military history has returned, previously destroyed theological seminaries are allowed, etc. The two-headed eagle began to slowly recover metaphysically, temporarily not showing itself to the world. The Soviet Union more and more began to conform to the imperial essence of the two-headed eagle. The West saw it. I saw and hated.
Hatred led to the fact that the Anglo-Saxon empire (USA, Great Britain and their vassals) revived Germany in order to direct its military power to destroy the USSR - the successor of imperial Russia. So in Europe, a new one-headed eagle appeared as a symbol of the newly created Nazi German Empire(Third Reich). Quickly capturing Europe, Hitler directed the united European power against the USSR, almost completely repeating the Napoleonic scenario.
Even the concordat (agreement with the Pope), the essence of which is subordination Orthodox Church The Vatican was almost the same as that of Napoleon. Hitler's project to conquer Soviet Russia, as in the case of Napoleon, also shattered to smithereens against the power of the Russian spirit, which remained ineradicably Orthodox.
Again, it was not possible to defeat the power of the successor of the two-headed eagle. Therefore, the West had to repeat the "viral" scenario later. This time a liberal "virus" was used in the fight against the Soviet Union. Quasi-empire - the USSR was destroyed by this "virus" in 1991, similar to the result of the "viral injection" in 1917. The collapse of the power led to the emergence of many problems and conflicts, the subordination of the economy and ideology to the world hegemon - the Anglo-Saxon empire. In this collapse, however, one very significant phenomenon occurred: the former Russian coat of arms- two-headed eagle. He, as if recovering, from form to essence, slowly spreading his imperial wings wider and wider, began to more and more demonstrate his proud, independent disposition, his imperial Orthodox essence, forcing the whole world to reckon with himself since 2014.
Let's return to the consideration of the world's leading one-headed eagle, what it is now, what is its symbolic load. The Freemasons (the founding fathers of the United States) did not "rack their brains" for a long time, what would be the coat of arms of the new empire, imposing its own "new order" on the world: the only historically attractive symbol embodying imperial might, greatness, power and theomachy was still the one-headed eagle of the Roman empire. In the emblem of this eagle, the Masons added only some sacred elements for them (for example, an eagle in one paw holds 13 arrows, in the other - an olive branch with 13 leaves and 13 olives; the star of "David" is formed by 13 five-pointed stars; back side press stated in Latin very unambiguously: "Novus Ordo Seclorum" - "New order forever"). The anti-Christian essence of the eagle was immediately apparent: the "New Order" destroyed tens of millions of Indians and brought slaves from Africa. Revolutions in Russia, provoking two world wars, nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, color revolutions, Arab terrorism, local wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine - this is an incomplete list of crimes in which the barbaric empire of the one-headed eagle is involved only in the last 100 years. At the same time, the profit and domination of the Anglo-Saxon empire increased each time, making the latter a world hegemon by the end of the twentieth century.
The modern world empire of the one-headed eagle (the United States and its vassals) is always barbaric ends and means. There is always a sea of blood and human grief in the implementation of their plans. Russia interferes with the absolutely immoral hegemony of the United States, its plans to conquer the world. Today Russia is setting an example of a moral foreign policy based not on the rule of force (like the Anglo-Saxons), but on the strength of international law. And if so, the battle of the eagles becomes inevitable again due to their imperial and complete moral incompatibility.
And it began, this next deadly battle of two eagles 9. One-headed (USA and vassals) and two-headed (Russia). Between the "New Order Forever" and "Keeping the World Evil". In the hybrid war unleashed by the United States against Russia, the main hope is pinned on the ideological "viruses" of liberalism, fascism (as the dictatorship of the oligarchy) and Nazism. It is these "viruses" that are successfully "devouring the organism" of Ukraine before our very eyes. “Immunity” for Russia can only be a intelligible ideology, “sharpened” to fight the enemy's information weapons, focused on the paternal Tradition, which forms high morality and patriotism among compatriots. This is the ideology of a multinational and multiconfessional empire, which establishes the basic law of merciful love.
The two-headed eagle can and must show the world its irresistible power, once again becoming a symbol of the victory of Christian love over the bloodthirsty godless hatred of the one-headed predator. It has become a good national tradition for Russia to defeat the united West during its next invasion. But for victory, military power alone is not enough, you need to correspond to your sacred symbol - the two-headed eagle, that is, to become a sovereign empire and the spiritual pole of the world again.
Fedor Papayani, expert of "Izborsk club of Novorossiya", Donetsk
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1 Tresidder D. Dictionary of symbol meanings, http://slovo.yaxy.ru/67.html.
2 In the article, we will only be interested in imperial symbols. Eagles as coats of arms of non-imperial states or symbols of a different semantic load are not considered by us.
3 The term "coat of arms" appears at the end of the Middle Ages and comes from German word meaning inheritance. However, the article uses the concept of "coat of arms" for earlier periods. Although the concept as such did not yet exist, but its equivalent semantic symbolic load was.
4 Roman Empire. The brand and its heirs,
5 There is a version of historians that in 330, Emperor Constantine the Great introduced a new emblem - a black two-headed eagle on a gold background - as a symbol of the emperor's power over the West and East. Opponents of this version cite counter-arguments: firstly, Constantine the Great united four, not two parts of the empire, and, secondly, the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern occurred 65 years later, in 395. However, even if this controversial version is accepted, then it should be recognized that subsequently, with the formation of Christianity in the empire, the symbolism of the eagle changed. The eagle ceased to be an emblem of only secular power (the first head of an eagle); he became unambiguously the emblem and spiritual power (the second head of the eagle).
6 Constantine the Great (Flavius Valery Aurelius Constantine, Constantine I, Constantine the Great, 272-337) since 323 was the autocratic ruler of the entire Roman Empire. In 395, the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern took place. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire as the historical, cultural, and civilizational successor to the Roman Empire for nearly ten centuries. The Eastern Roman Empire was called by Western historians of the 18th century as the "Byzantine Empire", that is, there never really was an empire with the latter name; its citizens called their state the "Roman (in Greek - Romeian) empire". Nevertheless, the name "Byzantine Empire" is historically entrenched and is therefore used in this article. The Imperial rival of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395-1453) is the "Holy Roman Empire" (962 - 1512), which later changed its name to "The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" (1512-1806). .), covering vast territories Western Europe... In the Holy Roman Empire until 1440, a single-headed eagle is used as the coat of arms of the state. Since 1441, he changed to a two-headed eagle. Later, the double-headed eagle became the emblem of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires.
7 Formally, the Byzantine Empire existed until 1453 and finally fell from the Turkish invasion. But this is only formally, since after the defeat by the crusaders in 1204, the empire was only "the remnants of the former luxury"; military, economic and even spiritual strength has not been restored.
8 Fences M. Crusaders in the East. http://enoth.org/Crusades2/Zaborov05_13.htm
9 The war of the imperial eagles-coats of arms is understood as a symbolic means of expressing ideological, territorial, property and other claims.
Every culture of antiquity left behind a large number of characters. They arose as a way of depicting deities, supernatural and ordinary phenomena in the life of the people. Most often, symbols were directly related to religion, with the help of which the carriers of a particular culture learned and explained the world around them. Intricate images have been used in various rituals. Many of them were solved by historians and archaeologists only after lengthy research.
Ancient Slavs
They are known for their love of various images. The ancient symbols of this people can be found in a vast territory from the Volga to Germany and the Balkans. Even before it split into tribal unions and groups, common drawings appeared in everyday life. This includes the symbols of Ancient Russia.
The sun played a great role in the images. There were several signs for him. For example, it was a Christmas carol. It was worn mainly by men who wanted in this way to gain wisdom in battle and in everyday life. God Kolyada was responsible in the Slavic worldview for the constant renewal of the world and the victory of light over darkness.
The overpowering herb was used as a talisman against evil lower spirits. It was worn on clothing, armor, weapons, etc. The symbols of the ancient Slavs included a ratiboret. It was a sign of a warrior, for whom the most important thing was courage, courage and honor. It was believed that the ratifier bestows these qualities on all who sincerely and ardently love their homeland and home. Most often, he was depicted using engraving - an art in which the Slavs knew a lot. Like many other ancient symbols, the ratiboret was a solar sign, a bit like the sun. In this series, the swastika stands out, denoting the eternal circulation of the universe. The person wearing it recognized his citizenship before the higher forces of nature.
The symbols of the ancient Slavs were also identified with the family - the smallest unit of any society. It was a wedding ceremony, which meant the fusion of the body, soul, conscience and spirit of those who enter into a marriage.
The symbols of the elements among the Slavs
Many ancient symbols came from the tradition of worshiping fire as the greatest element. There are several of them. Yarovrat was worn by the worshipers of God Yaro, who, with the help of the forces of fire, controlled the weather, which means he was in charge of the harvest. Therefore, those wishing to get a large number of crops used this sign. Dukhobor also symbolized fire, but only internal fire. It was the designation for the flame of life. If a person fell ill in the tribe, he was covered with bandages with a Dukhobor. Thunderstorm helped protect temples and houses from bad weather, thunderstorms, storms and other disasters.
The symbol of the earth among the ancient Slavs is a solard. The soil was also associated with the cult of motherhood, which was practiced by some tribes. The prosperity of the earth meant a stable growth of food and a satisfying life for the clan.
Runic alphabet
Scandinavian runes were used by numerous Germanic tribes. They had a developed mythology with their own unique images associated with the harsh living conditions of this people. Runes were not only symbols, but also written signs... They were applied to stones to convey a particular message. They wrote epic sagas telling about the history and myths of the Germans.
However, each sign, if considered separately, also had its own meaning. The runic alphabet consists of 24 runes, divided into three rows of 8 each. About 5 thousand surviving inscriptions in this amazing language have been found in the world. Most of these artifacts are found in Sweden.
Examples of runes
The first rune, Fehu, meant livestock, and in a broad sense, any personal property of a German. Uruz symbolized a bull or a bison. Thus, the difference between the first and second signs was that in one case they meant a domestic animal, and in the second - wild and free.
Thurisaz stood for the sharp thorn or hammer of Thor, one of the main gods of the Germanic pantheon. It was used to ensure that the wearer was accompanied by good luck, as well as protection from hostile forces. Ansuz is an image of open lips, that is, a replica or spoken wisdom. In addition, this is a sign of caution, since the Scandinavian peoples believed that an intelligent person would never be reckless.
Raido is a wagon or path that lies ahead for a wanderer. Ancient symbols and their meaning among the Germans often had a double meaning. Kenaz is a sign of fire. But this flame is friendly. Most often, such a fire meant a torch that would warm a person and give him a feeling of comfort and home coziness.
The next two runes symbolize joy. Gebo is a gift and generosity. He was portrayed as a sign of good intentions. If the runes were used in fortune telling, then the Gebo dropped out was a great success for a person who was in for a pleasant surprise in the future. Ancient signs and symbols now often become material for the occult services of neo-pagans. Vunyo means joy. It was often used in conjunction with Gebo. If it was written next to another rune, then this meant success or good luck in the sphere, which was symbolized by the neighboring sign. For example, Vunyo and Fehu were an omen of a large increase in the livestock population.
Some runes were synonymous, their presence can be found in almost all peoples and cultures. For example, Laguz is a symbol of water, lake or even intuition in a figurative sense.
Development of runic writing
Interestingly, over time, the common runes broke up into several variants of the alphabet for different peoples, from the limits of the Roman Empire to the extreme polar north of Norway. The most common is the so-called Pro-Scandinavian version, from which all subsequent ones went. It was used until the 8th century AD, which corresponds to the Iron Age in these territories. Most often, such runes are found on ancient weapons, armor and roadside stones. Such symbols were used in magical and religious rites and in the future. Sacred and memorial inscriptions are still found in necropolises and thickets.
IN Eastern Europe Gothic runes brought here from Scandinavia became widespread. They can be found even in Ukraine and Romania. After some Germans settled in the British Isles, they had their own variation of this writing. This was due to isolation from the former homeland and assimilation with the "aborigines" - Angles, Saxons, etc. They had new runes, many of which began to denote double sounds in writing (linguists call them diphthongs). These have survived even in modern German.
They are considered to be especially exotic.They appeared on a distant island, which was then considered the northwestern edge of the world. They are characterized by the use of dotted lines. These runes were in use until the XIV century. As for the Scandinavian signs, they disappeared with the advent of Christianity in the kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The use of runes was considered heresy and was severely punished by the authorities.
Ancient Egypt
One of the most famous symbols of Ancient Egypt is the Ankh. This is a cross, which is crowned with a ring on top. He symbolized life and eternity. There are also interpretations of the cross and the ring as signs of the rising sun, the combination of the masculine and feminine principles. The ankh was used in burial rituals, since the Egyptians believed that those buried with Ankh in the sarcophagus would receive an eternal afterlife.
In everyday life, a rounded cross also meant prosperity and happiness. It was often carried with them as a talisman and talisman for good luck. Ankh was used to protect against dark magic. In addition, his images have even been found on the walls of river channels. The Egyptians were very dependent on how the Nile flooded, what the harvest would be. That is why the Ankh was painted inside the canal so that trouble would not happen to him, and the natural elements remained friendly to the inhabitants.
It is curious that after the ancient Egyptian culture went into oblivion, Ankh managed to survive. For some time, ancient culture triumphed on the banks of the Nile, and later Islam came. But even in the first centuries of our era, Christians appeared here and founded their own Coptic community. It was they who adopted the Ankh because of its external resemblance to the cross.
Eye of Horus
Another important Egyptian symbol is the all-seeing eye. The painted eye is a reference to the god Horus, who is the master of the sky. The spiral that was drawn under the eye meant the perpetual movement of energy. This symbol was often used as a talisman against troubles and evil spirits.
In Egyptian mythology, there is a story about the battle of Horus and Set. This is a common metaphor for the struggle between good and evil. Since Horus was the personification of all light, healers and priests began to use his sign in order to heal the sick and injured in battles. Also, the Egyptians had developed mathematics. The Eye of Horus found its application here too - it denoted a fraction.
Scarabs and Isis
Another popular symbol of Ancient Egypt is the scarab. The beetles that lived in dung and sculpted balls out of it personified hard work. In addition, they were associated with the sun god - Ra, who, like insects, moved this source of light every day. Scarabs were popular talismans, seals, and even medals for services to the pharaoh. Figures of beetles were used in afterlife ceremonies. They were put into the sarcophagus to the dead or even laid in the place where the heart used to be (all organs were cut out and laid out in separate vessels). Ancient symbols often had such a twofold use - in everyday life and at funerals. The inhabitants of the banks of the Nile had a reverent attitude towards death.
Figures of the goddess Isis were often found by treasure hunters in treasuries. It was a symbol of land, fertility and prosperity. Isis is one of the most revered gods of this pantheon. The symbol of water in Egypt meant life. And not surprising, because this culture was based on the banks of the Nile, beyond which there was a dead and ruthless desert.
Symbols of Ancient Egypt entered modern culture after the fashion for art deco appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1920s, all of Europe and the United States, with bated breath, followed the discoveries of archaeologists. These were pyramids and hidden tombs, the most famous of which are those left on the walls as plots and omens.
Rome
The Roman Empire was built around its capital. For many centuries, the capital was a symbol of the center of the ancient world. Therefore, in the Roman pantheon there was a special cult of this city. Its symbol was the Capitoline she-wolf.
According to the myth, the founders of Rome, the brothers Romulus and Remus, were royal children. After their uncle came to power during the coup, he ordered the babies to be thrown into the river. This was done, but they survived after being found by the Capitoline she-wolf, who fed them. When the children grew up, Romulus founded Rome and became the king of the new state, which lasted for another thousand years.
That is why all the symbols of Ancient Rome faded before the she-wolf. Her bronze sculpture stood at the capital's forum, where the most important government decisions were made. The image became cult, it was often used by the townspeople.
In Rome, ancient symbols and their meaning were often associated with power. For example, when it was still only a small republic, magistracy played an important role in it. It was an elective office for one year. The lictor had a symbol of power that distinguished him from the general ranks of the townspeople. These are fascia - bundles of birch or elm twigs, covered with a belt or cord. An ax was also used as a symbol, which meant that the person wearing it could execute the guilty ones.
Ancient Greece
Roman mythology was largely formed under the influence of another great culture - Greek. Therefore, some of the designations of Hellas were relevant for the Italians as well.
For example, the symbols of Ancient Greece include the image of the staff of Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing. According to legend, he was called by a Cretan who asked him to resurrect a prematurely deceased son. Asclepius went to the palace with a staff in his hand. At some point, a snake attacked him, but the man killed her with his stick. After the first one crawled a second reptile, which had a grass in its mouth. With her help, she resurrected the snake. Then Asclepius took this plant with him to the palace and helped Minos. Since then, the staff with the snake has become
Another variation that exists in modern times is the Hygea bowl with a snake. This girl was the daughter of Asclepius. The symbol has become an international sign of medicine.
Another image of a staff common in Greece and taken over by Rome is the Caduceus. used by heralds who reported the end of the war between states (for example, between Athens and Sparta). Therefore, the Caduceus became both the Greeks and the Romans. The image also migrated to medieval European heraldry.
Ancient Greece's love symbols included a butterfly. This beautiful insect was associated with family harmony and happiness.
Symbols are the most international and timeless language. We see them every day and we know roughly what they mean. However, symbols in the course of their thousand-year history could change their meaning to the opposite.
Yin Yang
Time of appearance: According to the famous Russian orientalist, doctor historical sciences Alexei Maslov's yin-yang symbolism may have been borrowed by Taoists from Buddhists in the 1st-3rd centuries: “they were attracted by Buddhist hand-drawn symbols - and Taoism had its own“ mandala ”: the famous black-and-white“ fish ”yin and yang”.
Where was used: The concept of Yin-Yang is key to Taoism and Confucianism, the doctrine of Yin-Yang is one of the foundations of traditional Chinese medicine.
The values: In The Book of Changes, yang and yin served to express light and dark, hard and soft. During the development of Chinese philosophy, yang and yin increasingly symbolized the interaction of extreme opposites: light and darkness, day and night, sun and moon, sky and earth, heat and cold, positive and negative, even and odd, and so on.
Originally "yin" meant "northern, shadow", and "yang" - "southern, sunny side of the mountain." Later, "yin" was perceived as negative, cold, dark and feminine, and "yang" - as positive, light, warm and masculine.
Being the main (fundamental) model of all things, the concept of yin-yang reveals two provisions explaining the nature of Tao. First, things are constantly changing. Secondly, opposites complement each other (there can be no black without white, and vice versa). The goal of human existence, therefore, is the balance and harmony of opposites. There can be no "final victory", for there is nothing final, there is no end as such
Magen David
Time of appearance: It is reliably known that the hexagram was widely used in the Bronze Age (late IV-early III millennium BC) over a vast territory: from India to the Middle East.
Where was used: In ancient India, the hexagram was called Anahata or Anahata chakra. The six-pointed star was known in the ancient Near and Middle East. In the Islamic tradition, in Mecca, the main Muslim shrine - the Kaaba - is traditionally covered with a silk veil, which depicts hexagonal stars.
It was only in the Middle Ages that the six-pointed star was associated with Jewry, and in medieval Arabic books the hexagram is found much more often than in Jewish mystical works, and for the first time images of the hexagram appear in the Jewish holy books in Muslim countries, only in the 13th century they reached Germany. The six-pointed star is found on the flags of the Muslim states of Karaman and Kandar.
There is an assumption according to which the hexagram was the family symbol of the clan of David al-Roi, who lived in Iran, one of the contenders for the role of the Mashiach. This is sometimes used to explain the origin of the accepted name of the hexagram: Magen David, or "the shield of David".
The Rothschild family, having received the title of nobility, included Magen David in their family coat of arms. Heinrich Heine put a hexagram instead of a signature under his newspaper articles. It was subsequently adopted as a symbol of the Zionist movement.
The values: In India, the Anahata hexagram symbolized the attic chakra, the reversal of the masculine (Shiva) and feminine (Shakti) principles. In the Middle and Near East, the hexagram was a symbol of the goddess Astarte. The six-pointed star is included in the symbolism of Kabbalah: two superimposed triangles are considered as a visual symbol of the Sefirot.
In the twenties of the twentieth century, Franz Rosenzweig interpreted Magen David as a symbolic expression of his philosophical ideas about the meaning of Judaism and the relationship between God, man and the universe.
The connection of the six-pointed star with the Jews was finally established as a result of Nazi policy in Germany. Yellow Magen David has become a symbol of the Holocaust.
Caduceus
Time of appearance: The exact time of the appearance of the caduceus is unknown. Obviously, this is very ancient symbol... It is also found on the monuments of Ancient India and Ancient Egypt, Phenicia and Sumer, Ancient Greece, Iran, Rome and even Mesoamerica.
Where was used: Caduceus - and today one of the most common symbols in heraldry. In the form of a caduceus, there was a rod of heralds among the Greeks and Romans (the rod of Hermes). When they were sent to the enemy camp, the caduceus was the guarantee of their immunity.
In occultism, the caduceus is considered a symbol of the key that opens the border between darkness and light, good and evil, life and death.
Since the 19th century, the image of the caduceus is often used in several countries (for example, in the USA) as a symbol of medicine, which is the result of a common mistake due to its resemblance to the staff of Asclepius.
The image of the caduceus as an attribute of the god of trade is traditionally used in the symbols of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of several countries of the world, including Russia.
Before the revolution and in several periods after it, the crossed caduceus was used as a customs emblem.
Today, a caduceus crossed with a torch is included in the emblem of the Federal Customs Service and is one of the heraldic symbols of arbitration courts, the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation and the State Tax Service of Ukraine. Since September 2007, the caduceus has been used in the emblem of the Russian Federal Compulsory Health Insurance Fund.
In heraldry, the caduceus was used in the historical coats of arms of the following cities of the Russian Empire: Balty, Verkhneudinsk, Yeniseisk, Irbit, Nezhin, Taganrog, Telshev, Tiflis, Ulan-Ude, Feodosia, Kharkov, Berdichev, Talny.
Value: The rod of the caduceus is symbolically associated with the tree of life, the axis of the world, and the snake - with the cyclical rebirth of Nature, with the restoration of the universal Order when it is violated.
The snakes on the caduceus indicate the hidden dynamics in what is outwardly stable, symbolize two oppositely directed streams (up and down), the connection between heaven and earth, God and man (the wings on the caduceus also indicate the union of heaven and earth, spiritual and material) - everything that is born on earth comes from heaven and, after passing the path of trials and suffering, gains life experience, must ascend to heaven.
It is said about Mercury that with his staff - which since then has been considered a symbol of peace, harmony, - he separated two fighting snakes. Fighting snakes are disorder, chaos, they must be separated, that is, to distinguish, see opposites and unite, overcome them. Then, having united, they will balance the Axis of the world, and around it, from Chaos, the Cosmos, harmony will be created. Truth is one, and in order to come to it, you need to follow a straight path, which is symbolized by the axis of the caduceus.
The caduceus in the Vedic tradition is also interpreted as a symbol of the Serpent Fire, or Kundalini. Winding around the central axis, the snakes connect at seven points, they are connected with the chakras. Kundalini, the Serpent Fire, sleeps in the base chakra, and when it wakes up as a result of evolution, it ascends along the spine along three paths: the central one, Shushumna, and two lateral paths, which form two intersecting spirals - Pingale (this is the right, male and active, spiral) and Ida (left, feminine and passive).
Chrism
Time of appearance: It is not known for certain, but researchers suggest that even during the life of the apostles, that is, in the 1st century. In Christian tombs, this symbol has been found since the 3rd century A.D.
Where was used: The most famous use of the symbol is on the labarum, the national banner of imperial Rome. The symbol was first introduced by Emperor Constantine the Great after, on the eve of the battle at the Mulvian Bridge (312), he saw the sign of the cross in the sky.
The labarum of Constantine had chrismas at the end of the shaft, and on the cloth itself there was an inscription: lat. "Hoc vince" (Slavic. "By this, conquer", lit. "By this, conquer"). The first mention of labarum is found in Lactantius (d. About 320).
The values: Chrism is a monogram of the name of Christ, which consists of two initial Greek letters of the name (Greek ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ) - Χ (chi) and Ρ (ro), crossed with each other. The Greek letters α and ω are often placed around the edges of the monogram. They go back to the text of the Apocalypse: "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and was and is coming, the Almighty."
A number of later researchers saw in the letters P and X, enclosed in a circle, the ancient pagan symbol of the Sun. For this reason, Protestants generally do not recognize the Labarum as a primordial Christian symbol.
Time of appearance: The symbol itself appeared during the formation of the syllabic alphabet of the Devanagari letter ("divine city letter"), that is, in the VIII-XII centuries.
Where was used: "Om" as a symbol for the sacred sound "Om" is used in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Shaivism, Vishnuism, yogic practices. Currently, "Om" has already become a part of pop culture, it is applied as a print on clothes, and tattoos are made. "Om" is featured on George Harrison's albums, the mantra "Om" is featured in the chorus of The Beatles' Across the Universe and on the Matrix soundtrack in Juno Reactor's composition Navras
The values: In the Hindu and Vedic traditions "Om" is a sacred sound, the original mantra, "word of power." Often interpreted as a symbol of the divine triad of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
In Hinduism, "Om" symbolizes the three sacred texts of the Vedas: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Samaveda, itself is a sacred mantra originally symbolizing Brahman. Its three components (A, U, M) traditionally symbolize Creation, Maintenance and Destruction - the categories of the cosmogony of the Vedas and Hinduism.
In Buddhism, the three sounds of the word "Om" can represent the Body, Speech and Mind of Buddha, Three bodies of Buddha (Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya) and three jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha). However, Buddhist Yevgeny Torchinov noted that the syllable "Om" and similar syllables ("hum", "ah", "hri", "e-ma-ho") "have no dictionary meaning" and pointed out that these syllables, in contrast from other syllables of mantras represent in the Mahayana tradition "sacred untranslatable".
Ichthis
Time and place of origin: Images of the acronym ΙΧΘΥΣ (from the Greek Jesus Christ the Son of God the Savior) or the fish symbolizing him first appear in the Roman catacombs in the II century. The widespread use of this symbol is evidenced by the mention of it in Tertullian at the beginning of the 3rd century: “We are small fish, led by our ikhthus, we are born in water and can only be saved by being in water”.
Where was used: The early Christians began to use the acronym Ichthys, since the images of Christ were unacceptable due to persecution.
The values: The symbolism of fish was associated in the New Testament with the preaching of the apostles, some of whom were fishermen. Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew called his disciples "fishers of men," and likened the Kingdom of Heaven to "a net cast into the sea and captured fish of every kind." Ichthis was also associated with Alpha from the words of Jesus Christ: "I Am Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, first and last."
At the end of the 20th century, ichthis became a popular symbol among Protestants in different countries ah, and opponents of creationism began to parody this sign, sticking a fish sign on their cars with the word "Darwin" and small legs.
Bowl of Hygea
Time and place of origin: Ancient Greece... III-I millennium BC
Where was used: Hygea in Greek mythology was the goddess of health, the daughter or wife of the god of healing Asclepius. From her name comes the word "hygiene". She was often depicted as a young woman feeding a snake from a phial bowl. In Greek mythology, the snake was also a symbol of the goddess Athena, who was often depicted as Hygea and vice versa.
The values: In ancient Greece, Hygea personified the principle of a just war for health as light and harmony on all planes. And if Asclepius began to act when the order was violated, then Hygieia maintained the order-law that originally reigned.
The snake in ancient traditions symbolized death and immortality, good and evil. They were personified by her forked tongue, and the venomousness of her bites along with the healing effect of poison, and the ability to hypnotize small animals and birds.
The snake was depicted on the first aid kit of a Roman military doctor. In the Middle Ages, the combination of images of a snake and a bowl on the emblem was used by pharmacists in the Italian city of Padua, and only later this private pharmaceutical symbol became a generally accepted medical sign.
A bowl with a snake is still considered a symbol of medicine and pharmacy in our time. However, in the history of medicine in different countries, a snake, which coiled around a staff, was often considered the emblem of healing. This image was taken in the middle of the WHO at the UN at the 1st World Assembly in Geneva in 1948. Then the international emblem of health care was approved, in the center of which is a staff entwined with a snake.
Rose of Wind
Date of occurrence: The first mention is in 1300 AD, but scientists are sure that the symbol is older.
Where was used: The wind rose was originally used by sailors in the Northern Hemisphere.
Value: The wind rose is a vector symbol invented in the Middle Ages to help sailors. The wind rose or compass rose also symbolizes the four cardinal directions along with intermediate directions. Thus, she shares the symbolic meaning of the circle, center, cross and rays of the sun wheel. In the 18th - 20th centuries, sailors filled tattoos depicting a wind rose as a talisman. They believed that such a talisman would help them return home. Nowadays, the wind rose is perceived as a symbol of a guiding star.
8-spoke wheel
Date of occurrence: around 2000 BC
Where was used: Egypt, Middle East, Asia.
Value: The wheel is a symbol of the sun, a symbol of cosmic energy. In almost all pagan cults, the wheel was an attribute of the sun gods, it symbolized the life cycle, constant rebirth and renewal.
In modern Hinduism, the wheel means infinite perfect completion. In Buddhism, the wheel symbolizes the eightfold path of salvation, space, the wheel of samsara, the symmetry and perfection of dharma, the dynamics of peaceful change, time and destiny.
There is also the concept of "wheel of fortune", which means a series of ups and downs, the unpredictability of fate. In Germany in the Middle Ages, an 8-spoke wheel was associated with Achtven, a magic rune spell. At the time of Dante, the Wheel of Fortune was depicted with 8 spokes of opposite sides of human life, periodically repeating: poverty-wealth, war-peace, obscurity-glory, patience-passion. The Wheel of Fortune enters the Major Arcana of the Tarot, often along with ascending and falling figures, like the wheel described by Boethius. The Wheel of Fortune Tarot card continues to depict these figures.
Ouroboros
Date of occurrence: The first images of the uroboros date back to 4200 BC, but historians believe that the symbol itself appeared much earlier.
Where was used: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Mesoamerica, Scandinavia, India, China.
Value: Ouroboros is a snake devouring its own tail, a symbol of eternity and infinity, as well as the cyclical nature of life, the alternation of life and death. This is how the uroboros was perceived in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece.
In Christianity, the symbol has changed its meaning, since in the Old Testament the serpent symbolized evil. Thus, the ancient Jews established an equal sign between the Ouroboros and the serpent from the Bible. In Gnosticism, the ouroboros personifies both good and evil at the same time.
Hammer and sickle
Date of occurrence: in state heraldry - 1918.
Where was used: USSR and various communist parties of the world
Value: The hammer has been a craft emblem since the Middle Ages. In the second half of the 19th century, the hammer became a symbol of the European proletariat. In Russian heraldry, the sickle meant harvest and harvest, and was often used in the coats of arms of various cities. But since 1918, these two signs have been combined into one, acquiring a new meaning. The hammer and sickle became a symbol of the ruling working class, the union of workers and peasants.
The moment when the symbol was created was described by Sergei Gerasimov, the author of the famous painting “Mother of the Partisan”: “Yevgeny Kamzolkin, standing next to me, thought about it, and said:“ What if we try such symbolism? - At the same time, he began to walk on the canvas. - To portray a sickle like this - it will be the peasantry, and inside the hammer - it will be the working class.
The hammer and sickle were sent from Zamoskvorechye to the Moscow Soviet on the same day, and there they rejected all the other sketches: a hammer with an anvil, a plow with a sword, a scythe with a wrench. Further, this symbol was transferred to the state emblem. Soviet Union, and the artist's name was forgotten for many years. They remembered him only in post-war time... Evgeny Kamzolkin lived a quiet life in Pushkino and did not claim royalties for such a quoted symbol.
Lily
Date of occurrence: in heraldry, the lily has been used since 496 AD.
Where was used: European countries, especially France.
Value: According to legend, the angel gave a golden lily to the king of the Franks Clovis after he converted to Christianity. But lilies have become an object of veneration much earlier. The Egyptians considered them to be a symbol of purity and innocence. In Germany, it was believed that the lily symbolized the afterlife and the atonement for sins. In Europe, before the Renaissance, the lily was a sign of mercy, justice and compassion. She was considered a royal flower. Today the lily is an established sign in heraldry.
Recent research has shown that the fleur-de-lis, in its classic form, is in fact a stylized representation of the iris.
Crescent
Date of occurrence Around 3500 BC
Where was used: the crescent sickle was an attribute of almost all lunar deities. It was widespread in Egypt, Greece, Sumer, India, Byzantium. After the conquest of Constantinople by the Muslims, the crescent moon became firmly associated with Islam.
Value: In many religions, the crescent moon symbolizes constant rebirth and immortality. Christians revered the crescent moon as a sign of the Virgin Mary, and in western Asia they believed that the crescent moon was a sign of cosmic forces. In Hinduism, the crescent moon was considered a symbol of control over the mind, and in Islam - divine protection, growth and rebirth. A crescent moon with a star meant heaven.
Two-headed eagle
Date of occurrence: 4000-3000 BC
Where was used: Sumer, Hittite Kingdom, Eurasia.
Value: In Sumer, the two-headed eagle had a religious meaning. He was a solar symbol - one of the images of the sun. From about the XIII century BC. e. the double-headed eagle was used by various countries and principalities as a coat of arms. The double-headed eagle was minted on the coins of the Golden Horde; in Byzantium it was a symbol of the Palaeologus dynasty, which ruled from 1261 to 1453. The double-headed eagle was depicted on the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire. To this day, this symbol is the central image of the coats of arms of many countries, including Russia.
Pentacle
Date of occurrence: The first images date back to 3500 BC.
Where was used: Since the ancient Sumerians, this sign has been used by almost every civilization
Value: The five-pointed star is considered a protection mark. The Babylonians used it as a talisman against thieves, the Jews associated the five-pointed star with five wounds on the body of Christ, and the magicians of medieval Europe knew the pentacle as "the seal of King Solomon." The star is still actively used both in religion and in the symbolism of different countries.
Swastika
Date of occurrence: The first images date back to 8000 BC.
Where was used: In Eastern Europe, Western Siberia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, pre-Columbian America. Exceptionally rare among the Egyptians. Among the ancient monuments of Phenicia, Arabia, Syria, Assyria, Babylon, Sumer, Australia, Oceania, the swastika was not found.
Value: The word "swastika" can be translated from Sanskrit as a greeting and a wish of good luck. The meanings of the swastika, like a symbol, are great, but the most ancient of them are movement, life, the Sun, light, prosperity.
Due to the fact that the swastika was used in fascist Germany, this symbol began to be firmly associated with Nazism, despite the original symbol of the sign.
All-seeing eye
Date of occurrence: 1510-1515 AD, but in pagan religions a symbol similar to the all-seeing eye appeared much earlier.
Where was used: Europe, Asia, Oceania, Ancient Egypt.
Value: The all-seeing eye is the sign of the all-seeing and all-knowing god who observes humanity. In ancient Egypt, the analogue of the All-Seeing Eye was Wadget (the eye of Horus or the eye of Ra), which symbolized various aspects of the divine structure of the world. The all-seeing eye, inscribed in a triangle, was a symbol of Freemasonry. Free stonemakers revered the number three as a symbol of the trinity, and the eye located in the center of the triangle symbolized the hidden truth.
Cross
Date of occurrence: ca.4000 BC
Where was used: Egypt, Babylon, India, Syria, Persia, Egypt, North and South America. After the birth of Christianity, the cross spread throughout the world.
Value: In ancient Egypt, the cross was considered a divine sign and symbolized life. In Assyria, a cross enclosed in a ring was a symbol of the sun god. Inhabitants South America believed that the cross drives away evil spirits.
Since the 4th century, Christians adopted the cross, and its meaning changed somewhat. In the modern world, the cross is associated with death and resurrection, as well as with salvation and eternal life.
Anarchy
The combination "A in a circle" was used in the 16th century by European alchemists under the influence of Kabbalistic magic as the first letters of the words: "Alpha and Omega", beginning and end.
In modern tradition, it was first used in the Spanish section of the 1st International as a designation for the catch phrase of the famous anarchist J. Proudhon "Anarchy is the mother of order" according to in capital letters L'anarchie and l'ordre.
Pacific
The famous symbol was developed in 1958 in Britain at the height of the anti- nuclear war as a combination of symbols semaphore alphabet"N" and "D" (the first letters of the phrase "nuclear disarmament" - nuclear disarmament). Later it began to be used as a symbol of universal reconciliation and the unity of mankind.
Card suits
In the classic (and most modern) French deck, the suit symbols were four signs - hearts, spades, tambourines, clubs, in the form in which they were widely used.
The oldest European deck - the Italian-Spanish, which came directly from the Arabs, depicted coins instead of tambourines, instead of a pike - a sword, instead of a red heart - a goblet, and instead of a clover - a club.
The signs of suits came to the modern form by means of a gradual euphemization. So, tambourines designated money as metal rattles (earlier tambourines were rhombic), clover was previously an acorn, the shape of the peak resembled leaves, which was reflected in the German deck, and the goblet underwent a complex evolution from the image of a rose to a heart. Each suit symbolized the feudal estates: merchants, peasants, knights and clergy, respectively.
16. Anchor
Time of appearance: the first centuries of our era.
Where was used: Everyone knows the anchor symbol as a nautical emblem. However, in the first centuries of the new era, the anchor was closely associated with Christianity. For the early Christians, who saw in it the hidden shape of the cross, the anchor personified the hope of salvation with caution, safety and strength.
In Christian iconography, the anchor as an emblem of security is the main attribute of St. Nicholas of Mirlikisky - the patron saint of sailors. A different meaning should be attributed to the anchor of the semi-legendary Pope Clement (88? -97?). According to church tradition, during the period of persecution of Christians, the pagans hung an anchor around the Pope's neck and drowned him in the sea. However, the waves of the sea soon parted, revealing the temple of God at the bottom. In this mythical underwater temple, the body of the holy champion of the faith was allegedly discovered.
The values: There are several meanings of the anchor. The anchor is a sacred object to which sacrifices were made, because it was often the only salvation for sailors. On the coins of Greece, Syria, Carthage, Phenicia and Rome, the anchor was most often depicted as a symbol of hope.
In the art of Ancient Rome, the anchor symbolized the joy of returning home after a long journey. On the graves of the 1st century, the image of the anchor was associated with the image of the church as a ship that carries souls along the stormy sea of life.
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, compared hope to a safe and strong anchor. The Greek word "ankura" (anchor) was associated with Latin expression"En kurio", that is, "in the Lord.
IN fine arts Renaissance anchor also signifies an attribute of hope. Especially popular in Renaissance painting was the allegorical emblem, which depicts a dolphin with an anchor. The dolphin symbolized speed, and the anchor symbolized restraint. At the bottom of the emblem was the inscription: "hurry slowly"
Olympic rings
Time of appearance: The Olympic emblem was first introduced in 1920 at the eighth Summer Olympics in Antwerp.
Where is used: One of the most recognizable symbols in the whole world consists of five rings, the uniqueness of the emblem lies in the simplicity of execution. The rings are arranged in a W-pattern, the colors are in strict order: blue, black, red, yellow and green.
What were the meanings: There are several theories of the origin and interpretation of the emblem of the Olympic Games. The first and main version says that the Olympic rings symbolically depict the unity of the five continents, which was invented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1913.
Until 1951, there was a belief that each color corresponds to a different continent. Europe was indicated in blue, Africa in black, America in red, Asia in yellow, green in Australia, but in 1951 they decided to move away from such a distribution of colors in order to move away from racial discrimination.
Another version says that the idea of five multi-colored rings was taken from Carl Jung. During the period of passion for Chinese philosophy, he connected a circle (a symbol of greatness and vital energy) with five colors, reflecting the types of energies (water, wood, fire, earth and metal).
In 1912, the psychologist introduced a new image of the Olympic competition, because in his opinion, each participant in the Olympic Games should have mastered each of the five sports - swimming (water - Blue colour), fencing (fire - red), cross-country running (ground - yellow), equestrian sports (tree - green) and shooting (metal - black)
The five rings emblem hides a deep meaning that reveals the essence of sport. It contains the idea of popularizing the Olympic movement, equality of each participating country, fair treatment of an athlete, healthy competition.
Compass and Square
Time of appearance: Henry Wilson Coyle, in The Masonic Encyclopedia, claims that the Compass and the Square weave appeared on the seal of the Aberdeen Lodge in 1762.
Where is used: Using a compass and a square, you can draw a circle inscribed in a square, and this is a reference to the seventh problem of Euclid, squaring the circle. But you should not assume that the Compass and the Square necessarily refer you to a mathematical problem, rather they symbolize a person's striving to achieve harmony between spiritual and physical nature.
The values: In this emblem, the Compass represents the vault of heaven, and the Square represents the Earth. The sky is symbolically associated with the place where the Great Builder of the Universe draws his plan, and the Earth is the place where man does his work. The compass combined with the Square is one of the most common symbols of Freemasonry.
If everything is clear with the name, then the origin of the $ icon is still a mystery. The following version is considered the most similar to the truth: the Spanish abbreviation "P" s ", which once stood for the currency of Spain, peso. Presumably, a vertical line remained from the letter P. This allowed to increase the writing speed, and the letter S remained unchanged. There is also a conspiracy version, along which two lines are the Pillars of Hercules.
Mars and Venus
Time of appearance: The famous sign of Mars ♂and Venus ♀, borrowed from astrology, was introduced by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1751 to indicate the sex of plants. Since then, these two symbols are called gender.
Where is used: The Venus symbol ♀ denotes the feminine principle and is used to denote a woman, female. Accordingly, the symbol of Mars ♂ personifies the masculine principle.
What are the values: The first symbols of Mars and Venus appeared in antiquity. The female sign of Venus is depicted as a circle with a cross pointing down. It is called the "Mirror of Venus", this sign symbolizes femininity, beauty and love. The male sign of Mars is depicted as a circle with an arrow pointing up and to the right. Mars means the power of the god of war, this symbol is also called “shield and spear of Mars” The combined symbols of Venus and Mars mean heterosexuality, love between representatives of different sexes.
S.P.Q.R. - Latin abbreviation, which was depicted on the standards of the Roman legions and which was used in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.
Coat of arms of Rome.
Currently used in the coat of arms of the city of Rome, it is also depicted on many city buildings and manholes.
The exact meaning of the S.P.Q.R. acronym most likely had an archaic origin even in the days of Ancient Rome.
The S almost certainly stands for the first letter of the word Senatus - Senate.
The origin of P is ambiguous, different researchers see here the first letter of the words Populus or Populusque, "people" and "and people", respectively.
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) Romulus, conqueror of Akron
The origin of Q is also a subject of controversy, it meant either que - "and", or Quirites, or Quiritium. Both of the latter - plural from Quiris "warrior with a spear", but also "citizen", which came from the name of Quirinus, originally a Sabine deity, whose sanctuary was on Quirinal, one of the seven hills on which the city arose. After Romulus concluded peace with the Sabines, Quirinus entered the Roman pantheon of gods. The deified Romulus was revered under the name of Quirinus.
In honor of Quirinus, Roman citizens called themselves Quirites. Quirinus is the god of the assembly, hence the full name of the Romans "the Roman people of the Quirites" (Populus Romanus Quiritium) (used in official addresses). At a later time, the cult of Quirin, pushed aside by the cult of Jupiter and Mars, did not play a special role. But the name "quirity" has been preserved.
Etching by Vaclav Hollar.
R most likely means Romae, Romanus, or Romanorum, which translates to Rome, Roman, or Romans, respectively.
All these values lead to the following options for decoding the S.P.Q.R. abbreviation:
Senatus Populusque Quiritium Romanus
o Senate and citizens of Rome, where Quiritium comes from Quiris - "citizen".
Detail of a mosaic floor in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan
You can cite a few more less consonant translations, but more accurately conveying the meaning of the phrase:
o "Senate and the free people of Rome" (some historians attribute the word "queerite" to the meaning - "free").
o “Senate and people of Rome's quirites” (the fact is that “quirite” is, in fact, a term denoting a citizen of Rome, and has no analogues in Russian).
o “Senate and civilian population Rome ".
Senatus Populusque Romanus
O Senate and people of Rome. This version was used since the founding of the Roman Republic and continued to be used throughout the existence of the Roman Empire. As such, it appears on most famous monuments and documents.
On the Arch of Titus.
The Arch of Titus, built around 81 CE, is a prime example of this. e. to honor Titus and his father Emperor Vespasian. Also, this version can be found on Trajan's Column, which was built in 113 AD. e. as a sign of respect for Emperor Trajan.
SPQR in Arezzo.
It should be remembered that all citizens, without exception, were liable for military service. The people of Rome also included women and children (but not slaves). However, these latter, unlike adult men, did not have full-fledged civil rights.
In 1998, the organization New Rome was created.
flag of New Rome.
Nova Roma(New Rome) - an international organization dedicated to renaissance ancient rome created in 1998 in the USA (or in the MMDCCLI a.u.c. in the Roman calendar) by Flavius Vedius Germanicus and Mark Cassius Crassus. Registered as an educational and religious non-profit organization. Nova Roma "aims to restore the classical Roman religion, culture and virtues." A declaration signed by the founders of the organization reads -
We, the Senate and the People of the Fourth Rome, for the sake of restoring the foundations of European civilization, declare the creation of the Fourth Rome as a sovereign state. We proclaim Nova Roma as an independent state and republic, with its own Constitution and legal Government, with all the international rights and obligations that such a status carries ...
At the ruins of an ancient Roman altar.
Since Nova Roma has a structure borrowed from the ancient Roman republic, with a Senate, magistrates, and laws passed by voting, and also because its members call themselves citizens of New Rome or simply Romans, this organization is often referred to as micronations. However, many of its members consider its educational and religious functions to be more important than the reconstruction of the state.
Nova Roma organizes gatherings and festivals for its citizens, at which, often in historical costumes, they discuss ancient culture, practice in Latin, visit historical sites.
Nova Roma members also have their own Roman names used at festivals, when doing business within the organization, and when communicating on Internet forums. For beginners, there is a censor-provided guide to choosing a Roman name.
As of January 2008, Nova Roma has about 1000 members worldwide, and another 1600 of those who have not been in contact with the group over the past year, but have the opportunity to renew their membership at will by contacting censors.
Use of a currency sign in front of denomination
Today, many currency symbols are written in front of the numerical value of the amount of money. First of all, this is typical for the dollar and pound symbols - respectively, $ 7.40 ("7 dollars and 40 cents") and £ 7.40 ("7 pounds and 40 pence"). It is curious that this tradition is gradually spreading to countries where writing is traditionally based on the Cyrillic alphabet, for example, in Ukraine and Belarus. In particular, the central banks of these countries, in their press releases dedicated to the approval of the graphic symbols of national currencies, officially indicate the possibility of using signs (₴ and Br, respectively) “both before and after the denomination”. The tradition of placing a currency symbol in front of the denomination dates back to Ancient Rome. So, a typical form of recording monetary amounts found on tablets from Vindoland, using the example of the second line of the tablet, looks like this - XXii, which means "12 denarii".
Dollar symbols and sestertius
According to one of the many versions of the origin of the dollar symbol, the $ sign goes back to the Roman sestertius symbol - IIS. In abbreviated writing, two letters II were superimposed on the letter S, forming a dollar sign.
Pound and Semunts Symbols
In ancient Rome, almost identical to the modern pound symbol, the (£) sign was used to denote semuntia. However, the pound symbol comes from the name of the ancient Roman unit of weight libra (libra), the semuntia symbol comes from the Greek letter "sigma" (Σ). 
Symbols of the hryvnia and dimidia sextula
Although the modern symbol of the Ukrainian hryvnia (₴) is almost identical to the symbol of the ancient Roman weight unit - dimidia (half) of the sextula, it is formed from the Cyrillic lowercase letter "g" written in italics, and not from the archaic (unfolded) Latin s. At the same time, two horizontal strokes of the hryvnia, according to the press release of the National Bank of Ukraine, "embody the idea of stability of the monetary unit ... This idea is traditionally used in many currency signs, which distinguishes them from other symbols and pictograms." One horizontal stroke of the ancient Roman weight unit means the division in half of the sextula itself.
In 781, under Charlemagne, the Carolingian monetary charter was adopted. In accordance with it, the weight of the libra (pounds) was significantly increased - to about 408 grams. The libra itself was equated with 20 solidi (shillings) or 240 denarii (1 solid = 12 denarii). In the numismatic literature, this new weight rate is called "Charlemagne's Pound" or "Carolingian Pound". Documents indicating the exact weight of the Carolingian pound have not survived, so it was reconstructed based on the weighing of denarii of that period, which gave an approximate result of 408 grams. 
As a system of measures and weights, the Carolingian system did not take hold - by the beginning of the 20th century, the pound had at least 20 varieties of weight norms, but how the monetary system existed in a number of countries until the end of the 20th century. So, borrowed from Charlemagne, the English, and later the British monetary system remained almost unchanged until 1971: the pound sterling was divided into 20 shillings and 240 pence. This system is sometimes referred to as l.s.d., £ .s.d. or £ sd - according to the first letters in the name of the corresponding ancient Roman monetary and weight units: libra (libra), solidus (solidus), denarius (denarius), which in the empire of Charlemagne and neighboring states became the pound (lyre in Italy, livre in France) , shilling (soldo in Italy, salt in France, sueldo in Spain) and denarius (pfennig in Germany, penny in England, denier in France).
So, it was the first letter in the Latin name of the coin - denarius - that became the symbol of penny and pfennig. In England and English-speaking countries, it was written in regular script (d), in Germany - in Gothic italics (₰). After 1971 (the year of the introduction of the decimal currency system in Great Britain; 1 pound sterling = 100 pence), the new penny began to be denoted by the letter (p); pfennig went out of circulation in 2002 after replacing the German mark with the euro. The schilling symbol is the Latin letter S, with which the word solidus begins; the word shilling itself is usually abbreviated as sh. Finally, from the first letter in the word libra, the symbols for the lyre and the pound sterling are derived, which are written in italics, the Latin letter L with one or two horizontal lines.
Modern monetary units derived from the Roman imperial
Many monetary and weight units of the Roman Empire had a significant impact on the formation of the monetary systems of the countries of Europe, Asia and Africa. First of all, it is the libra, which retained its value as the basic unit of weight in Byzantium and the medieval states of Europe, as well as solidus and denarius, to a lesser extent - nummia, folis and aureus.
Libra gave its name to the French livre, the Italian lira, and the modern Turkish lira.
The minting of denarii in Rome stopped with the fall of the empire in the 5th century, but imitations appeared very quickly: pfennig (German Pfennig or Pfenning) in Germany, penny (English penny) in England, denier (French denier) in France, penyaz (Polish . pieniądz) in Poland and Lithuania. Modern monetary units, whose names derive from the ancient Roman denarius, are the Macedonian denar, the Algerian, Bahraini, Jordanian, Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Libyan, Serbian and Tunisian dinars, as well as the Iranian bargaining dinar, equal to 1⁄100 rial.
Although the solidus (Latin solidus - solid, durable, massive) is considered primarily a Byzantine coin, its first issue was made in 309 AD. e. under the then Roman emperor Constantine I. For a long time, solidi were the main gold monetary unit of the Roman Empire, then Byzantium, and then the barbarian states of Europe. In France, the name salt comes from it (later - sous), in Italy - soldo, in Spain - sueldo. The Germanized name for the solid is shilling. Modern "solidi" are bargaining Vietnamese sous (1⁄100 dong), as well as Kenyan, Somali, Tanzanian and Ugandan shillings.
The names of the following modern converting currency units also originate from the Roman ones:
luma (1⁄100 Armenian dram) - through Syriac. from the name of the Byzantine coin "nummia" (lat. nummus);
fils (1⁄100 UAE dirham, 1⁄100 Yemeni rial, 1⁄1000 Bahraini, Jordanian, Iraqi and Kuwaiti dinars), as well as pool (1⁄100 Afghan Afghani) - from lat. follis (pouch) through the name of the ancient Roman coin follis;
eire (1⁄100 Icelandic krone) and ere (1⁄100 Danish, Norwegian and Swedish kronor) - from lat. aurum (gold) through the name of the ancient Roman coin aureus (lat.aureus).
At the same time, today, antique symbols are not used to briefly designate modern monetary units derived from ancient Roman ones. For the most part, these are abbreviations of modern names in Latin, Cyrillic or Arabic.
Conclusion
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the foundations of the Roman monetary system were formed during republican times. Its main denominations were copper aces and silver denarii, as well as their multiples and fractions. For several centuries, the reduction of the coin was constantly carried out in Rome.
The production of coins was influenced by both military and political events and the national religious characteristics of the lands conquered by the Roman Empire.
Each new emperor sought to leave his mark on the coinage of the empire, carrying out various monetary reforms and leaving his image on the coins, which later greatly helped scholarly historians in studying not only the coinage, but also the history of the Roman Empire as a whole.
The influence of the Roman Empire on the conquered lands also contributed to the development of the minting on their territory, the formation of mints there with local self-government. This is evidenced by the reduction of mints on the coins of the Roman Empire.
The coinage of the Roman Empire is a reliable source of not only the development of numismatics, but also evidence historical facts generally.
Coins of this time are for us not only the result of the technical development of the coin business, but also a work of art, a fact that confirms the presence of the aesthetic taste of the rulers of the Roman Empire and a reflection of the influence of various factors on it.
The coins of the empire also reflect the fact of Roman polytheism, the importance of a certain deity for each event and for each emperor. We also see the presence of images on coins borrowed from the conquered territories of the gods.
Even after the death of the Roman Empire, the symbols and denominations of its monetary system were actively used in the monetary units of different states, which we see on the monetary units of various countries and our time.
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