"In the Greek pantheon, the antiquity of Iris is as great as her importance is small." Daughter of 1st generation gods Electra and Thaumas, Iris dresses in rainbow colors. As messenger of the gods, she flies on golden wings. Iris appears in nine of the twenty-four books of Homer’s The Iliad, always speeding with the winds, delivering news. Consistent with the rest of Greek myth, Iris’s swiftly delivered messages were rarely of peace or good fortune. One job of Iris was to fill a golden jug with holy water for Zeus, who made misbeh ...

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Rainbows in mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Ancient beliefs, Rainbows in mythology - Sumerian mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Nordic mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Greek mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Australian aboriginal mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Biblical rainbows, Rainbows in mythology - Other mythologies

Read more here: » Rainbows in mythology: Encyclopedia II - Rainbows in mythology - Greek mythology

Not all peoples have regarded the rainbow’s power as solely benevolent. A rather ambiguous perception of the rainbow strikes a vein in all world culture, through its entire storied past. The Epic of Gilgamesh, who was an ancient Sumerian king (ca.2000 BC), is our first detailed written evidence of human civilization. In a Victorian translation of a Gilgamesh variant, Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton's Epic of Ishtar and Izdubar, King Izdubar sees "a mass of colors like the rainbow’s hues" that are "linked to divine sanction for war." Later in the epic, Izdubar sees the "glistening colors of the rainbow rise" i ...

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Rainbows in mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Ancient beliefs, Rainbows in mythology - Sumerian mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Nordic mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Greek mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Australian aboriginal mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Biblical rainbows, Rainbows in mythology - Other mythologies

Read more here: » Rainbows in mythology: Encyclopedia II - Rainbows in mythology - Sumerian mythology

In Aboriginal (Australian) mythology, the rainbow snake is the Creator (Kurreah, Andrenjinyi, Yingarna, Ngalyod et. al.) in the Dreaming, which is the infinite period of time that "began with the world’s creation and that has no end. People, animals, and Eternal Beings like the Rainbow Serpent are all part of the Dreaming, and everyday life is affected by the Dreaming’s immortals," in almost every Australian Aborigine tribe. In these tribes (there are over 50), actual rainbows are gigantic, often malevolent, serpents who inhabit the sky or ground. This snake has different names in differe ...

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Rainbows in mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Ancient beliefs, Rainbows in mythology - Sumerian mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Nordic mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Greek mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Australian aboriginal mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Biblical rainbows, Rainbows in mythology - Other mythologies

Read more here: » Rainbows in mythology: Encyclopedia II - Rainbows in mythology - Australian aboriginal mythology

According to the Biblical account, after Noah saved the animals from the Great Flood, a rainbow appeared. As the flood had killed all other living beings, the rainbow came to symbolize God's promise that he would never again destroy all life. Medieval versions of the story of Noah's Ark merges the celestial and earthly bows, and further turns the rainbow around to its existing arch. The existing rainbow is a weapon God turned towards himse ...

See also:

Rainbows in mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Ancient beliefs, Rainbows in mythology - Sumerian mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Nordic mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Greek mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Australian aboriginal mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Biblical rainbows, Rainbows in mythology - Other mythologies

Read more here: » Rainbows in mythology: Encyclopedia II - Rainbows in mythology - Biblical rainbows

The swastika is a holy symbol in Hinduism, Jainism, Heathenry and Buddhism. In the West, it is more widely known as symbol of Nazism. The motif seems to have first been used in Neolithic Eurasia. However, it was also adopted in Native American cultures, seemingly independently. The swastika is now used universally in religious and civil ceremonies in India. Most Indian temples, weddings, festivals and celebrations are decorated with swastikas. The symbol was introduced to Southeast Asia by Hindu kings and remains an integral part of B ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Comet/bird hypothesis, Swastika - Early Hinduism, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Overview

The National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) formally adopted the swastika or Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) in 1920. This was used on the party's flag (right), badge, and armband. (It had been used unofficially by the NSDAP and its predecessor, the German Workers Party, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP), however.) In Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote: I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Comet/bird hypothesis, Swastika - Early Hinduism, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Nazi Germany

The swastika is found all over Hindu temples, signs, altars, pictures and iconography where it is sacred. It is used in all Hindu weddings, festivals, ceromonies, houses and doorways, clothing and jewelry, motor transport and even decorations on food items like cakes and pastries. It is one of the 108 symbols of Vishnu and represents the sun's rays without which there would be no life. The Aum symbol is also sacred in Hinduism. Whereas Aum is representative of a single primordial tone of c ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Religion and mythology

The swastika is common as a design motif in current Hindu architecture and Indian artwork as well as in ancient Western architecture, frequently appearing in mosaics, friezes, and other works across the ancient world. Ancient Greek architectural designs are replete with interlinking swastika motifs. Related symbols in classical Western architecture include the cross, the three-legged triskele or triskelion and the rounded lauburu. The swastika symbol is also known in these contexts b ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Art and architecture

Geometrically, the swastika can be regarded as an irregular icosagon or 20-sided polygon. The arms are of varying width and are often rectilinear (but need not be). However, the proportions of the Nazi swastika were fixed: they were based on a 5x5 grid.[7] Characteristic is the 90° rotational symmetry (that is, the symmetry of the cyclic group C4h) and chirality, hence the absence of reflectional symmetry, and the existence o ...

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Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Geometry and symbolism

The British author Rudyard Kipling, who was strongly influenced by Indian culture, had a swastika on the dust jackets of all his books until the rise of Nazism made this inappropriate. One of Kipling's Just So Stories, "The Crab That Played With The Sea", had an elaborate full-page illustration by Kipling including a stone bearing what was called "a magic mark" (a swastika); some later editions of the stories blotted out t ...

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Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Early 20th century

The National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) formally adopted the swastika or Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) in 1920. This was used on the party's flag (right), badge, and armband. (It had been used unofficially by the NSDAP and its predecessor, the German Workers Party, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP), however.) In Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote: I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Nazi Germany

In 2004, Microsoft released a "critical update"[39] to remove two swastikas and a Star of David from the font Bookshelf Symbol 7. The font had been bundled with Microsoft Office 2003. During their 2004 live show Skinny Puppy showed imagery that involved the presidential seal and the swastika as well as a staged assassination and beheading. This resulted in a boycott by a group called PABAAH and during a show in Atlanta ...

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Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Popular culture and media

Because of its use by Hitler and the Nazis and, in modern times, by neo-Nazis and other hate groups, for many people in the West, the swastika is associated primarily with Nazism, fascism, and white supremacy in general. Hence, outside historical contexts, it has become taboo in Western countries. For example, the German postwar criminal code makes the public showing of the Hakenkreuz (the swastika) and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable, except for scholarly reasons. It is not clear whether the German postwar code actually ban ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Taboo in Western countries

The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit svastika (in Devanagari, स्वस्तिक), meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. It is composed of su- (cognate with Greek ευ-), meaning "good, well" and asti a verbal abstract to the root as "to be"; See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Etymology and alternative names

The swastika is a holy symbol in Hinduism, Jainism, Heathenry and Buddhism. In the West, it is more widely known as symbol of Nazism. The motif seems to have first been used in Neolithic Eurasia. However, it was also adopted in Native American cultures, seemingly independently. The swastika is now used universally in religious and civil ceremonies in India. Most Indian temples, weddings, festivals and celebrations are decorated with swastikas. The symbol was introduced to Southeast Asia by Hindu kings and remains an integral part of B ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Overview

The swastika is found all over Hindu temples, signs, altars, pictures and iconography where it is sacred. It is used in all Hindu weddings, festivals, ceromonies, houses and doorways, clothing and jewelry, motor transport and even decorations on food items like cakes and pastries. It is one of the 108 symbols of Vishnu and represents the sun's rays without which there would be no life. The Aum symbol is also sacred in Hinduism. Whereas Aum is representative of a single primordial tone of c ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Comet/bird hypothesis, Swastika - Early Hinduism, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West, Swastika - Geometry and symbolism, Swastika - Sauwastika, Swastika - Art and architecture, Swastika - Religion and mythology, Swastika - Hinduism, Swastika - Buddhism, Swastika - Jainism, Swastika - The Abrahamic religions, Swastika - Other Asian traditions, Swastika - Native American traditions, Swastika - Pre-Christian European traditions, Swastika - Early 20th century, Swastika - Britain, Swastika - North America, Swastika - Russia, Swastika - Poland, Swastika - Finland, Swastika - Sweden, Swastika - Latvia, Swastika - Icelandic, Swastika - Ireland, Swastika - Nazi Germany, Swastika - Taboo in Western countries, Swastika - Popular culture and media, Swastika - Notes

Read more here: » Swastika: Encyclopedia II - Swastika - Religion and mythology

The swastika is common as a design motif in current Hindu architecture and Indian artwork as well as in ancient Western architecture, frequently appearing in mosaics, friezes, and other works across the ancient world. Ancient Greek architectural designs are replete with interlinking swastika motifs. Related symbols in classical Western architecture include the cross, the three-legged triskele or triskelion and the rounded lauburu. The swastika symbol is also known in these contexts b ...

See also:

Swastika, Swastika - Overview, Swastika - Etymology and alternative names, Swastika - History, Swastika - Comet/bird hypothesis, Swastika - Early Hinduism, Swastika - Adoption of the swastika in the West,