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The human skull is an obvious and frequent symbol of death, found in many cultures and religious traditions. [1] Human skeletons and sometimes non-human animal skeletons and skulls can also be used as blunt images of death; the traditional figures of the Grim Reaper – a black-hooded skeleton with a scythe – is one use of such symbolism. [2]
The art of the Middle Ages was mainly religious, reflecting the relationship between God and man, created in His image. The animal often appears confronted or dominated by man, but a second current of thought stemming from Saint Paul and Aristotle, which developed from the 12th century onwards, includes animals and humans in the same community of living creatures.
The Pashupati seal, showing a seated and possibly tricephalic figure, surrounded by animals; circa 2350–2000 BCE. The Pashupati seal (also Mahayogi seal, [1] Proto-Śiva seal [2] the adjective "so-called" sometimes applied to "Pashupati"), [3] is a steatite seal which was uncovered in Mohenjo-daro, now in modern day Pakistan, a major urban site of the Indus Valley civilisation ("IVC ...
As seen in heraldry, the sword held upward by the second Horseman may represent war or a declaration of war. In military symbolism, swords held upward, especially crossed swords held upward, signify war and entering into battle (see, for example, the historical and modern images and the coat of arms of Joan of Arc). [33]
Coiled Serpent, unknown Aztec artist, 15th–early 16th century CE, Stone, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States [1] The use of serpents in Aztec art ranges greatly from being an inclusion in the iconography of important religious figures such as Quetzalcoatl and Cōātlīcue, [2] to being used as symbols on Aztec ritual objects, [3] and decorative stand-alone representations ...
For Dubois, hawks symbolize the ability to rise above our earthly realm and view life from a higher vantage point: "Hawks soar far above and take in the whole landscape from above.
The questing beast is a description of the medieval mythological view on giraffes, [citation needed] whose generic name of Camelopardalis originated from their description of being half-camel and half-leopard. [2] Evidence of this is shown in the Arthuriana paper, showing that the beast comes from a mistranslation of the Arabic word Zaraffa.
The ouroboros is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death and rebirth; the snake's skin-sloughing symbolises the transmigration of souls. The snake biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol. [9]