Triskelion

"Triskellion" redirects here. For the book series, see Triskellion (series).

Triskele of the Amfreville Gaulish helmet.

The flag of Sicily, featuring the triskelion symbol revived by Joachim Murat

Flag of Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug

A triskelion or triskele is a motif consisting of three interlocked spirals, or three bent human legs, or any similar symbol with three protrusions and a threefold rotational symmetry.^{[citation needed]} Both words are from Greek "τρισκέλιον" (triskelion) or "τρισκελής" (triskeles), "three-legged", from prefix "τρι-" (tri-), "three times" + "σκέλος" (skelos), "leg". Although it appears in many places and periods, it is especially characteristic of the Celtic art of the La Tène culture of the European Iron Age.

A triskelion is the symbol of Brittany, as well as of the Isle of Man and of Sicily, where it is called trinacria. The Manx and Sicilian triskelia feature three running legs, bent at the knee and conjoined at the hip area. In Welsh the name given is trisgel, with the first part tri being the Welsh word for three.

Origins

Slinger standing left, triskelion to right. Reverse of an ancient Greek silver stater from Aspendos, Pamphylia.

Triskelion and spirals on a Galician torc terminal.

The triskelion symbol appears in many early cultures, including the west's first astronomical calendar in Ireland at the famous megalithic tomb of Newgrange built around 3200 BCE, Mycenaean vessels, on coinage in Lycia, and on staters of Pamphylia (at Aspendos, 370–333 BC) and Pisidia. It appears as a heraldic emblem on warriors' shields depicted on Greek pottery. A symbol of four conjoined legs, a tetraskelion, is also known in Anatolia. Celtic influences in Anatolia, epitomized by the Gauls who invaded and settled Galatia, are especially noted by those who theorize a Celtic origin for the triskelion.

Sicilian triskelion

Familiar as an ancient symbol of Sicily, the triskelion is also featured on Greek coins of Syracuse, such as coins of Agathocles (317–289 BCE). In Sicily, the first inhabitants mentioned in history are the tribes of the Sicani (Greek Sikanoi) and the Sicels (Greek Sikeloi), who gave Sicily its more familiar modern name. The triskelion was revived, as a neoclassic — and non-Bourbon — emblem for the new Napoleonic Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, by Joachim Murat in 1808.

The symbol dates back to when Sicily was part of Magna Graecia, the colonial extension of Greece beyond the Aegean. Pliny the Elder attributes the origin of the triskelion of Sicily to the triangular form of the island, the ancient Trinacria (from the Greek tri- (three) and akra (end, limb)), which consists of three large capes equidistant from each other, pointing in their respective directions, the names of which were Pelorus, Pachynus, and Lilybæum.

The three legs of the triskelion are also reminiscent of Hephaestus's three-legged tables that ran by themselves, as mentioned in Iliad xviii:

"At the moment Hephaestus was busily

Turning from bellows to bellows, sweating with toil

As he laboured to finish a score of three-legged tables

To stand around the sides of his firm-founded hall. On each

Of the legs he had put a gold wheel, that those magic tables

Might cause all to marvel by going with no other help

To the gathering of gods and by likewise returning to his house."

Manx triskelion

The 'Three Legs of Man' triskelion, the national symbol of the Isle of Man

The symbol of the Isle of Man is a triskelion, known as the "Three Legs of Man", and in the Manx language as the Tree Cassyn Vannin. The triskelion appears on the island's coat of arms, flag, and banknotes. The motto of the Manx coat of arms is QUOCUNQUE JECERIS STABIT ("Wherever you throw it, it will stand").

The origin of the Manx triskelion is uncertain. It is first documented in the thirteenth century, where it appears on coats of arms attributed to the King of Mann. The symbol also appears on the island's Sword of State, which is popularly said to have belonged to Olaf the Black, who ruled the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles from 1226 to 1237; however, analysis of the sword shows that it likely dates to the 15th century.

Irish Spiral triskele

The Celtic symbol of three conjoined spirals may have had triple significance similar to the imagery that lies behind the triskelion. The triple spiral motif is a Neolithic symbol in Western Europe. It is considered a Celtic symbol but is in fact a pre-Celtic symbol. It is carved into the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance of the prehistoric Newgrange monument in County Meath, Ireland. Newgrange which was built around 3200 BCE predating the Celtic arrival in Ireland but has long since been incorporated into Celtic culture. A variant of the symbol is also found carved into the wall in the inner chamber of the passage tomb. Because of its Celtic associations, it is also used as a symbol of Brittany, alongside the ermine.

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  Celtic triskele of three stylized bird heads with whorl in the center

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  A version of the Neolithic triple spiral symbol

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  Spiral triskele, found in Celtic artwork, used by Celtic Reconstructionists and occasionally as a Christian Trinity symbol

Modern usage

In the late 1960s and the 1970s, the spiral triscele became very fashionable in Brittany after Alan Stivell was seen wearing it on TV shows and magazines. The fashion extended to commercial, political and cultural fields, and it is used in Brittany as a symbol for tourism, products, etc.^{[citation needed]}

In the north of Spain, the triskelion is used as a symbol of Galician and Asturian nationalists. The triskele was used by Galician nationalists as early as 1930, although its use as a contemporary fashion icon only started during the Celtic revival of the 1970s. Currently, the Department of Agriculture of the devolved government of Galicia uses a triskele as its corporate logo. A similar symbol called lábaro by Cantabrian regionalist can be compared to the neighboring Basque culture's four-branched lauburu.

The BDSM triskelion (a triskelion with three holes between the three arms) is widely recognised as a symbol for BDSM within that community.

Triskelion-based logos are used by the GNU/Linux distributions Asturix and Trisquel; the Razer mouse company; the Stone & Webster engineering company; and a variation of a triskelion was formerly used by the SIG Sauer firearms company.

A triskelion shape is the basis for the roundel of the Irish Air Corps (unique among air force roundels, but similar to the sam-taegeuk from South Korea). It is loosely based on the Flag of Ireland and traditional Celtic triskele boss designs.

Before its expansion into the United States Army Air Force, the peacetime United States Army Air Corps used a blue triskelion on an orange field as its shoulder insignia. Known as "the pinwheel," it was symbolic of a spinning, three-bladed propellor.

The United States Department of Transportation adopted a triskelion-like emblem on February 1, 1967. The three comma shapes represent air, land, and sea transportation. Apart from color differences, the emblem is very similar to "the pinwheel" of the old U.S. Army Air Corps.

Similar shapes (called "sam tageuk" in Korea and "tomoe" in Japan) are used in some East Asian cultures (one version was part of the official logo of the 1988 Summer Olympics).

The RCA Spider has become a symbol for music enthusiasts.

A triskelion shape was used in the design of RCA's "Spider" 45 rpm adapter, a popular plastic adapter for vinyl records, which allows larger center-holed 45 rpm records (commonly used on 7" singles and EPs) to spin on players designed for smaller center-holed 33-1/3 rpm records (the standard for 10" and 12" LPs). The iconic design of the Spider has led to its adoption as a popular symbol for record and music enthusiasts.

The closed-droplet triskelion was adopted as a logo for Environmental 3 (ecologic, economic and social).

Reconstructionists and neopagans

The triskele, usually consisting of spirals, but also the "horned triskelion", is used by some polytheistic reconstructionist and neopagan groups. As a Celtic symbol, it is found primarily of groups with a Celtic cultural orientation and, less frequently, can also be found in use by some Germanic neopagan groups and eclectic or syncretic traditions such as Wicca. The spiral triskele is one of the primary symbols of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism. Celtic Reconstructionists use the symbol to represent a variety of triplicities in their cosmology and theology; it is also a favored symbol due to its association with the god Manannán mac Lir.

It is also logo of Odinic Rite.

Insignia of the 27th SS Division

Third Reich and supremacist uses

Nazi Germany adopted a variation on the triskelion as the insignia for the 27th SS Volunteer Division Langemarck, composed mainly of Flemish volunteers from Belgium. Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), a South African white supremacist paramilitary group, have used a flag featuring three black sevens that form a design reminiscent of the triskelion, in a white circle with a red background.

In fiction

A fractal version of the triskelion, consisting of a large blue-silver raised dot with three curved arms of similar dots around it, is a major motif of the 2005 TV series Threshold.

An episode of Star Trek, "The Gamesters of Triskelion", takes place on the alien planet of Triskelion from Episode 16 of season 2. A triskelion symbol was made into a fighting area.

In the Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventure Storm Warning, the Triskelion symbol is implied to have become prominent on Earth due to the influence of an alien species long ago in human prehistory, and forms the basis of the alien's social organization and culture.

In "Aithusa", the fourth episode of Series Four of Merlin, the 'Triskelion of Ashkanar' is a magical key which unlocks the tomb of the great sorceror Ashkanar.

Triskelion is the name of the headquarters of the Ultimates, as seen in Marvel Comics.

In Dean Koontz's Relentless a triskelion with three muscular arms, bent at the elbow, and fisted hands inside of a white circle was the symbol of the antagonist agency.

In the trading card game Magic: The Gathering, Triskelion is an iconic card representing an artifact creature with three legs.

In Dmitry Glukhovsky's novel Metro 2033, a triskele is the symbol of the Fourth Reich, a Neo-Nazi movement.

Naturally occurring

• Clathrin, a protein involved in the formation of endocytic vesicles in most cells, has a triskelion shape.

Gallery

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  Irish Air Corps Roundel

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  Seal of the United States Department of Transportation

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  Flag of Ingushetia

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  A symbol closely resembling the BDSM emblem

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  The flag of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging

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  The Official Seal of The Tau Gamma Phi Triskelion Grand Fraternity

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  The Buddhist Dharmacakra (small triskele in centre)

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  The coat of arms of the German city of Füssen

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  Flag of the Isle of Man

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  Korean drum-head with a version of Sam-Taeguk symbol

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  A selection of motifs and carvings from the Castro Culture.

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  Royal Seal of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1879).

See also

• 45 rpm adapter
• Awen
• Fylfot
• Gankyil
• Snoldelev Stone
• Sauwastika
• Taegeuk
• Three hares
• Triquetra
• Valknut

External links

• Triskelion at symbols.com
• Triple spiral at symbols.com
• John Newton, "Armorial bearings of the Isle of Mann," in Manx Notebook, January 1886
• "The Isle of Man and the Triskelion", Peter Symes