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Revision as of 20:45, 28 December 2005
Triskelion (or triskele, from Greek τρισκελης "three-legged") is a symbol consisting of three bent human legs, or, more generally, three interlocked spirals, or any similar symbol with three protrusions and a three-fold rotational symmetry (without any reflection symmetries).
A triskelion is the symbol of Brittany, of Sicily and of the Isle of Man; the Sicilian and Manx triskelions feature three running legs, bent at the knee, conjoined at the crotch. The relation of the legged triskele to other variants is unclear. The spirally triskele is often classed as a solar symbol, while the legged version, sometimes including a gorgon mask or Medusa's head at the central axle point in the Sicilian version, suggests a chthonic significance.
Origins
The triskelion symbol appears in many early cultures, including on Mycenaean vessels, on coinage in Lycia, and on staters of Pamphylia (at Aspendos, 370–333 BC) and Pisidia. 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 students who prefer to see 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 B.C.). In Sicily, the first inhabitants mentioned in history are the tribes of the Sicani (Greek Sikanoi) and the Siculi (Greek Sikeloi), who have given Sicily its more familiar modern name. The triskelion was revived, as a suitably neoclassic—and non-Bourbon—emblem for the new Napoleonic Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, by Joachim Murat in 1808 (illustration, left).
Pliny the Elder attributes the origin of the triskelion of Sicily to the triangular form of the island, ancient Trinacria, which consists of three large capes equidistant from each other, pointing in their respective directions, the names of which were Pelorus, Pachynus, and Lilybæum. Thus Pliny provided an eminently rational explanation— but for a symbol that must be older than any cartographic conception of the island, surely. Since the triskelion may be associated with a multitude of triads, with new associations cropping up regularly, it is more productive just to look at the symbol itself.
The three legs of the triskelion are reminiscent of Hephaestus' three-legged tables that ran by themselves. They were 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
In the symbol for the more thoroughly Celtic Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, the "three legs embowed" of the heraldic triskelion are represented now in armour, "spurred and garnished or (gold)."
On Manx banknotes, the triskelion appears within a rim containing the Latin inscription QUOCUNQUE JECERIS STABIT ("Wherever you will throw it, it stands"), which is boldly confident enough, and safely divorced from any pagan connection. Just how old the triskelion is as a symbol of Man is mooted; it is documented since the thirteenth or fourteenth century at least. The triskelion is alternatively known as the tre cassyn in Manx. The symbol appears on the Isle of Man's ancient Sword of State, which may have belonged to Olaf Godredson, who became King of the Sudreys (Southern Hebrides and the Isle of Man) in 1226.
Spirally triskele
The druidic symbol of three conjoined spirals may well have had triple significance similar to the imagery that lies behind the triskelion. That spiral motif is a Neolithic symbol in Western Europe: it is carved into the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance of the prehistoric Newgrange in County Meath, Ireland. Because of its Celtic associations, it is also used as a symbol of Brittany (alongside the hermine).
In the north of Spain, the triskelion is used as a symbol of Galizan' and Asturian nationalists. A similar symbol called lábaro by Cantabrian nationalists can be compared to the neighboring Basque culture's four-branched lauburu.
A possibly related symbol of Germanic origin is the Valknut.
Nazis and racist groups
The Nazis adopted this Celtic symbol specifically as the insignia for a Waffen SS division composed of ("Celtic") Belgian volunteers. That has led to an association with the swastika. It is claimed, possibly apocryphally, that the similarity to the swastika caused confusion or distress amongst some Jewish refugees interned on the Isle of Man during World War 2.
A group of racist South African Whites, the AWB, have used a flag consisting of a red background with a white circle. In the circle, three black sevens form a design distantly reminiscent of the triskelion. In spite of the similarities to the swastika, they claim their flag is inspired by a Biblical meaning of the seven.
Other uses
As a Celtic symbol, the triskelion, usually consisting of spirals, but also the "horned triskelion", plays a role in the Ásatrú and Wiccan subcultures. This is odd, as Ásatrú is North Germanic not Celtic, and Wicca is neither Celtic nor North Germanic. Perhaps this is through confusion or association with the Triquetra or the valknut.
The triskelion has been adopted as an emblem by some BDSM groups. The specific emblem design is meant to be shown with metallic spokes and circle, and three holes (not dots) within the design. More information is available at the official Emblem Project website.
In the second season Star Trek episode The Gamesters of Triskelion, the crew of the Enterprise observe and are pressed into gladiatorial combat on a planet named Triskelion. The symbol of the planet is a truncated blue triangle with a yellow stylized triskelion inscribed.
In the Doctor Who audio drama Storm Warning, the Doctor meets an alien race called the Triskele, who use a triskelion symbol to delineate the three aspects of their species.
The Triskelion is the name used for the headquarters of the Ultimates in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. The building has a three-pronged shape if viewed from above.
The collectible card game Magic: the Gathering has a card named Triskelion. This artifact creature has been depicted in two separate ways; both versions have three limbs, but neither resembles the actual symbol.
The video game BloodRayne features triskelion as the symbol of the Nazi, instead of common swastika.
Matthew Barney used the triskelion as a symbol to represent the fourth film in his work The Cremaster Cycle.
A triskelion-esque swirl is part of the Montrose Patriot art vehicle - the swirl pattern on the driver side fender might have been a coincidence.
The James Bond film Die Another Day featured a triskelion logo during the teaser where Bond and Colonel Moon are in a duel on a hovercraft (the symbol is seen on a gong tower above a waterfall where Colonel Moon's hovercraft goes over) - the producers might have incorrectly used the triskelion as a subsitute for the yin-yang symbol for the South Korean flag.
Severian, the protagonist of The Book of the New Sun (written by Gene Wolfe) adopts a dog with three legs and names him "Triskele."
A fractal version of the triskelion is a major motif of the 2005 TV Series Threshold. The triskelion is also the fraternity seal of Tau Gamma Phi, and the seal of the United States Department of Transportation..
See also
