![Ilion---metopa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Ilion---metopa.jpg)
A solar symbol 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 ...
representing the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
.
Common solar symbols include circles (with or without rays), crosses, and spirals.
In religious iconography, personifications of the Sun or solar attributes are often indicated by means of a
halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
or a
radiate crown
A radiant or radiate crown, also known as a solar crown, sun crown, Eastern crown, or tyrant's crown, is a crown, wreath, diadem, or other headgear symbolizing the sun or more generally powers associated with the sun. Apart from the Ancient ...
.
When the systematic study of
comparative mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
first became popular in the 19th century, scholarly opinion tended to over-interpret historical myths and iconography in terms of "solar symbolism".
This was especially the case with
Max Müller
Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...
and his followers beginning in the 1860s in the context of
Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics and an interdisciplinary field of study dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. The goal of those engaged in these studies is to amass information about the hypothetical pro ...
. Many "solar symbols" claimed in the 19th century, such as the
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
,
triskele
A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry.
The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. It is found in artefacts of ...
,
Sun cross
A sun cross, solar cross, or wheel cross is a solar symbol consisting of an equilateral cross inside a circle.
The design is frequently found in the symbolism of prehistoric cultures, particularly during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods of ...
, etc. have tended to be interpreted more conservatively in scholarship since the later 20th century.
Solar disk
![Nebra Scheibe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Nebra_Scheibe.jpg)
The basic element of most solar symbols is the circular solar disk.
The disk can be modified in various ways, notably by adding rays (found in the Bronze Age in Egyptian depictions of
Aten
Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect of ...
) or a
cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
. In the ancient Near East, the solar disk could also be modified by addition of the
Uraeus
The Uraeus (), or Ouraeus (Ancient Greek: , ; Egyptian: ', "rearing cobra"), ''(plural: Uraei)'' is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt.
Sym ...
(rearing cobra), and in ancient Mesopotamia it was shown with
wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
.
Bronze Age writing
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...
have a large inventory of solar symbolism because of the central position of solar deities (
Ra,
Horus
Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...
,
Aten
Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect of ...
etc.) in
ancient Egyptian religion
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present in, and in control ...
.
The main logogram for "Sun" was a representation of the solar disk,
N5 (
Gardiner N5), with or without a dot or circle in the center, with a variant including the
Uraeus
The Uraeus (), or Ouraeus (Ancient Greek: , ; Egyptian: ', "rearing cobra"), ''(plural: Uraei)'' is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt.
Sym ...
,
N6 (N6).
The "Sun" logogram in early
Chinese writing, beginning with the
oracle bone script
Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or Turtle shell#Plastron, turtle plastrons used in pyromancy, pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millen ...
(c. 12th century BC) also shows the solar disk with a central dot (analogous to the Egyptian hieroglyph); under the influence of the writing brush, this character evolved into a square shape (modern
日).
Classical era
The disk with a ray as a symbol for the Sun in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) mss
In the Greek and European world, until approximately the 16th century, the astrological symbol for the Sun was a disk with a single ray,
![Old symbol for sun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Old_symbol_for_sun.svg)
(). This is the form, for example, in Johannes
Kamateros The Kamateros family ( el, Καματηρός, pl. ''Kamateroi'' el, Καματηροί; Latinized respectively Camaterus, Camateri), was a Byzantine family of functionaries from Constantinople that became prominent in the 10th–12th centuries. S ...
' 12th century ''Compendium of Astrology''.
Astronomical symbol
The modern
astronomical symbol
Astronomical symbols are abstract pictorial symbols used to represent astronomical objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in European astronomy. The earliest forms of these symbols appear in Greek papyrus texts of late antiq ...
for the Sun, a circled dot (), was first used in the Renaissance.
Rayed depictions
![C+B-Egypt-Fig12-AkhnatenWorshippingSun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/C%2BB-Egypt-Fig12-AkhnatenWorshippingSun.PNG)
A circular disk with alternating triangular and wavy rays emanating from it is a frequent symbol or artistic depiction of the sun.
Antiquity
The ancient Mesopotamian "star of
Shamash
Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...
" could be represented with either eight wavy rays, or with four wavy and four triangular rays.
The
Vergina Sun
The Vergina Sun ( el, Ήλιος της Βεργίνας, Ilios tis Vergínas, Sun of Vergina), also known as the Star of Vergina, Vergina Star or Argead Star, is a rayed solar symbol first appearing in ancient Greek art of the period between th ...
(also known as the Star of Vergina, Macedonian Star, or Argead Star) is a rayed solar symbol appearing in
ancient Greek art
Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...
from the 6th to 2nd centuries BC. The Vergina Sun appears in art variously with sixteen, twelve, or eight triangular rays.
''Bianchini's
planisphere
In astronomy, a planisphere () is a star chart analog computing instrument in the form of two adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot. It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date. It is an instrument to assist ...
'', produced in the 2nd century,
has a
circlet
A circlet is a piece of headwear that is similar to a diadem or a corolla. The word 'circlet' is also used to refer to the base of a crown or a coronet, with or without a cap. Diadem and circlet are often used interchangeably, and 'open crowns' wi ...
with rays radiating from it.
Sun with face
The iconographic tradition of depicting the Sun with rays and with a
human face
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
developed in
Western tradition in the high medieval period and became widespread in the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, harking back to the Sun god (
Sol/Helios) wearing a
radiate crown
A radiant or radiate crown, also known as a solar crown, sun crown, Eastern crown, or tyrant's crown, is a crown, wreath, diadem, or other headgear symbolizing the sun or more generally powers associated with the sun. Apart from the Ancient ...
in classical antiquity.
Sunburst
The
sunburst
A sunburst is a design or figure commonly used in architectural ornaments and design patterns and possibly pattern books. It consists of rays or "beams" radiating out from a central disk in the manner of sunbeams. Sometimes part of a sunbur ...
was the
badge
A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and ...
of king
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...
, and has thus become the
badge of office of
Windsor Herald
Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.
It has been suggested that the office was instituted specifically for the Order of the Garter in 1348, or that it predates the Order and was in use as ea ...
.
Modern pictogram
![Weather-clear](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Weather-clear.svg)
The modern pictogram representing the Sun as a circle with rays, often eight in number (indicated by either straight lines or triangles; Unicode
Miscellaneous Symbols
Miscellaneous Symbols is a Unicode block (U+2600–U+26FF) containing glyphs representing concepts from a variety of categories: astrological, astronomical, chess, dice, musical notation, political symbols, recycling, religious symbols, Bagua, ...
U+2600; U+263C) indicates "clear weather" in
weather forecast
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...
s, originally in
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
forecasts in the 1970s.
The Unicode 6.0
Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs
Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs is a Unicode block containing meteorological and astronomical symbols, emoji characters largely for compatibility with Japanese telephone carriers' implementations of Shift JIS, and characters originally fro ...
block introduced another set of weather pictograms, including "white sun" without rays 1F323 , as well as "sun with face" U+1F31E .
The "sun with rays" pictogram is also used to represent the "high brightness" setting in
display devices
Display may refer to:
Technology
* Display device, output device for presenting information, including:
** Cathode ray tube, video display that provides a quality picture, but can be very heavy and deep
** Electronic visual display, output devi ...
, encoded separately by Unicode 6.0 U+1F506 (
Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs
Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs is a Unicode block containing meteorological and astronomical symbols, emoji characters largely for compatibility with Japanese telephone carriers' implementations of Shift JIS, and characters originally fro ...
).
Crosses
The "
sun cross
A sun cross, solar cross, or wheel cross is a solar symbol consisting of an equilateral cross inside a circle.
The design is frequently found in the symbolism of prehistoric cultures, particularly during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods of ...
" or "solar wheel" (🜨) is often considered to represent the four seasons and the tropical year, and therefore the Sun (though as an
astronomical symbol
Astronomical symbols are abstract pictorial symbols used to represent astronomical objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in European astronomy. The earliest forms of these symbols appear in Greek papyrus texts of late antiq ...
, it represented the Earth).
In the
prehistoric religion
Prehistoric religion is the religious practice of prehistoric cultures. Prehistory, the period before written records, makes up the bulk of human experience; over 99% of human history occurred during the Paleolithic alone. Prehistoric cultures s ...
of
Bronze Age Europe, crosses in circles appear frequently on artifacts identified as cult items. An example from the
Nordic Bronze Age
The Nordic Bronze Age (also Northern Bronze Age, or Scandinavian Bronze Age) is a period of Scandinavian prehistory from c. 2000/1750–500 BC.
The Nordic Bronze Age culture emerged about 1750 BC as a continuation of the Battle Axe culture (th ...
is the "miniature standard" with
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
inlay revealing a cross shape when held against the light (
National Museum of Denmark
The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...
). The Bronze Age symbol has also been connected with the
spoked
chariot
A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
wheel
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...
, which at the time was four-spoked (compare the
Linear B
Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
ideogram 243 "wheel" ). In the context of a culture that celebrated the
Sun chariot, the wheel may thus have had a solar connotation (c.f. the
Trundholm sun chariot
The Trundholm sun chariot ( da, Solvognen), is a Nordic Bronze Age artifact discovered in Denmark. It is a representation of the sun chariot, a bronze statue of a horse and a large bronze disk, which are placed on a device with spoked wheels.
...
).
The ''
Arevakhach
The Armenian eternity sign ( hy, Յաւերժութեան Նշան, haverzhut’yan nshan) or Arevakhach (, "Sun Cross") is an ancient Armenian national symbol and a symbol of the national identity of the Armenian people. It is one of the most co ...
'' (solar cross) symbol often found in Armenian
memorial stelae is claimed as an ancient Armenian solar symbol of eternity and light.
Some
Sami shaman drums have the
Beaivi
Beaivi, Beiwe, Bievve, Beivve or Biejje is the Sami Sun-deity; the name of the deity is the same as the name of the Sun. The Sami Sun-deity is usually depicted as female, but sometimes as male. In Sápmi, north of the Polar circle, where th ...
Sami
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
sun symbol that resembles a
sun cross
A sun cross, solar cross, or wheel cross is a solar symbol consisting of an equilateral cross inside a circle.
The design is frequently found in the symbolism of prehistoric cultures, particularly during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods of ...
.
The
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
has been a long-standing symbol of good fortune in
Eurasian
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...
cultures: its appropriation by the Nazi Party from 1920 to 1945 is a brief moment in its history. It may be derived from the sun cross, and is another solar symbol in some contexts.
It is used among
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
("manji"),
Jains
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
, and
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
; and many other cultures, though not necessarily as a solar symbol. Also see
Malkh-Festival.
The "
Black Sun" (German: ) is a 'sun wheel' with twelve-fold
rotational symmetry
Rotational symmetry, also known as radial symmetry in geometry, is the property a shape has when it looks the same after some rotation by a partial turn. An object's degree of rotational symmetry is the number of distinct orientations in which i ...
. The design was incorporated as a mosaic into a floor of
Wewelsburg Castle during the
Nazi era and may have been inspired by
Alemannic
Iron Age swastika-like designs in Migration-period ''
Zierscheiben''.
It has been adopted by modern
Satanist groups and
neo-Nazis.
The Kolovrat, or in Polish "Słoneczko", represents the Sun in
Slavic neopaganism
The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery
* bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie
* bs, Rodnovjerje
* mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie
* cz, Rodnověří
* hr, Rodnovjerje
* pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...
.
Modern flags and emblems
Official insignia which incorporate rayed solar symbols include the
flag of Uruguay
The national flag of Uruguay () is one of the three official flags of Uruguay along with the flag of Artigas and the flag of the Treinta y Tres. It has a field of nine equal horizontal stripes alternating white and blue. The canton is white, c ...
, the
flag of Kiribati
The flag of Kiribati (Gilbertese: ''buraki ni Kiribati'') is red in the upper half with a gold frigatebird ( ''Fregata minor'', in Gilbertese: ''te eitei'') flying over a gold rising sun (''otintaai''), and the lower half is blue with three hori ...
, some versions of the
flag of Argentina
The national flag of the Argentine Republic is a triband (flag), triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue and white. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors. The flag was created by ...
, the
Irish Defence Forces cap badge
The Irish Defence Forces Cap Badge (or "FF badge" as it is sometimes called) is common to all services and corps of the Irish Defence Forces. Although principally associated with the Irish Army (Defence Force regulations in fact describe it as "the ...
, and the
1959–1965 coat of arms of Iraq.
The depictions of the sun on the flags of
the Republic of China (Taiwan),
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
,
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
, the Brazilian state of
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...
, and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
have only straight (triangular) rays; that of
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
has only curvy rays; while that of
the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
has short diverging rays grouped into threes.
Another rayed form of the sun has simple radial lines dividing the background into two colors, as in the
military flags of Japan and the
flag of North Macedonia
The flag of North Macedonia is the national flag of the North Macedonia, Republic of North Macedonia and depicts a stylized yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the center to the edge of the field. It was created by ...
, and in the top parts of the flags of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
.
The
flag of New Mexico
The official flag of New Mexico consists of a Gules, red sun symbol of the Zia people (New Mexico), Zia people on a field of Or (heraldry), gold (yellow). It was officially adopted in 1925 to highlight the state's Native Americans in the United St ...
is based on the
Zia sun symbol
The Zia or Tsʾíiyʾamʾé are an indigenous nation centered at Zia Pueblo (Tsi'ya), a Native American reservation in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The Zia are known for their pottery and use of the sun symbol. They are one of the Keres Puebl ...
which has four groups of four parallel rays emanating symmetrically from a central circle.
Code points in Unicode
There are
code point
In character encoding terminology, a code point, codepoint or code position is a numerical value that maps to a specific character. Code points usually represent a single grapheme—usually a letter, digit, punctuation mark, or whitespace—but ...
s in
Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...
for various characters to represent the sun, as shown in the box.
See also
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes
References
External links
Symbols.com list and description of sun symbolsOrigins and Meanings of the Eight-point Star
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solar Symbol
Lists of symbols
Sun in culture
History of astrology
Heraldic charges
Astronomical symbols