A crescent shape (, ) is a
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
or
emblem
An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint.
Emblems vs. symbols
Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...
used to represent the
lunar phase
Concerning the lunar month of ~29.53 days as viewed from Earth, the lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion, which can be expressed quantitatively using areas or angles, or described qualitatively using the t ...
in the first quarter (the "
sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
itself.
In
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his head symbolising that he is the master of time and is himself timeless.
It is used as the
astrological symbol
Historically, astrological and astronomical symbols overlapped. Frequently used symbols include signs of the zodiac and classical planets. These originate from medieval Byzantine codices. Their current form is a product of the European Renaissan ...
for
the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the List of natural satellites, fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth ( ...
, and hence as the
alchemical symbol for
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
. It was also the emblem of
Diana/
Artemis
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
, and hence represented
virginity
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
. In
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
Marian veneration
The veneration of Mary, mother of Jesus, in the Catholic Church encompasses various devotions which include prayer, pious acts, visual arts, poetry, and music devoted to her. Popes have encouraged it, while also taking steps to reform some man ...
, it is associated with the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
.
From its use as roof
finial
A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...
in
Ottoman era mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s, it has also become associated with
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, and the crescent was introduced as
chaplain badge for Muslim chaplains in the
US military in 1993.
[On December 14, 1992, the Army Chief of Chaplains requested that an insignia be created for future Muslim chaplains, and the design (a crescent) was completed January 8, 1993. Emerson, William K., ''Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms'' (1996),]
p. 269f
Prior to its association with Islam, a crescent badge had already been used in the US military for the rank of commissary sergeant (Emerson 1996:261f).
Symbolism
The crescent symbol is primarily used to represent the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, not necessarily in a particular
lunar phase
Concerning the lunar month of ~29.53 days as viewed from Earth, the lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion, which can be expressed quantitatively using areas or angles, or described qualitatively using the t ...
.
When used to represent a
waxing or waning lunar phase, "crescent" or "increscent" refers to the waxing first quarter, while the symbol representing the waning final quarter is called "decrescent".
The crescent symbol was long used as a symbol of the Moon in
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
, and by extension of
Silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
(as the
corresponding metal) in
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
. The astrological use of the symbol is attested in early Greek
papyri
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a d ...
containing
horoscope
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
s.
In the 2nd-century ''Bianchini's
planisphere'', the personification of the Moon is shown with a crescent attached to her headdress.
Its ancient association with
Ishtar/Astarte and
Diana is preserved in the Moon (as symbolised by a crescent) representing the
female principle (as juxtaposed with the
Sun representing the
male principle), and (Artemis-Diana being a virgin goddess) especially
virginity
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
and female
chastity.
In
Christian symbolism
Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas.
The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by bei ...
, the crescent entered
Marian iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
, by the association of Mary with the
Woman of the Apocalypse (described with "the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" in
Revelation)
The most well known representation of Mary as the Woman of the Apocalypse is the
Virgin of Guadalupe.
Shape
The crescent shape is a type of
lune, the latter consisting of a
circular disk with a portion of another disk removed from it, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular
arcs which intersect at two points. In a crescent, the enclosed shape does not include the center of the original disk.
The tapered regions towards the points of intersection of the two arcs are known as the "horns" of the crescent. The classical crescent shape has its horns pointing upward (and is often worn as horns when worn as a crown or diadem, e.g. in depictions of the lunar goddess, or in the headdress of Persian kings, etc.
The word ''
crescent'' is derived
etymologically
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words an ...
from the present participle of the Latin verb ' "to grow", technically denoting the waxing moon (). As seen from the northern hemisphere, the waxing Moon tends to appear with its horns pointing towards the left, and conversely the waning Moon with its horns pointing towards the right; the English word ''crescent'' may however refer to the shape regardless of its orientation, except for the technical language of
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
ing used in
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
, where the word "increscent" refers to a crescent shape with its horns to the left, and "decrescent" refers to one with its horns to the right, while the word "crescent" on its own denotes a crescent shape with horns pointing upward.
The shape of the lit side of a spherical body (most notably the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
) that appears to be less than half illuminated by the
Sun as seen by the viewer appears in a different shape from what is generally termed a crescent in planar geometry:
Assuming the
terminator lies on a
great circle
In mathematics, a great circle or orthodrome is the circular intersection of a sphere and a plane passing through the sphere's center point.
Any arc of a great circle is a geodesic of the sphere, so that great circles in spherical geomet ...
, the crescent Moon will actually appear as the figure bounded by a half-
ellipse
In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...
and a half-circle, with the major axis of the ellipse coinciding with a diameter of the semicircle.
Unicode encodes a crescent (increscent) at U+263D (☽) and a decrescent at U+263E (☾).
The
Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block provides variants with faces: and .
History
Early history
![Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu.jpg)
The crescent shape is used to represent the Moon, and the Moon deity
Nanna/Sin from an early time, visible in
Akkadia
The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule ...
n
cylinder seals as early as 2300 BC.
The
Egyptian logograph representing the Moon also had a crescent shape
N11 (
Gardiner Gardiner may refer to:
Places
Settlements
;Canada
* Gardiner, Ontario
;United States
* Gardiner, Maine
* Gardiner, Montana
* Gardiner (town), New York
** Gardiner (CDP), New York
* Gardiner, Oregon
* Gardiner, Washington
* West Gardiner, Maine
...
N11, "moon" (with increscent and decrescent variants); variant N12
N12). In addition, there is a
19th-dynasty hieroglyph representing the "moon with its lower half obscured (N9
N9 , with a variant with a crescent shape N10
N10).
The crescent was well used in the iconography of the
ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
and was used by the
Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...
in the 8th century BC as far as
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
and
Numidia
Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...
in modern
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
and
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. The crescent and star also appears on pre-Islamic coins of South Arabia.
The combination of
star and crescent also arises in the
ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
, representing the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and
Ishtar (the planet Venus), often combined into a triad with the
solar disk. It was inherited both in
Sassanian and
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
iconography.
Classical antiquity
Selene, the
moon goddess
A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be found ...
, was depicted with a crescent upon her head, often referred to as her
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
, and a major identifying feature of hers in ancient works of art.
In the iconography of the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
, the crescent became the symbol of
Artemis
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
-
Diana, the virgin hunter goddess associated with the Moon. Numerous depictions show Artemis-Diana wearing the crescent Moon as part of her headdress.
The related symbol of the
star and crescent was the emblem of the
Mithradates dynasty in the
Kingdom of Pontus
Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian origin), which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemeni ...
and was also used as the emblem of
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
.
File:Astarte with horns.jpg, Astarte with horns, statuette from Seleucid-era Mesopotamia
File:Clipeus Selene Terme.jpg, Bust of Selene on a Roman sarcophagus
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
(3rd century)
File:Tagh1.jpg, Taq-e Bostan
Taq-e Bostan ( fa, طاق بستان, ) is a site with a series of large rock reliefs from the era of the Sassanid Empire of Persia (Iran), carved around the 4th century CE.
This example of Persian Sassanid art is located 5 km from the ...
, from the Sassanid Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
of Persia ( pre-Islamic era). Note the crescent above the arch.
Middle Ages
![Drogheda_crest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Drogheda_crest.svg)
The crescent remained in use as an emblem in
Sassanid Persia, used as a
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
regal or astrological symbol. In the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
it came to be associated with the
Orient
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
(the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
and
Outremer in general) and was widely used (often alongside a
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
) in
Crusader seals
The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political int ...
and
coins. It was used as a
heraldic charge by the later 13th century.
Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, the claimant to the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
who ruled Cyprus until overthrown by the crusading King
Richard I of England
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
, used arms with "a crescent of gold on a shade of azure, with a blazing star of eight points". Later, King Richard granted the same as the coat of arms of the city of
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, in recognition of the significant involvement of soldiers, sailors, and vessels from Portsmouth in the conquest of Cyprus. This remains
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
's coat of arms up to the present.
Anna Notaras
Anna Notaras Palaiologina ( gr, Ἄννα Νοταρᾶ Παλαιολογίνα; died 8 July 1507) was the daughter of Loukas Notaras, the last '' megas doux'' of the Byzantine Empire.
Biography
Anna probably left Constantinople prior to fall o ...
, daughter of the last ''
megas doux'' of the Byzantine Empire
Loukas Notaras, after the fall of Constantinople and her emigration to Italy, made a seal with her coat of arms which included "two lions holding above the crescent a cross or a sword".
From its use in Sassanid Persia, the crescent also found its way into Islamic iconography after the
Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
Th ...
.
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
is said to have hung two crescent-shaped ornaments captured from the Sassanid capital
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...
in the
Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
.
The crescent appears to have been adopted as an emblem on
military flags
A war flag, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few countri ...
by the Islamic armies from at least the 13th century, although the scholarly consensus holds that the widespread use of the crescent in Islam develops later, during the 14th to 15th century.
The use of such flags is reflected in the 14th-century ''
Libro del Conoscimiento
The or ''Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms'', also known as the ''Book of All Kingdoms'', is an anonymous 14th-century Castilian geographical and armorial manual (dated to ca. 1385).
It is written in the form of imaginary autobiographical tr ...
'' and the
Catalan Atlas
The Catalan Atlas ( ca, Atles català, ) is a medieval world map, or mappamundi, created in 1375 that has been described as the most important map of the Middle Ages in the Catalan language, and as "the zenith of medieval map-work".
It was pro ...
.
Examples include the flags attributed to
Gabes,
Tlemcen
Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...
,
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
and
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
,
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
/
Dongola
Dongola ( ar, دنقلا, Dunqulā), also spelled ''Dunqulah'', is the capital of the state of Northern Sudan, on the banks of the Nile, and a former Latin Catholic bishopric (14th century). It should not be confused with Old Dongola, an ancien ...
(documented by
Angelino Dulcert
Angelino Dulcert (floruit, fl. 1339), probably the same person known as Angelino de Dalorto (floruit, fl. 1320s), and whose real name was probably Angelino de Dulceto or Dulceti or possibly Angelí Dolcet, was an Italian people, Italian-Majorcan ca ...
in 1339) and the
Mamluks of Egypt
The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled medieval Egypt, Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13 ...
.
The Roman Catholic fashion of depicting
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
standing or sitting on a crescent develops in the 15th century.
Early modern and modern
The goddess
Diana was associated with the Moon in classical mythology. In reference to this, feminine jewelry representing crescents, especially
diadems, became popular in the early modern period. The
tarot
The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...
card of the "
Popess" also wears a crescent on her head.
Conrad Grünenberg
Conrad Grünenberg, also spelled Konrad, Grünemberg, Grünberg (probably born around 1415; died 1494) was a patrician from Constance in southern Germany, known as the author of three books, two armorials and a travelogue: the ''Österreichische ...
in his ''Pilgrimage to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
'' (1486) consistently depicts cities in the Holy Land with crescent finials.
Flags with crescents appear to have been used on Ottoman vessels since at least the 16th century.
Prints depicting the
Battle of Lepanto (1571), including the print by
Agostino Barberigo Agostino may refer to:
* Agostino (name)
* ''Agostino'' (film), an Italian film directed by Mauro Bolognini
* ''Agostino'' (novel), a short novel by Alberto Moravia
*, an Italian coaster
See also
* Agostini (disambiguation)
* D'Agostino (disambig ...
of Rome made just a few weeks after the battle, and the Martino Rota of Venice in the following year, show the Ottoman vessels displaying flags with one or several crescents in various orientations (as do the monumental paintings commissioned later based on these prints). Rota also shows numerous crescent finials, both on ships and on fortresses depicted in the background, as well as some finials with stars or suns radiant, and in some cases a sun radiant combined with a crescent in the star-and-crescent configuration.
The official adoption of
star and crescent as the
Ottoman state
The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were j ...
symbol started during the reign of Sultan
Mustafa III
Mustafa III (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sālis''; 28 January 1717 – 21 January 1774) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30), and his consort Mihrişah Kadın. He was succeeded by his ...
(1757–1774) and its use became well-established during Sultan
Abdul Hamid I (1774–1789) and Sultan
Selim III
Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...
(1789–1807) periods. A ' (decree) from 1793 states that the ships in the
Ottoman navy have that flag.
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
, who became Pasha of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in 1805, introduced the first
national flag
A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...
of Egypt, red with three white crescents, each accompanied by a white star.
The association of the crescent with
the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
appears to have resulted in a gradual association of the crescent shape with
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
in the 20th century. A
Red Crescent appears to have been used as a replacement of the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
as early as in the
Russo-Turkish War of 1877/8, and it was officially adopted in 1929.
While some Islamic organisations since the 1970s have embraced the crescent as their logo or emblem (e.g. ''
Crescent International
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
'' magazine, established 1980), some Muslim publications tend to emphasize that the interpretation of the crescent, historically used on the banners of Muslim armies, as a "religious symbol" of Islam was an error made by the "Christians of Europe". The identification of the crescent as an "Islamic symbol" is mentioned by
James Hastings
James Hastings (26 March 1852 – 15 October 1922) was a Scottish United Free Church minister and biblical scholar. He is best known for producing major reference works, including a 5-volume '' Dictionary of the Bible'' and a 13-volume ''Encyc ...
as a "common error" to which "even approved writers on Oriental subjects" are prone as early as 1928.
The crescent was used on a flag of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
and was called the
Liberty (or Moultrie) Flag.
The symbol of the
Triple Goddess
A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history ...
is a circle flanked by a left facing and right facing crescent, which represents a
maiden,
mother
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...
and
crone
In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be characterized as disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructive. The Crone is also an archetypal fig ...
archetype. The
biohazard symbol
Hazard symbols or warning symbols are recognisable symbols designed to warn about hazardous or dangerous materials, locations, or objects, including electric currents, poisons, and radioactivity. The use of hazard symbols is often regulated by ...
bears peculiar resemblance to it.
File:Crescents badge of the king Henry II of France.png, Triple crescent badge of Henry II of France
Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...
(Château d'Écouen
The Château d'Écouen is an historic château in the commune of Écouen, some 20 km north of Paris, France, and a notable example of French Renaissance architecture. Since 1975, it has housed the collections of the Musée national de la Renaissan ...
)
File:Three_Mamelukes_with_lances_on_horseback.jpg, Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
lancers, early 16th century (etching by Daniel Hopfer Daniel Hopfer (circa 1470 in Kaufbeuren – 1536 in Augsburg) was a German artist who is widely believed to have been the first to use etching in printmaking, at the end of the fifteenth century. He also worked in woodcut. Although his etchings we ...
)
File:Lepanto f1.jpg, The painting of the 1571 Battle of Lepanto by Tommaso Dolabella (c. 1632) shows a variety of naval flags with crescents attributed to the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
File:Laureys_a_Castro_-_A_Sea_Fight_with_Barbary_Corsairs.jpg, A naval battle painting of the Barbary state of Ottoman Algiers
The Regency of Algiers ( ar, دولة الجزائر, translit=Dawlat al-Jaza'ir) was a state in North Africa lasting from 1516 to 1830, until it was conquered by the French. Situated between the regency of Tunis in the east, the Sultanate o ...
titled ''A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs'' by Laureys a Castro
Laureys a Castro or Lourenço A. Castro was a Flemish painter of marine views and portraits who is mainly known for his work carried out in England roughly between 1672 and 1700. He was regarded as a leading marine painter in England.
Life
Th ...
, c. 1681
File:BadWaldsee Frauenbergkirche Gemälde Madonna.jpg, Madonna on the crescent, Bad Waldsee church (17th century)
File:Pompeo Batoni - Retrato de Dama como Diana Caçadora.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady as Diana'' by Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...
(1760s)
File:Triple-Goddess-Waxing-Full-Waning-Symbol.svg, Symbol of the Triple Goddess
File:Horned-God-Symbol.svg, A circle with an upward facing crescent representing the Wiccan
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...
Horned God
Heraldry
The crescent has been used as a
heraldic charge since the 13th century.
In heraldic terminology, the term "crescent" when used alone refers to a crescent with the horns pointing upward. A crescent with the horns pointing left (''dexter'') is called "a crescent increscent" (or simply "an increscent"), and when the horns are pointing right (''sinister''), it is called "a crescent decrescent" (or "a decrescent"). A crescent with horns pointing down is called "a crescent reversed". Two crescents with horns pointing away from each other are called "addorsed".
[Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, ''A complete guide to heraldry '' (1909), p. 289.]
''
Siebmachers Wappenbuch
''Siebmachers Wappenbuch'' () is a roll of arms first published in 1605 as two heraldic multivolume book series of armorial bearings or coats of arms of the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as coats of arms of city-states and some bur ...
'' (1605) has 48 coats of arms with one or more crescents, for example:
*''Azure, a crescent moon argent pierced by an arrow fesswise Or all between in chief three mullets of six points and in base two mullets of six points argent'' (von Hagen, p. 176);
*''Azure, an increscent and a decrescent addorsed Or'' (von Stoternheim, p. 146);
*''Per pale Or and sable, a crescent moon and in chief three mullets of six points counterchanged'' (von Bodenstein, p. 182).
In English heraldry, the crescent is used as a
difference denoting a second son.
File:DeringRoll.jpg, Three examples of coats of arms with crescents from the Dering Roll
The Dering Roll is the oldest English roll of arms surviving in its original form. It was made between 1270 and 1280 and contains the coat of arms of 324 knights, starting with two illegitimate children of King John. Sir Edward Dering acquired th ...
(c. 1270): No. 118: Willem FitzLel (sable crusily and three crescents argent); no. 120: John Peche (gules, a crescent or, on a chief argent two mullets gules); no. 128: Rauf de Stopeham (argent, two (of three) crescents and a canton gules).
File:Wappen Neuamt.png, Coat of arms of the Neuamt
Neuamt was a bailiwick (''Obervogtei'') of the Zürichgau, a subject territory of Zürich within the Old Swiss Confederacy, from 1442 to 1798.
The bailiwick was detached from the County of Kyburg as the latter was given to emperor Frederick II ...
bailiwick of Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
(16th century). Its reversed crescent was taken up in the 20th-century municipal coats of arms of Niederglatt
Niederglatt is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Niederglatt is first mentioned in 1149 as ''Niderunglatto''. Between 1153 and 1155 it was mentioned as ''Nidrunglate''.
Until 1840 it ...
, Neerach
Neerach is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Neerach is first mentioned between 1160 and 1169 as ''Neracho''. In 1149, Ried was mentioned as ''Riete''.
Geography
Neerach has an area o ...
and Stadel (canton of Zürich
The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
).
File:Écu Divorde, armorial Toison d'Or Europe, fol. 34, vers 1440.jpg, This coat of arms of the Divorde family (Holland and Brabant), around 1440, shows three crescents.
File:POL COA Kuczkowski.svg, Inverted crescent on Polish coat of arms.
Contemporary use
The crescent remains in use as
astrological symbol
Historically, astrological and astronomical symbols overlapped. Frequently used symbols include signs of the zodiac and classical planets. These originate from medieval Byzantine codices. Their current form is a product of the European Renaissan ...
and
astronomical symbol representing the Moon.
Use of a standalone crescent in flags is less common than the
star and crescent combination. Crescents without stars are found in the
South Carolina state flag
The flag of South Carolina is a symbol of the U.S. state of South Carolina consisting of a blue field with a white palmetto tree and white crescent. Roots of this design have existed in some form since 1775, being based on one of the first Re ...
(1861),
All India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...
(1906-1947), the
flag of Maldives (1965), the
flag of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The flag of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is white with the organization's emblem in the center, which consists of a green shade and globe, with the Kaaba at the center of the globe. The elements of the emblem reflect the organization' ...
(1981) and the flag of the
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
.
is nicknamed "the Crescent City", and a crescent (or crescent and star) is used to represent the city in official emblems.
[ The origin is the crescent shape of the old city, hugging the East Bank of the ]Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.
Crescents, often with faces, are found on numerous modern municipal coats of arms in Europe, e.g.
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
:
Bönnigheim,
Dettighofen,
Dogern
Dogern is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Twin towns
Dogern is twinned with:
* Le Grand-Lemps, France, since 1988
See also
* List of cities and towns in Germany
This is a complete list of t ...
,
Jesenwang
Jesenwang is a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Ru ...
,
Karstädt
Karstädt is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany.
Demography
File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Karstädt.pdf, Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comp ...
,
Michelfeld (Angelbachtal),
Waldbronn
Waldbronn is a municipality in the district of Karlsruhe, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the northern Black Forest, southeast of Karlsruhe.
Geography
Waldbronn is located at the border of the Alb-Pfinz-Plateau in the valley ...
;
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
:
Boswil,
Dättlikon,
Neerach
Neerach is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Neerach is first mentioned between 1160 and 1169 as ''Neracho''. In 1149, Ried was mentioned as ''Riete''.
Geography
Neerach has an area o ...
(from the 16th-century
Neuamt
Neuamt was a bailiwick (''Obervogtei'') of the Zürichgau, a subject territory of Zürich within the Old Swiss Confederacy, from 1442 to 1798.
The bailiwick was detached from the County of Kyburg as the latter was given to emperor Frederick II ...
coat of arms);
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
:
Katzenthal
Katzenthal () is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Haut-Rhin département
The following is a list of the 366 communes of the French department of Haut-Rhin.
...
,
Mortcerf
Mortcerf () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
Demographics
Inhabitants are called ''Moressartois''.
See also
*Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department
The following is a list ...
;
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
:
Qormi
Qormi ( mt, Ħal Qormi ; pronounced in the Qormi dialect), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,324 (as of March 2018), mak ...
;
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
:
Trosa.
The crescent printed on
military ration
Military rations are food intended to feed military personnel. Types of military rations include garrison rations and field rations. They may be used where fresh meals are not available.
Australia
* Combat Ration One Man (CR1M)
Canada
* Ind ...
boxes is the
US Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
symbol for subsistence items. The symbol is used on packaged foodstuffs but not on fresh produce or on items intended for resale.
MIL STD 129 MIL-STD-129 standard is used for maintaining uniformity while marking military equipment and supplies that are transported through ships. This standard has been approved to be used by the United States Department of Defense and all other government ...
, FM 55-17
Since 1993, the crescent has also been in use as
chaplain badge for
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
chaplains in the
US military.
[
File:Flag_of_South_Carolina.svg, Flag of South Carolina (1861)
File:Flag of Maldives.svg, Flag of Maldives (1965)
File:IFRC_logo_2020.svg, The ]emblem
An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint.
Emblems vs. symbols
Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...
of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
around the world
File:MHP_Symbol.svg, Symbol of the Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has been ...
of Turkey
File:Dreamliner_logo.svg, The ''Dreamliner'' logo is painted on many Boeing 787s
File:Coat of Arms of the 1st-54 Regulares Battalion Tetuán.svg, Coat of arms of the 1st-54 Regulares
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas ("Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry an ...
Battalion "Tetuán" (Spanish Army
The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century.
The ...
)
Other things called "crescent"
The term ''crescent'' may also refer to objects with a shape reminiscent of the crescent shape, such as houses forming an arc, a type of solitaire game, Crescent Nebula
The Crescent Nebula (also known as NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light-years away from Earth. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1792. It is formed by the fast stellar wi ...
, glomerular crescent
Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is a syndrome of the kidney that is characterized by a rapid loss of kidney function,TheFreeDictionary > rapidly progressive glomerulonephritisCiting: McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. ...
(crescent shaped scar of the glomeruli
''Glomerulus'' () is a common term used in anatomy to describe globular structures of entwined vessels, fibers, or neurons. ''Glomerulus'' is the diminutive of the Latin ''glomus'', meaning "ball of yarn".
''Glomerulus'' may refer to:
* the filter ...
of the kidney),[. It is a sign of ]rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis
Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is a syndrome of the kidney that is characterized by a rapid loss of kidney function,TheFreeDictionary > rapidly progressive glomerulonephritisCiting: McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. ...
(also called ''crescentic glomerulonephritis'').
the Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, southeastern region of ...
(the fertile area of land between Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
and Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
roughly forming a crescent shape), and the '' croissant'' (the French form of the word) for the crescent-shaped pastry.
See also
* Barkhan dune
* Lune (mathematics)
* Star and crescent
* Astronomical symbols
* Astrological symbols
*Lunar phase
Concerning the lunar month of ~29.53 days as viewed from Earth, the lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion, which can be expressed quantitatively using areas or angles, or described qualitatively using the t ...
Notes
References
* Bell, Robert E., ''Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary'', ABC-CLIO 1991,
Internet Archive
*
{{Authority control
Phases of the Moon
Heraldic charges
Artemis
Inanna
Selene