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Symbols Influence on History

Before man learned about words and letters, he used different drawings and pictures to communicate stories and narratives to other people. Certain drawings or pictures were commonly used to connote particular things, thus symbols were born. Through the years, people all over the world have used symbols to mean many different things. They have become an easy way to point out an ideology, to express an abstract thought or even to denote a group or community who share the same goals. Below are some of the most iconic symbols used throughout history and how they influenced the world.

The Christian fish

The Vesica Pisces Pendant
with the Cherubim

Christians started using this symbol during the first three centuries after Christ. This was the time when many Christians were being persecuted. Some say that when a believer met a man, he drew a curved line resembling half of a fish. If the other man was a follower of Christ as well, he would complete the lower half with another curved line to create a simple drawing of a fish.

This symbol was meant to pertain to Jesus Christ, who was said to be “a fisher of men.” Other historians believe that the symbol stemmed from the word “Ichthys,” whose first letters could mean Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter, an acrostic for 'Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior.' This symbol is still used, until now, by Christians all over the world.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics

The English alphabet that we know now is largely influenced by Egyptian hieroglyphics and symbols. Some historians even think that all alphabets of the world stem from these hieroglyphics, since ancient Egyptians used symbols to represent language and even sound.

Emerald Tablet bracelet with egyptian Hieroglyphics letters engraved

The Mayan Calendar

It’s hard to imagine what life (and work) would be like without a calendar. It’s a good thing that the world adopted what was then a mixture of symbols and different glyphs. The Mayan calendar system dates as far back as 6th century BC and was used more than just to differentiate days and seasons. It was also used to understand what happened in the past and even, possibly, to see what could happen in the future.

Coats of arms

These symbols were used in Europe to denote an army, a group of people or even a family lineage. Even the Japanese have their coats of arms, called the “kamon.” These symbols have evolved into the different flags that each country has to signify nationalism patriotism as well as the unity of its people.

The swastika

The swastika can be simply described as an equilateral cross with the arms bended at right angles. Even before Adolf Hitler was born, the swastika was already used in Indo-European cultures in the Neolithic ages. It was used to connote good fortune or luck and is still considered one of the sacred symbols of Hinduism and Buddhism.

Of course, most of us consider this as a fearsome symbol because Hitler used the swastika as his own insignia when he ordered the mass murder of millions of Jews and the death in war of tens of millions people world wide.

The peace sign

This symbol was born in the UK about 50 years ago. It was used in anti-nuclear protests in Trafalgar Square in London. The sign was taken from the semaphores, or flag symbols, for “N” and “D” (which are the first letters in “Nuclear” and “Disarmament”) and the circle was drawn to connote the world or the earth. The symbol then became prominent in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when Americans used it for anti-war protests. It has since become one of the few symbols used for counter-culture groups and many protesters worldwide.