All known religions have come out of the pagan beliefs of our ancestors. People worshiped the power of nature and believed in the divine power of water, fire and air. Each element was dedicated to its symbol. During archaeological excavations, scientists find a lot of confirmation of this fact in preserved drawings and household items of people, starting from the Bronze Age. The statement that the symbols dedicated to one of the deities are very similar among different peoples is of interest. For example, the sun in mythology has many illustrations, one of which translates into the meaning of triskelion.
The origin of the symbol
The most famous symbol that has come to us from time immemorial is the triskelion. It got its name from the derived Greek word τρισκελης, which can be translated as “three-legged” or “tripod”.
This sign has abbreviated names - triskel or triskel. The objects with this sign were used by the peoples inhabiting modern Europe, Asia, the East, and also South America. Triskelion was revered by the Etruscans, Celts, Greeks and even the Japanese.
Definition of a concept
So what is triskelion? This is a sign glorifying the power of the sun - its sunrise, zenith and sunset. However, over time, it acquired new meanings. He is credited with the power of three elements - fire, water and air, he is a defender against floods, fires and thefts, personifies the transience of being, birth, life and death. Thus, the numerical expression of the symbol is the leitmotif in the knowledge of what triskelion has meaning. It is inherent in everything that enters the base of this sign.
Illustration
The general principle of the Triskelion image is three curved lines that have a common point in the center. They may resemble running legs, spirals, or even the heads of a beast. Gradually, the stylistics of the sign changed and began to acquire various forms. It is worth noting here that few people know what triskelion matters. The symbol, the culture in which the sign is used, its material expression - all this is very interesting, and the icons do not remain static, embodying everything in new forms.
So, the amulets were decorated with ornate ornaments in the form of bizarre curved lines. They could contain cosmogonic and zoomorphic elements or, on the contrary, acquired clear geometric features.
However, there is a general pattern in the application of triskelion - the pattern of the symbol must be symmetrical and carry a powerful energy charge. If the object with the drawing applied to it is untwisted clockwise, you can see a kind of “movie” in which the cycle of movements will be repeated.
Magical properties
It must be said that the value of triskelion is mysterious, because it contains a magical component in which the ancient peoples believed.
It is easy to see that the figure and its symbolism are based on the number three. The magic of this figure is reflected in the subsequent religions, which replaced paganism. In the Christian canons, the holy trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit - this is nothing but the echoes of a pagan symbol. Medieval Europe widely used the symbol of the sun in the coats of arms of not only the nobility, but immortalized this symbol on the flags of entire places.
Symbol Theories
In the history of world culture, the symbol "trixelion", the meaning of which does not have a single clear definition, introduced its own intrigue. To date, historians do not have a common opinion about who was the first to perpetuate a tripod in world culture: the Greeks or the inhabitants of the far away Isle of Man, located between Britain and Ireland.
Greek theory
According to supporters of Greek theory, it was with the light hand of Greek travelers who were the first to explore the island of Sicily at the beginning of the VIII century BC. and Trinacrios, who called it, that is, triangular, and a symbol appeared. Triskelion received significance, like the name, according to the number of mountain peaks that marked the borders of the island from the south, east and west: Cape Pakhin, Cape Pelor, Cape Lilibey. The sign, invented by the Greeks, was called the Sicilian triskel. In subsequent centuries, the peoples of Crete and Macedonia, the Celtic and Etruscan tribes adopted this sign and introduced it into their culture.
Triskelion of the Greeks was chosen as the basis for the flag of the land of Sicily. It has an image of legs bent at the knees running from one point with a female head in the center.
An interesting fact is that initially the center of the connection of the three legs was the head of the Medusa Gorgon with hair stylized as three snakes, reminding us of treachery, wisdom and betrayal. This is one of the worst monsters with the face of a woman whose eyes turned a man into stone, and he was beheaded by the hero of ancient Greek mythology Perseus.
In 2000, the flag was changed and in its modern image, instead of the terrible head of Medusa Gorgon, the center of the triskel adorns the face of the fertility goddess with ears of wheat instead of hair. Modern inhabitants of the island no longer associate the female face on their flag with the terrible Gorgon. And the symbol "triskelion" takes on a completely different meaning.
Viking theory
Supporters of the second version claim that the symbol was invented in the Irish Sea by the inhabitants of the Isle of Man around the 5th-6th centuries. BC, who at that time were citizens of one of the most ancient states of the era - the Vikings. The symbol of triskelion adorns the flag of the Isle of Man to our time and was last modified in the 13th century.
The intrigue is that the signs of the southern and northern lands, between which lie thousands of kilometers of water and land, are surprisingly similar to each other. It is likely that the symbol has much more ancient roots and, where it actually originated, remains to be found out by new generations of scientists. And it is possible that the number of versions of the appearance of the symbol will increase. As, and possibly in connection with this, new theories will appear that reveal the meaning. Triskelion continues to amaze.
Modern use of symbol
The Isle of Man and Sicily are far away, but the Republic of Ingushetia is much closer, but it also placed a stylized sign on its banner. The author of the flag, which was approved in 1994, was Academician Dakhkilgov Ibrahim Abdurakhmanovich. A salt sign or a sun sign is depicted on the flag with three rays rounded counterclockwise at the ends. It is in this direction that the Earth rotates around the Sun and the Sun around its axis. According to the people of Ingushetia, triskel will protect them from troubles and ensure well-being and prosperity.
We see the image of triskelion around us and in modern life. Fans of the Austrian football club "First" and the French "Guingamp", to attract luck and ensure a victorious game on the field to their participants, placed images of the sign on the flags of the teams. Only FC First has the image of three running legs in football equipment from the center of the ball, and FC Gengam has the image of the mathematical formula of the spirals of Archimedes of Syracuse.
Or, for example, the flag of the US Department of Transportation is nothing more than the same stylized salt sign.
You can see the principle of "three-legged" in the well-known automobile brand "Mercedes". Is this fact the secret of the popularity of cars of a famous brand?
Conclusion
Thus, the triskelion meaning of the symbol is very interesting and mysterious. Each nation endows it with its own properties and believes in the action of this sign, aimed at various aspects of life. However, it combines in one thing: the amulet with the symbol of the trinity is designed to ensure the spiritual comfort of its owner, to remove unnecessary excitement accumulated in the body. Protect from panic attacks that modern people face regular constancy. In a moment of doubt, he will help make the right decision for you and avert negative emotions.