Five-pointed star- a geometric figure that can be drawn with one continuous line.

Formed by connecting lines of equal length at angles of 36° at each vertex. Continuation of the lines into the star until the lines converge together forms a pentagram. The five-pointed star is an important religious and ideological symbol and is therefore widely used. The five-pointed star is used in heraldic devices which are often used as state and military symbols. The five-pointed star is one of the symbols of Islam - the five pillars of Islam or the five daily prayers.

Pythagoras argued that such a star, or, as he called it, hygieia (ύγιεια, in honor of the Greek goddess of health Hygieia), represents mathematical perfection, since it hides the golden ratio.

Symbolism

The five-pointed star - pentacle, as a symbol of protection and safety, has been known for more than three thousand years. It was used in their totems and ritual drawings by primitive people and representatives of the earliest civilizations in the territories of modern Greece, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. The pentacle was a revered emblem in Japan and among the American Indians. Among the Sami of Russian Lapland, the five-pointed star was considered a universal amulet that protects reindeer - the basis way of life most northerners.

During times Ancient Rome, the five-pointed star was a symbol among the Romans of the god of war - Mars - and denoted the lily from which he was born.

The five-pointed star resembles a man with arms extended to the sides and legs spread apart, similar to the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci (“Vitruvian Man”) and Agrippa of Nettesheim.

Inverted, it is used as the seal of Baphomet; in normal form, it was used as a symbol of Satanism by Eliphas Levi.

In Soviet Russia, the five-pointed red star, according to Kibalchich, was first used on military uniform by Kronstadt sailors led by Lyonka Panteleev during the storming of the Winter Palace in October 1917, subsequently borrowed by the Red Army.

Five-pointed star: meaning, symbol. How to make a three-dimensional five-pointed star from paper?

Stars have interested people's minds since ancient times. A five-pointed star, or, as it is also called, a pentagram, or a pentacle with rays intersecting at one point, corresponds to the golden ratio according to Leonardo da Vinci and the addition of two and three, meaning difference and perfection according to Pythagoras. With the top up it means the divine principle, and down - satanic symbols. This is the matrix of cosmic man, the star of priests and alchemists. For Freemasons, it symbolizes a reborn man.

Light, spirituality, and inspiration are symbolized by a five-pointed star with its top pointing upward. It takes on the exact opposite value when the top is down. This is darkness, black magic and witchcraft.

In ancient Egypt it meant the highest God Zorus. In the Bible - the key to the kingdom of heaven, and the peaks represent the five wounds of Jesus Christ and the Bethlehem Christmas star. In Judaism, this is the Pentateuch, which was received by Moses.

For Pythagoras, the addition of two and three, difference and perfection, means a five-pointed star. Symbol in Ancient Greece meant the five elements: air, fire, ether, earth and water.

And the red star of the Bolsheviks symbolized Mars, the god of war, as well as the peaceful labor of workers.

It is present among the symbols of many countries and means invincibility, strength and power. In addition to its detailed description, the article tells how to make a five-pointed star.

Stars are six-, seven-, eight-, ten-, twelve-pointed. Meaning

Stars may have different quantities corners and endowed with various sacred meanings

Triangular in the Bible means the Providence of God (the All-Seeing Eye).

Quadrangular - a symbol of light and guidance, a cross.

The six-pointed Star of David, which consists of two triangles intersecting each other, served as a talisman for the Jews. In Hebrew it was called the “shield of David.” In Kabbalah, she protected from evil spirits. And currently it is a symbol of the Zionists.

The six-pointed star of Bethlehem is a sign of the Nativity of Christ.

Seven-pointed - star of the East.

The eight-pointed one, like the doubled four-pointed one, symbolizes the cross. For a long time there was such a star in Rus'. It meant not only the essence of being, but was also the fundamental principle of other magical signs. Later, under Christianity, such a star was not rejected, but began to bear the name of the Virgin Mary.

A star consisting of twelve rays signifies perfection.

The symbol of the ancients

Even primitive people used this symbol in ritual drawings and totems.

In ancient times, these signs were also known in Sumer and Egypt. On the one hand, they meant peace and amulet, and on the other, power over the whole world. The upper corner personified the ruler, and the rest represented the cardinal directions that submitted to him.

Pythagoras imagined that the five-pointed star was perfection, and his students believed that the world consists of elements - five elements: air, water, earth, fire and ether. These elements, in their opinion, mean a five-pointed star. A symbol of strength and fortitude, she protected and defended people. For the Druids in Gaul, Ireland and Britain it meant the same thing. Called the Druid's cross, the pentagram could be found on many window panes in Gothic buildings.

Even the Japanese and American Indians revered her.

The Sami of Russian Lapland considered it a talisman, and in North Karelia it protected hunters from forest predators.

The magic pentacle is a five-pointed star in a circle, which is also called the star of Solomon. It symbolizes the divine power of God or man. Magicians embroidered it on their clothes and painted it inside or outside the circle. Such amulets protected against attacks by demons.

Leonardo da Vinci's symbol

The Italian genius associated the star with the human body, in which the top of the star was assigned to the head, and the other four corners meant the arms and legs. He was called the Vitruvian Man.

The figure of a young man is located inside a circle with arms and legs spread apart. This drawing and Da Vinci’s explanations are sometimes called the canonical proportions, the ideal man.

Christian symbol

This star is also revered in Christianity.

Seal of the Roman Emperor Constantine, who created the official Christian religion, was in the shape of a pentagram, because he believed that it was she who showed him the way.

The five-pointed star does not only represent the five wounds of Jesus. These are also Mary's five joys in serving Christ. It is not without reason that the sign has long been used to decorate Christmas trees.

Masonic symbol

The five-pointed star received a different, ominous meaning in the Middle Ages. The meaning of upside down is the sign of Satan. It was used in the rituals of sorcerers and witches, taking it as a symbol of Satan. In this form, she looks like a horned goat.

As a seal of Freemasonry and Kabbalah, the star became known to many not so long ago.

In the fourteenth century it was shown to the world as a symbol of the god Allah and Mohammed.

During their spells, Masons wear a headdress with a pentagram and tetragram on their heads. As they themselves say, the five-pointed star is a symbol of the power of Reason, depicting Satan in an inverted form.

Once at the end of the eighteenth century in France and Italy, the Freemasons passed through the city in public, magnificent processions. Pope Leo the Thirteenth protested against such brazen praise of Satan. However, the Freemasons calmly objected to him in the journal they published. Thus, the cult of Satan spread throughout the world.

For example, in New York, the Thirteen Club was formed, in which Satan was elected a lifelong member.

The whole of Europe was covered by the teachings of the Freemasons. However, it came to Russia only after Peter the Great cut a window to Europe.

Symbol in pre-revolutionary Russia and the USSR

In Russia, until 1917, such stars were rarely used in symbolism. But after the revolution, the pentacle was chosen as such. Some believe that it was Military Commissar Nikolai Polyansky who first proposed the star, others say that it was Konstantin Eremeev. But it was Leon Trotsky who finally rooted it as a symbol of the Bolsheviks.

Really spreading first during the French Revolution, the five-pointed star was perceived as a symbol of the god of war, Mars. In the same interpretation, it was picked up by Soviet revolutionaries in the Red Army, as well as many other armies of the world, although in our country it was introduced by Nicholas the First in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Few people know that initially the soldiers of the Red Army had an inverted red star as a distinction. Only later was it changed, since such an image caused much indignation among the people, who associated it in this position with the horns of the devil.

A star in the modern world

With a different number of rays, this symbol is used by all world religions. It is also most often found in state symbols.

For example, the flag of Israel features the six-pointed Star of David of Judaism.

The emblem of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations depicts an eight-pointed star - a symbol of the Virgin Mary.

The Turkish flag has a five-pointed star located next to a crescent.

Azerbaijani - eight-pointed, and Malaysian - fourteen-pointed.

How to draw a five-pointed star

Take a ruler, pencil, eraser and paper. The first corner is drawn. This is the top. Next, a perpendicular line is drawn underneath it, protruding equally on both sides, and from the ends the same angles are drawn down, but the lines should be longer. After this, the lines coming from the top of the corners are connected, forming the bottom corners. Then, armed with an eraser, erase the inner arrows.

Since you can draw a five-pointed star in a simple and complex way, stop at this stage or do it further. For the second option, lines with all angles are drawn exactly from the middle of the figure. To give a volumetric shadow effect, every second triangle is shaded. Now the complicated star drawing is ready!

How to make a star

A five-pointed star with your own hands can be made from just one square sheet of paper using scissors.

To do this, you first need to fold it in half with the fold line at the bottom. We again bend the two resulting squares twice diagonally. The fold lines this time should be in the opposite direction. The lower left corner connects to the center of the diagonals. Its corner bends back. Then Right side The sheet is connected to the bend that was created, and the corner is bent, as with the left side. The resulting figure resembles an airplane.

From the last corners there are still small corners that need to be cut off. The result, after straightening, is a three-dimensional five-pointed star.

Using a template to make a star

To make a five-pointed star out of paper using a template, you will need: paper of any thickness, scissors, a printer and glue.

Cardboard, book or magazine sheets may work well for this purpose. However, if you plan to build a large five-pointed star, then the paper should be thick enough. To do this, take five cardboard sheets, print out the blanks of the rays of the template you like, cut them out, glue them first separately, and then together. That's all. The final touch is to decorate the rays with all sorts of sparkles, beads and sequins.

How to make a three-dimensional five-pointed star

In another version of the craft, you will need colored or patterned paper, glue and scissors, a ruler, a protractor and a pencil, as well as a printer.

First, a five-pointed star template is made or downloaded from the Internet. Then two transverse axes are outlined - vertical and horizontal. Next, lines are drawn every thirty-six degrees. From every second line, segments are drawn, cutting them out to create the cavities of the future star. The resulting segments are connected at the dividing points with adjacent lines at the intersection of the circle.

After the template is cut out, the five-pointed star made of paper is folded in half along the lines.

Having turned the star upward, the same is repeated with the depressions.

Having made two such stars, we glue them together using special paper tabs, inside out.

After drying, volume is carefully added, and the craft is gradually and slowly filled with air from the inside. This is how you get a regular five-pointed star.

star - symbol I've been looking for information for a long time

What does the communist star mean?

who knows its origin and why it became a communist symbol?

Igor zi

The red star is one of the key symbols of the Soviet era, along with the hammer and sickle. It meant the unity of the world proletariat of all five continents: the five ends of the star - the five continents of the planet. Red is the color of the proletarian revolution and biblical purification by blood; he had to unite all five continents with a single goal and a single beginning. This is the occult side of the Soviet symbol.
The red star was usually called the "star of Mars" after the ancient Roman god of war, Mars. In the Soviet tradition, Mars symbolized the protection of peaceful labor. Therefore, it is no coincidence that it is the red star that flies over the planet in the coat of arms of the USSR. The red star symbolized the liberation of workers from “hunger, war, poverty and slavery.”
In April 1918, the emblem of the Red Army appeared - a five-pointed red star with a gold border, in the middle there is a gold plow and hammer, symbolizing the union of peasants and workers. The emblem was approved by the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs on April 19, 1918. The final design of the star was approved by the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs in July 1918. Later, the emblem was simplified - instead of a plow, a more visual sickle began to be depicted. This was officially formalized by order of the Revolutionary Military Council on April 13, 1922.
The red star was often depicted on the flags and state symbols of socialist countries as a sign of solidarity between ideologies and development paths.
In the meaning of “Mars” the star appeared in the tsarist army. By decree of Emperor Nicholas I on January 1, 1827, stars appeared on the epaulettes of Russian officers and generals, in the manner of the French. And on April 29, 1854 - already sewn stars on the newly established shoulder straps.
Later the star appeared on the band of his cap. This first happened on April 21, 1917, when by order of the Minister of Military and Naval Affairs of the Provisional Government A.I. Guchkov for the Navy and Maritime Department No. 150, shoulder straps were replaced with sleeve insignia and a new cockade was introduced. A five-pointed star was placed above a rosette with an anchor.
The Great October Socialist Revolution, like almost all others, sweeping away the old political system, destroyed its attributes, including almost the entire iconic system of the old armed forces. However, with the creation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the question arose about the iconic function of military clothing. Such an objective factor as identification, operating on the principle of “friend or foe,” urgently required the introduction of some signs of belonging to the Red Army. Moreover, during the civil war, the warring sides used the same cut of clothing left over from the old army.
At first, the red five-pointed star became such a difference. It was first mentioned in the newspaper “Izvestia of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Peasants, Workers, Soldiers and Cossack Deputies” on April 19, 1918. A small note in the “Chronicle” section said that the Commissariat for Military Affairs approved a drawing of a breastplate for soldiers of the Red Army in the form of a red star with a golden image of a plow and a hammer in the center. The configuration of the sign embodies the oldest symbol of protection. The plow and hammer were read as a union of workers and peasants. The color red represented revolution and the god of war, Mars. It is not surprising that when it was officially approved by order of the People's Commissariat of Military Affairs of the Republic No. 321 of May 7, 1918, it received the name “Mars star with a plow and hammer”; it was announced that this sign “is the property of persons serving in the Red Army.” and it was also categorically prohibited, even to the point of being considered a revolutionary tribunal, for its use by those not in the ranks of the army.

Pokhlebkin V. Dictionary of international symbols and emblems

64.LOCK - emblem maintaining secrecy, silence. Used in medieval heraldry and extremely rarely in Russian pre-revolutionary heraldry. It was never used in Soviet emblems.

65.STAR, STARS- one of the oldest characters of humanity, adopted by the heraldry of all nations, belongs to the number of so-called astral signs. The star in general as a concept has long served as a symbol of eternity, and later (from the 18th century) - a symbol of high aspirations, ideals (which are eternal, imperishable) and from the end of the 18th century it began to be used as emblem guidance, happiness (“he was born under a lucky star”). Motto“Ad aspera!” (“To the stars!”) therefore means “To the sublime, to the ideal!” Stars in heraldry and emblems differ both in the number of angles forming them or rays, as well as in color. The combination of both gives different national meanings of the stars or nuances in their meaning.

• Triangular star- a biblical sign, the so-called “all-seeing eye” - a symbol of Providence, fate. It was used in Russia only in the era of Alexander I, especially during the period of his passion for mysticism (1810-1825), and was introduced as an emblem in orders and especially medals awarded to participants in the Patriotic War of 1812-1814.
• Three-pointed star- emblem of the tripartite unity of republican and democratic forces (communists, socialists, democrats). The sign of this star was awarded (noted) to fighters of the international brigades in Spain during the civil war of 1936-1939.
• four-pointed star- a symbol of guidance (light in the darkness of the night), adopted mainly by Christianity, in its form associated with cross. Also used as an order emblem as Krashana and framing of medal badges in a number of countries. In our country, it is used exclusively on departmental military orders (not state ones).

In Western Europe and the USA it is widely used as an emblematic image of military or paramilitary organizations and in such cases is supplied with additional emblems or national colors (ribbons, motto ribbons and so on.). Thus, the four-pointed star is used by NATO, the CIA and other intelligence services as a sign (symbol) of the correctness of their chosen path, as an emblem of a happy (or successful) fate (or career) and is included in the service badges of employees of these intelligence services. By analogy with them, the agency “Alex” in our country, which is engaged in ensuring the security of organizations and individuals, made a quadrangular star (an equilateral rhombus) its emblem.
In a number of Western European countries, as well as in Japan and the USSR, from the 60-70s, the four-pointed star served as the emblem of martial arts (especially karatekas, kungfuists, etc.) and was introduced into club badges and certificates. The differences between different clubs from each other are manifested in emblematic terms in the color, angle of the beams, their rotation and length, as well as additional accessories (see. armament emblems) may vary indefinitely, while the general shape of the four-pointed star remains unchanged.

• Five pointed star- the pentagram is a symbol of protection, security, one of the most ancient signs (symbols) of humanity. It is of ancient Eastern origin. Used as a military emblem; for its history and use, see Red five-pointed star.
• six pointed star- most often found in the pre-revolutionary heraldry of all European countries as an emblem with religious meaning. Currently, a six-pointed star, which is in the classical heraldry of Christian peoples! always and everywhere, when it was necessary to depict a star in general, it took a more definite position.

1. Firstly, the hexagram, that is, a six-pointed star that has only sides, but not a plane and is formed by two blue equal-sized triangles intersecting each other, has the special name “Star of David” and is a symbol of the Zionist movement and the main emblem of the state flag of Israel and at the same time the main national the emblem of this country (along with the seven-branched candlestick). Because of this, all other countries have become since the early 50s of the 20th century. Avoid using a six-pointed star and replace it with a five-pointed or eight-pointed one.
2. Secondly, the six-pointed star of a flat appearance is called the biblical or Bethlehem star, because it was its images that were traditionally placed by artists of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in paintings dedicated to the birth of Christ in Bethlehem and the coming of the four wise men to this baby. As a symbol devoid of a specific political or national meaning, it was the Star of Bethlehem that began to be especially revered and used in the 17th-19th centuries by various Christian movements in the West, especially in the USA, as a result of which late XVIII century was made the state emblem of the United States and was officially included in the US coat of arms in a place of honor (above eagle surrounded by clouds), but in a somewhat “coded” form, that is, in the form of 13 five-pointed stars arranged in the shape of a six-pointed star, which symbolize the 13 main states that made up the first USA. These stars are arranged symmetrically so that from top to bottom they follow 1: 4: 3: 4: 1 and together form one six-pointed star of Bethlehem. The emblem of the six-pointed star of Bethlehem is included in the state emblems and flags of only small states that were colonies in the past - Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Tonga, which should be attributed to the long-term influence of Christian missionaries on the local national elite. From the 14th century to the present day, the six-pointed star is used as an order star in all European countries. Currently, the six-pointed star, when officially used in coats of arms or in orders, is usually silver or white. IN XVIII-XIX centuries its traditional color was often gold or yellow. But the yellow color was compromised during the Second World War when the Nazis chose a yellow six-pointed star to mark the clothing of Jews in the ghetto, and after 1945 the Star of Bethlehem of this color practically fell into disuse. For information on the use of a red six-pointed star and its meaning in this capacity, see Etoile rouge

• Seven pointed star- one of the ancient symbols of the East, ancient civilizations. Known in Ancient Assyria, Chaldea, Sumer and Akkad. Since ancient times, since the 1st century AD. e., such a star was the emblem of Iberia (ancient Georgia), where an astral cult was developed, and later, under the Bagratids, it became one of the main emblems of Kartalinia (until the mid-15th century). In 1918-1922 it was the emblem of Menshevik Georgia, and in 1923-1936 it was “dragged” into the coat of arms of the Georgian SSR in all its variants under the guise of a disguised national ornament, and, being visible and distinguishable on the coat of arms, it was not indicated in the description of the article. 180 of the Georgian SSR directly, but was called “a border with a pattern of Georgian ornaments.” Since mid-1991, it officially became the coat of arms of the Republic of Georgia with an inscribed image of St. George the Victorious on a horse galloping to the heraldic left side. In modern foreign emblems, the seven-pointed star is used only when they want to express the concept of a star in general and try to avoid its interpretation both as a military emblem and as a religious one. Australia has a seven-pointed star (stars) in its coat of arms and on the flag and on the flag of Jordan; both countries thereby express their desire to distinguish themselves primarily from neighboring countries (Australia from New Zealand and Jordan from Israel), which also use stars in their coats of arms (New Zealand - five-pointed and Israel - six-pointed). The seven-pointed star is occasionally used as a badge of order, for example the English Order of St. Michael and St. George (1818).

• Eight pointed stars- these are, in fact, disguised crosses (two four-pointed stars), which is why Catholic countries - Colombia, Peru, and the Philippines - have such stars in their coats of arms. In addition, the eight-pointed star is the most common insignia of the order in all European and American Christian states. The eight-pointed star is especially often used for Krashanov. An almost regular octagon, formed by superimposing diagonally two squares on top of each other while preserving the lines of their intersections, was used as a symbol accompanying images of the god of hosts (god the father, more correctly, the god of forces, armies) in Russian icon painting and Christian Orthodox symbolism of pre-Nikonian times, especially from the XIV to the XVI centuries. This eight-pointed symbolic sign was depicted either at the top of icons (most often in the upper right corner), or instead of a halo, or as a background above the head of Hosts. Often both quadrangles were painted (the upper one in green and the underlying one in red) or were bordered by stripes of this color. Images of this kind are typical for the North of Russia and are available (preserved) in the museums of Rostov the Great, Vologda, and Perm. They mean (symbolize) eight millennia (“seven centuries of the Creator and the future age of the Father”*) and at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries were recognized as “heretical” from the point of view of the canons of official Orthodoxy. An eight-pointed white star with a red border and the motto “Blood and Fire” is the emblem of the British and other Anglo-Saxon branches of “The Salvation army” - a socio-religious charitable organization founded by William and Catherine Booth in London in 1865 and which became international since 1880.
• Nine-pointed stars in practice they almost never occur. They are used in rare cases only as orders in small Islamic states (for example, in the Sultanate of Johor on the Malacca Peninsula).
• Ten-pointed or ten-pointed stars were used in Soviet emblems and in the emblems of other countries that had a five-pointed star as their official emblem, since a ten-pointed star is only a five-pointed star repeated twice. Such stars are used mainly to create insignia, especially in the Arab states of North Africa.
• Eleven-pointed star- exclusively of the order, and rare at that. In the past it was used in the orders of Portugal and Imperial Ethiopia (Abyssinia).
• Twelve-pointed star means a sign of perfection. In state emblems, that is, in coats of arms, this sign is now used by only two states - Nauru and Nepal. The emblems of these states - the 12-rayed Sun - are essentially stars, for the Sun in heraldry is recognized as a star image that has 16 rays (see. Rays), and everything that has less than 16 therefore belongs to the stars. In European emblems, the 12-pointed star was used in the GDR on medals for outstanding service and loyalty, that is, as a sign of perfection of moral or professional qualities, for example, on police badges.
• Thirteen-pointed star did not exist and does not exist.
• Fourteen-pointed star Only two states have as a state emblem - Malaysia (in the coat of arms and flag) and Ethiopia (in the coat of arms). In Malaysia, this number of beams was established because it reflected the number of members of the Malaysian Federation at its formation in 1963. However, in 1965, one of its members - Singapore - without the consent of the head of state - the Sultan - unilaterally left the federation and declared itself an independent state. But Malaysia even after that left a 14-pointed star in its coat of arms, and 14 stripes on its flag, thereby emphasizing that Singapore’s secession is not officially recognized. In Ethiopia, the 14-pointed star became the main coat of arms after the 1974 revolution and appeared for the first time in the state emblem in 1975 as a completely new element (previously, in imperial Ethiopia, the six-pointed star of Bethlehem was revered). It was supposed to emphasize both the antiquity of Ethiopian culture (seven-pointed star) and its modern revival and renewal (double seven-pointed star). This emblem ceased to exist in 1991 due to the overthrow of the regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam.
• Fifteen pointed star. Theoretically, such a star is possible as a heraldic emblem with the meaning of a triple five-pointed star and can be used in ornaments, insignia, on medals, etc. However, there is not yet an organization or state that would use this emblem and justify its use.
• Sixteen-pointed star. The presence of 16 rays on a star means that such a star represents the Sun, and, therefore, in emblems it is no longer called a star, but the Sun, since according to heraldic rules, 16 is the minimum number of rays that gives grounds to call the image the Sun, and any number of rays over 16 and a multiple of 4 are also sufficient for the image possessing them to be called the Sun.
• Sixteen-pointed star just like the sixteen-rayed one, it can be considered an image of the Sun, especially if it occurs in isolation or as part of an ornament. At the same time, precisely as a sign of solar purity, clarity and immaculateness, the image of a 16-pointed star since the times of pagan Ancient Rome was considered an emblem of virginity, and hence, already in the era of early Christianity, it accompanied images of the Holy Virgin, i.e., the Mother of God, which was later reflected in the Byzantine iconography. Since the virgin and maiden are called Virgo in Latin, the 16-pointed star as an emblem of the Holy Virgin Mary later received the name Virgin Star. Until very recently, this star was not used in state heraldry, as it was considered a reserved religious emblem. However, in 1991, the newly created state of Macedonia on the ruins of the former Yugoslavia (from the Yugoslav republic of the same name) adopted the 16-pointed Virgin Star as its main state emblem, citing the fact that even before the introduction of Christianity, in the 4th century. BC e. under Philip II (359-336), this emblem was a kind of coat of arms of the Macedonian kingdom. Since Greece, as well as the Greek (and universal) Orthodox Church, opposed such use of the Virgin Star, a UN mediation commission was created to resolve the conflict, which in May 1993 outlined its recommendations, which were supported in early June 1993 by the UN Secretary General Boutros Gali. According to them, Macedonia must remove the Virgin Star from its national flag, and also change the name of the country to “New Macedonia” or “Slavomacedonia” in order to completely eliminate any associations with Ancient Macedonia and thereby remove Greece’s fears about the territorial claims of the newly-minted heir to the Macedonian kingdom, because Greece has the province of Macedonia, which at one time was part of Ancient Macedonia. However, the Macedonian government refused to implement these UN recommendations.

As for the color of the stars, they can have any heraldic colors. In this case, the color usually indicates the national or political affiliation of the star emblem

The most common color of stars is white (silver). This is the classic color of the star in old heraldry, and is still followed by most states.

The golden color of the star is less commonly accepted. It usually indicates the extremely important, state significance attached to the star emblem as the main coat of arms of a given country. Thus, China, Vietnam, Angola, Indonesia, Congo (Brazzaville), Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Suriname have gold stars in their coat of arms and flag. Sometimes the star is given only a gold border, emphasizing its significance as a state sign (for example, the red stars of the USSR, SFRY, NRB, HPR, NSRA had a gold border).

The color red is found only in five-pointed stars, which served as an emblem for socialist states.
The only exceptions are El Salvador and New Zealand, which, having introduced the image of the Southern Cross of four five-pointed stars into their flag and coat of arms, gave them a red color solely to distinguish this emblem, which is also available in other countries of the Southern Hemisphere. Until 1991, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Benin, Bulgaria, Djibouti, PDRY, North Korea, Yugoslavia, Laos, Mozambique, Mongolia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, USSR, Zimbabwe had a red five-pointed star in their coats of arms until 1991. Of these, only North Korea and Laos retained these emblems after 1991.

• Five-pointed green stars belong, as a rule, to Arab states, and among African states - Senegal, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim.
• The black color of the star was used extremely rarely in classical heraldry and symbolized the opposite of the concept of a star - not light, but darkness, night. In modern practice, since the 60s of the XX century. black and met stars are used as their distinctive, national new African states - Ghana, Gminea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, as well as the ANC party in South Africa, whose emblem is a red five-pointed star with red sickle And hammer. As a political party symbol, the black five-pointed star is used by anarcho-syndicalists in Western Europe.
• Blue color stars are relatively rare and common type. in Cameroon and Panama. It means that the guiding principle for these countries is peaceful politics.

68. “GREEN” MOVEMENT AND ITS EMBLEM.

The “green” movement (Die Grtinen, Greens) is a new social movement in Western European countries since the mid-70s (mainly in Germany, Belgium, Denmark), demanding active environmental protection and its public actions (demonstrations, picketing , filing petitions, speaking in elections and in parliaments) putting pressure on the relevant governments in order to obtain from them a legislative ban on monopolies from poisoning the environment with uncontrolled industrial activities. (Since the 80s, this movement has received representation in the parliaments of their countries and in the European Parliament.)

Emblems of the green movement

Objectively, the “green” movement, not being political, actually opposes the dominance of monopolies, for disarmament, against testing nuclear weapons, that is, from a historically progressive position. The Soviet green movement has existed unofficially since 1988. In March 1990, the Green Party was organized in Moscow, its first congress took place in Samara in June 1990. The Moscow organization, the largest, has officially existed since May 1990. Emblem the green movement was at the beginning green color, but since it has a historically different meaning, the German “green” movement soon made the sunflower its emblem as an image capable of expressing the two main ideas of the “green movement”: the fight for the preservation of nature (plant, green stem and leaf) and the fight for the preservation of life on Earth (Sun, seeds). Later, as the “green” movement developed in other European countries, the birch leaf (adopted in Germany, France, England and Holland) became its emblem. Most often it is depicted separately or with earrings (a more accurate image). This emblem due to the triangular shape of the leaf birch trees and birch as the plant that suffers most from any environmental pollution, gets sick and dies faster than others trees, should symbolize the three values ​​of nature (Sun, greenery, seeds) and its vulnerability. The new emblem of the “green movement”, the green cross, proposed in June 1992 by M. S. Gorbachev and his Foundation, has not received recognition anywhere, because such an emblem is illiterate and offensive: a Christian symbol is painted with the color of Islam.

69. SNAKE- one of the oldest emblems humanity, having different meanings in different countries. Most often interpreted as an emblem of wisdom; this meaning of snake was accepted from ancient times in all countries of Asia and Africa, that is, where they could not only more carefully observe the life of snakes, but also knew how to tame them, turn them not only into obedient, but also into useful animals, in particular, they obtained from them precious and healing poison. From here, from the civilizations of the Ancient East, comes the ancient idea of ​​the snake as a symbol of health. Therefore, in ancient Greek mythology, the mythical patron of the medical art Aesculapius (son of Apollo) was depicted with a staff around which a snake was entwined, which served as an emblem of health, vitality and immortality, and the eldest daughter of Aesculapius Hygeia, the goddess of health, carried on her hand her father’s snake, which fed on her blood.

With the introduction of Christianity and especially with the spread of Christianity among the peoples of Europe, either hostile or far from ancient culture, the idea of ​​the snake as a symbol of wisdom and health disappeared. In the countries of Western and Northern Europe, where they had vague ideas about snakes, either knew about them by hearsay, or only had in mind the forest viper and associated the snake with the legend of the devil spread by the church, they began to consider the snake a symbol of poisonousness, evil and deceit. Thus, already in the early Middle Ages, contradictory and even mutually exclusive assessments of the concept of “snake” arose, which could not but affect the diversity of symbolic interpretation of snake emblems. When translating the Bible into European languages, translators were often perplexed not only by the varied terminology that had no equivalents in European living languages ​​(serpents, the Dragon, hydra, boa constrictor, leviathan, copper serpent), but also their different meanings.

These examples already show that one single idea could not be put into the image of a snake, and this emblem to this day has different meanings in different parts of the planet, as it was originally. In the countries of Europe and throughout America, whose population was created from European settlers and where Christian and especially Catholic culture penetrated, the snake emblem means only evil, deceit. It is in this capacity that the image of a snake is present on the state emblem of Mexico, where an eagle devours a snake, that is, symbolically good defeats evil or the Mexican state defeats its enemies. Since the snake emblem is contradictory and cannot in itself give a clear idea in what capacity it is used - positive or negative, then in international modern heraldry there is a rule to use a snake necessarily with an additional attribute, which explains its specific meaning in each individual case.
So, the snake, devoured eagle, means evil, and a snake entwined in a cup, that is, pouring its poison into it, giving it to the benefit of man, is an emblem of medicine and, therefore, in this capacity is closer to its ancient floral and antique meaning as an emblem of wisdom and health. By analogy with the medical emblem in modern times the emblem of the plant protection service is composed - a snake entwined ear,- here the snake almost acts as an emblem of goodness. Similarly, the new logo of environmentalists against atomic explosions features a snake entwined cup and the green branch growing from it against the background of a nuclear mushroom serves as a reminder that humanity must be wise in order to protect itself and its health from a nuclear disaster. At the same time, a snake entwining a double-edged sword is an emblem of cunning, that is, the snake also has a negative meaning. From this it is clear that it is not customary to depict a snake separately in emblems. An example of such a gag is the bookplate (see figure), where the canonical emblem of medicine is divided into two separate emblems, each living its own life and each having its own meaning (an empty cup means death, and a crawling snake without an attribute means nothing). The only acceptable image of a snake without additional attributes is the emblem of eternity: a snake biting its own tail is the oldest prototype of a ring, a symbol of infinity, understandable and common to all peoples of the Earth.
In Soviet emblems, the snake emblem was not used, except to designate medical and quarantine services.

70. MARK OF THE 1954 HAGUE CONVENTION. On May 14, 1954, in furtherance of the principles for the protection of cultural property of world and national importance established in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and in the Washington Pact of April 15, 1935, a new Hague Convention was drawn up and adopted at a diplomatic conference convened by UNESCO in The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This convention in Art. 16 established a distinctive sign, which represents shield, pointed downward (a square with an isosceles triangle attached to its lower side, constituting a quarter of the square). This shield is divided into a square of blue color(at the bottom of the shield) and a blue triangle (at the top of the shield), which are flanked on the sides by two triangles white. The Soviet Union ratified the convention and its protocol on May 14, 1954 two years later, on December 12, 1956, and they entered into force for the USSR on April 4, 1957. The successor to the USSR in this regard is the Russian Federation.
The distinctive sign of the convention is applied three times, that is, applied three times to the surfaces of the following objects visible from the air and from the fronts:

• a) immovable cultural assets (churches, monuments, museums, architectural ensembles, etc.
• b) land and surface transport transporting cultural values;
• c) any other improvised shelters in which cultural values ​​are concentrated, evacuated, hidden or temporarily placed.

In addition, the Distinctive Mark of the 1954 Hague Convention is applied once, that is, once, one image, if it is applied:

• on cultural sites that are not under the special protection of UNESCO, but are regarded as significant from a purely national or local point of view.
• on identity cards, on documents and on personnel (their vehicles) who either monitor the implementation of the convention or protect or accompany cultural property.

The distinctive sign of the convention is applied to cultural property only at the same time that a printed UNESCO permission is posted on the application of this sign to this object. These permits are dated and signed by the government authorities of the relevant party to the convention.

Due to the fact that the Distinctive Sign of the 1954 Convention was not recognized by all countries as sufficiently attractive in a purely pictorial sense, N.K. Roerich privately repeatedly proposed using a different sign, which received the name Roerich Sign and can also be used as an unofficial identification mark at cultural sites (see Roerich).

71. ROERICH SIGN(or CHINTAMANI) - a distinctive sign proposed by N.K. Roerich as an identification mark for application to monuments and institutions of global and national significance cultural value, in order to protect and protect their facilities during the war of destruction and death. According to N.K. Roerich, such signs should be applied to museums, libraries, theaters, art galleries, outstanding architectural monuments, park art objects, historical monuments etc.
Roerich's sign is a red ring, inside of which are inscribed three red circles, forming an equilateral triangle. Roerich's sign is simpler than 1954 Hague Convention Mark, but does not have official international universal recognition and can only be used informally, without the right of legal protection cultural site, but only as an informative, distinctive sign that has moral significance.
Creating his sign initially as a project for the Banner of Peace, N.K. Roerich did not invent it a priori from his head, but relied on ancient Eastern symbolism. In Indian mythology, the circle enclosing three smaller circles denotes the wonderful Chantamani stone, which could fulfill the wishes of only people who are pure in heart. This sign (symbol) Thus, he expressed the idea that the future depends on the moral state of the current generation, that it will open up and be saved only for worthy and pure people. Roerich wanted the Chantamani sign to become a graphic symbol of the unity of the past and future achievements of mankind. This was an attempt to force ancient symbolism“work” for modernity.

72. INTERNATIONAL DETAILS- signs specifically adopted and approved as a result of multilateral international conventions, under which there are signatures of almost all or the vast majority of states in the world. These are the signs protecting hospitals, ambulance trains, hospitals, evacuation centers for the wounded and sick during hostilities and are mandatory for both warring parties. These are the same signs that protect not only people, but also animals during wars, as well as protecting monuments of culture and art in warring countries, especially objects of great international and national significance.
For each type of the above objects, there are special international conventions, enclosed in different time, and special international decals protection (see Red Cross, Red Crescent, Shamshir and Edolat, Blue Cross, Etoile Rouge, Roerich Badge, Hague Convention Badge of 1954).

73. INSIGNIA extremely varied. But they can be divided into two large groups: 1) state and 2) departmental (party, professional, public organizations, industry).
The second group of insignia as a whole is called checkers, although badges (in the everyday understanding of this term) may not be distinctive at all, but decorative or propaganda and informative in nature. But such badges are practically not taken into account in emblems, that is, they are practically not subject to the same strict emblematic requirements as the insignia of both of the above groups. It is precisely as a result of this exclusion of simple icons from the sphere of emblematics that gross violations of elementary emblematic rules often began to arise during their creation, and due to the huge circulation of simple icons, these distortions or. Errors in emblems have become widespread and are sometimes no longer perceived as errors. The group of state insignia includes orders, medals and insignia themselves, that is, insignia of lower rank than the state medal. State insignia have the right (and even must) reproduce state symbols and emblems (and diplomas are the state emblem) along with emblems that reflect the special nature of this sign (for example, an image weapons on the Order of the Patriotic War, anchors on the Order of Nakhimov, handshakes on the Order of Friendship of Peoples), as well as have other emblematic images (for example, images buildings, allegories, portrait images, Images ships etc.) associated with one or another name of the order or with the event to which it is dedicated.
After the liquidation of the Soviet Union on December 8, 1991 and the creation of a new state - the Russian Federation (RF), changes occurred in the system of state insignia, since there was a change in the political system in the country. First of all, all signs with a clearly expressed ideological socialist content have lost their meaning. At the same time, a number of Soviet orders that had broad civil and universal significance - the Star of the Hero, the Order of Motherhood, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, the Order of the Badge of Honor, all military-historical orders associated with the names of outstanding commanders of Russia (Alexander Nevsky, Suvorov, Kutuzov, Ushakova, Nakhimova); as well as the departmental order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces,” have retained their significance and continue to be used to award both Russian and foreign citizens.
In addition, the Committee on state awards under the President of the Russian Federation, he developed regulations on the status of a number of completely new orders, medals and honorary titles. So, on February 1, 1993, there was the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” (four degrees), the Order of Honor, transformed from the former Order of “Badge of Honor”, ​​the Order “For Military Merit” and the title “Hero of the Russian Federation”, as well as the medal “ Defender of Free Russia." The Regulations on honorary titles in the Russian Federation (which are marks of distinction of the third degree and are associated mainly with professional achievements in various fields - art, literature, education, health care, science and technology) have been revised and re-approved. Currently, there are 53 honorary titles of the Russian Federation, the list of which is officially published in Vedomosti Supreme Council RF".
In our country, along with such international insignia of state distinction as orders, medals, certificates of honor, there has developed a historical tradition of awarding material insignia of distinction, which existed both before the advent of orders and medals, and after their appearance along with them and were sometimes regarded accordingly with them by rank. In the XV-XVII centuries it was forty sables and other furs, a fur coat from the royal shoulder, a gold or silver neck chain (or hryvnia), and for clergy - a gold (or silver) pectoral. cross. In the 18th-19th centuries, the royal miniature enamel portrait, the royal diamond or gold monogram, gold or diamond-studded snuff boxes, silver spurs, silver and gold edged weapons, silver trumpets (for awarding individual military units), and for awarding the Muslim peoples of the Russian Empire began to be awarded Until the 20th century, gold-woven brocade and satin robes with silver and pearl belts were used, the cost of which even in those days was 500-1000 rubles. In the 20th century, in the first years of Soviet power (1917-1")27), when the symbolic state signs of the tsarist regime were abolished, material awards, traditional for Russia, were not only preserved and in principle, but also received new uniform and ideological content. These were honorary gold edged weapons or firearms; the same weapon, but with the Order of the Red Banner attached to it (since 1975, the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR began to be attached to this award); honorary weapon with silver notch; gold and silver watches from the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and, finally, an honorary photograph against the background of an unfurled banner of the unit with a certificate attached. As for the symbolic awards, they took the form of honorary titles - Honorary Red Army Soldier (Dzhigit, Cossack), Honorary Worker, Honorary Red Navyman, which, along with documents, were received as the highest award by the oldest figures of the revolutionary movement in the 20s and early 30s.
In the second half of the 30s, in the 40s and 50s, material insignia as a whole receded into the background due to the emergence of an extremely extensive system of orders and especially medals*.
From the above review it is clear that insignia by their nature are primarily an award (and not a badge of honor), and therefore in our country for a long time historical development they strongly gravitated towards a material form, and not towards a symbolic one, which is a reward in an abstract form, although in ancient times, in ancient times, they were conceived precisely as a kind of symbolic, abstract sign of honor. Moreover, even modern state insignia in our country, as a rule, are made of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver), and sometimes they also use precious stones (diamonds, rubies), and, thus, these signs, along with They also have their purely material value due to their high political and civic significance. However, in most countries of Europe and America (but not Asia), state insignia emphasizes mainly not their value, but their symbolic, honorable character as their main feature. From here it is clear that, in principle, all insignia, including the highest - orders, serve only as symbols of the award, and although many of them may include various symbols and emblems in their design, in their image, they themselves do not have any emblematic meaning and therefore cannot serve as sources of emblems. Moreover, they cannot even always give the necessary emblematic example, because sometimes they contain emblematic errors, which is almost always due to the fact that any insignia is created “on occasion,” sometimes in an extremely hasty manner, often involving random artists (this is convincingly demonstrated, for example, by the history of the creation of many Soviet military orders).
Thus, insignia are only a field for the application of the efforts of emblemists, whose task is to give the insignia, especially the state one, such a correct emblematic form so that it not only has high material and prestigious significance, but also, most importantly, is symbolically, ideologically and aesthetically artistic and exemplary work of art.
That is why in some countries since the 70s of the XX century. In a number of cases, they abandoned the use of traditional precious metals in insignia, replacing them with a durable alloy of the so-called “white metal”, and at the same time revised and changed appearance some insignia in order to give them greater artistic expressiveness. A similar change in the appearance of some previous orders (while maintaining their traditional name) has occurred over the past decades in Czecho-Slovakia, where, in addition to the south), a number of insignia had separate Czech and Slovak versions. True, not always new versions built on giving the insignia modern form, sometimes of a modernist look, turn out to be successful if they lose their emblematic character. This once again suggests that in the state insignia, the first place should be its idea, its meaning, expressed emblematically with maximum skill. Moreover, insignia should bear a certain imprint of archaism, or, rather, historical solidity and significance: they should not be confused by appearance with some modern decorations.
As stated above, in the Soviet Union there were officially no insignia of rank lower than medals (except for the Certificate of Honor), although in practice there were insignia that were neither orders nor medals, but stood outside both of the above classes of awards, and not below or above them. That is why insignia such as the Marshall Star and the sign “Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR” cannot be mixed with insignia of the third rank available in a number of foreign countries.
So, for example, in the USA, where there are no orders, and there is only one medal for military merit, below it is the “Purple heart” sign, also awarded only to the military (often in our country, especially in the press, it is incorrect called “order”, which is a gross mistake, for it is not only lower than any order, but also lower in meaning than a medal).
The Purple Heart was established by George Washington in late 1782 and was awarded to only a few military personnel until 1861. It was originally made simply from silk material, which was stretched over a heart-shaped silver staple. In 1861, the US Congress decided to establish a medal (Medal of Honor), which thus became the highest insignia in the country only because there were no orders, but internationally, naturally, remained at the level of simple military medals. In the United States, it has two versions: for the Navy and for the Army, but both versions have the same rank, so the medal actually counts as one. The medal is made of gold in the form of a five-pointed star with a trefoil at the ends of its rays. “Purple Heart” ended up in second place after that. In 1932, the “Purple Heart” began to be stamped from tin coated with purple enamel, and after the US war in Korea and especially in Vietnam, the “Purple Heart” sign began to be issued to every seriously wounded person without much solemnity, simply according to the corresponding hospital lists.
Insignia in the vast majority of countries are historically associated either with an elite class organization (religious or noble orders), or with military affairs and military contingents. Civil orders and other insignia are few in comparison with military ones, and they were mainly characteristic of socialist countries. Only very recently have some bourgeois countries begun to award state insignia to people not associated with state or military activities, representatives of various civilian professions (Finland, Sweden).
However, the two world wars, having sharply expanded the number of people who received military insignia, themselves significantly changed the social composition of order bearers in all countries and actually broke the usual XX centuries social, public and even educational boundaries, within which in former times the awarding of state insignia was carried out. The receipt of insignia by soldiers - people who are not representatives of the ruling class and capitalist states - has become, especially after the Second World War, a fairly common occurrence, which is reflected either in the actual vision of the social prestige of a particular badge (as, for example, happened in USA), or in tightening the supervision and control of the state over the correct wearing of the state sign, up to the deprivation of the right to it. In a number of countries there is a ban on wearing foreign orders. In a class society there was no need to control the correct wearing of an order or medal, although, nevertheless, exact instructions about the place were placed on the uniform, the time (days) of wearing and the appropriate costume (tailcoat, uniform, tuxedo) and social environment (receptions, ceremonial meetings ), on which the order bearer should be shown, have been significant for a number of centuries. Now everything has changed. The appearance among order bearers in a number of cases of declassed elements forced in some countries to introduce additional provisions in the statutes, such as differences, according to which deprivation of an order or medal was carried out for wearing them on dirty clothes for the wrong time, and even more so for discrediting them (if the owner, for example , ended up in the police station even for an insignificant reason) or at least for temporarily transferring an insignia to another person, even without any mercenary or criminal purposes (for example, to a child “for play”).
The so-called “ribbons”, or “temporary signs”, “temporary buckles” (interimspange), which are part of the moiré ribbon assigned to a particular sign, were introduced to the insignia, especially after the Second World War. “Ribbons” were first introduced in France in 1830 as a replacement for the Legion of Honor. Since then, a simple narrow red silk ribbon has become the cherished dream of many public and political figures of the French Republic. The Order of the Legion of Honor itself was worn only in exceptional cases - either on Bastille Day or on receptions at the Elysee Palace. Following the example of France, other countries began to gradually introduce “temporary buckles”. In the Soviet Union, the orders did not initially have either blocks with ribbons or “temporary buckles” - “ribbons”. Until 1924, all existing republican orders were worn on a red bow made of silk or satin fabric placed under them. Since 1924, allied orders were simply screwed with a pin to the lapel of a jacket or to a tunic (for the military). Only during the Second World War, on July 19, 1943, blocks and ribbons were introduced to orders and medals, and each insignia was assigned its own combination of colored stripes. Ribbons were used in all insignia, except for the “Golden Star”, “Hammer and Sickle” and the orders “Mother Heroine” and “Motherly Glory” of three degrees. The following orders were worn without pads: the Order of Victory, the Order of Suvorov, Ushakov, Nakhimov, Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Alexander Nevsky, the Patriotic War, the Red Star, “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR.”

74. MARKS OF DISTINCTION- these are symbolic signs that enable everyone to easily, quickly and accurately distinguish and compare the service level (rank, rank, rank) of a person to whom these signs are assigned, and relate it to others. Insignia usually consist of the simplest, most elementary geometric shapes (triangle, square, rhombus) or of geometric elements - lines (stripes) and dots (asterisks), which are arranged in certain combinations.

Insignia are always placed on the prominent, most noticeable parts of the uniform from a distance (epaulettes, buttonholes, sleeves) or on the high bands of caps and berets.

The insignia includes all other signal, warning, warning and indicating signs, including road signs.

Verginskaya star or Virginia sun- this is a symbol artistic image stars with sixteen rays. It was discovered in 1977 during archaeological excavations in Vergina, in Northern Greece by Professor Manolis Andronikos (Greek. Μανώλης Ανδρόνικος ). The “star” adorned the golden tomb of one of the kings of Ancient Macedonia.

Andronikos described the symbol vaguely: as a "star", "the radiance of a star" or "the radiance of the sun". He himself believed that the tomb where the star was found belonged to Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. Other historians have suggested that this is the tomb of King Philip III Arrhidaeus. It can be seen in the Archaeological Museum of Vergina, not far from the place of discovery. Another version of the “star”, with twelve rays, was on the tomb of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great.

The Vergina star is adopted as the national symbol of the Macedonians and, in a slightly modified form, is depicted on the Macedonian flag.

1. Interpretations of the symbol

Golden Larnaca of Philip II (Vergina Archaeological Museum)

The symbolism of the Vergina star is questionable. Archaeologists debate whether it was a symbol of Macedonia, an emblem of the Argead dynasty, a religious symbol representing the twelve gods of Olympus, or simply a decoration. Andronikos himself constantly interpreted it as “the emblem of the (reigning) dynasty of Macedonia,” although Eugene Borza (eng. Eugene Borza) noted that the "star" appeared frequently in ancient Macedonian art.

John Paul Adams draws attention to the continued use of the "star" as a decorative element in ancient Greek art and argues that it cannot be said with certainty whether it was a "royal" symbol of Macedonia or a "national" one.

Sixteen- and eight-rayed suns often appeared on Macedonian and Hellenic coins and shields at this time. There are also several images of Athenian hoplites with a similar sixteen-rayed symbol on their armor. Interestingly, before Andronikos discovered the “star” on the tomb in 1977, it was regarded simply as a decoration. After its discovery, it became firmly associated with Macedonia, despite more ancient sources in Greek art.

2. Legacy

After its discovery, the star was widely adopted by Greek culture as a symbol of the connection between the traditions of Ancient Macedonia and modernity. The Vergina star, depicted on a blue background, is the official emblem of the three regions, prefectures and municipalities located on the territory of historical Macedonia. It is also used as a symbol of Greek Macedonian diaspora organizations, such as the Pan Macedonian Association, or even commercial enterprises.

The "Star" was also adopted by foreign organizations of the Slavic-Macedonian diaspora, and by some nationalist organizations in the Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Macedonia. After the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991-92, the newly formed Republic of Macedonia adopted the Vergina Star as a national symbol and displayed it on its new flag, but after protests from Greece and diplomatic moves from other countries, a new flag was adopted in 1995, without the Vergina Star .

Notes

1. Danforth, L. M. , p. 163. Princeton University Press, 1997
2. Borza, E. N. , p. 260. Princeton University Press, 1990
3. W. Lindsay Adams and Eugene N. Borza, eds. , p. 82. University Press of America, 1982
4. Adams, J.P. The Larnakes from Tomb II at Vergina. Archaeological News. 12:1-7
5. Νικόλαος Μάρτης . " - tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=12515&m=B06&aa=1 (Greek) , Το ΒΗΜΑ (January 10, 1999).
6. Argeads and the Vergina Sun - www.matia.gr/7/71/7106/7106_1_8.html
7. Website of the Pan Macedonian Association - www.macedonia.com/english/
8. (13 September 1995) “Interim Accord (with related letters and translations of the Interim Accord in the languages ​​of the Contracting Parties) - untreaty.un.org/unts/120001_144071/6/3/00004456.pdf.” UN Treaty Series 1891 : Article 7.2 and Related Letters pp.15–18. Retrieved 20 March 2011.

Sources

• Philip II, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Heritage, ed. W. Lindsay Adams and Eugene N. Borza. University Press of America, 1982. ISBN 0-8191-2448-6
• The Larnakes from Tomb II at Vergina. Archaeological News. John Paul Adams
• In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon, Eugene N. Borza. Princeton University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-691-05549-1
• "Macedonia Redux", Eugene N. Borza, in The Eye Expanded: life and the arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity, ed. Frances B Tichener & Richard F. Moorton. University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0-520-21029-8
• Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference, Jane K. Cowan. Pluto Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7453-1589-5
• The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World, Loring M. Danforth. Princeton University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-691-04357-4
• Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation, McFarland & Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7864-0228-8

5. External links

• - www.wipo.int/cgi-6te/guest/ifetch5?ENG 6TER 15 1151315-REVERSE 0 0 1055 F 125 431 101 25 SEP-0/HITNUM,B KIND/Emblem
• Image of gold box with Vergina Sun in Thessaloniki Museum - www.kzu.ch/fach/as/aktuell/2000/04_vergina/verg_04.htm
• Flags of Greek Macedonia - www.fotw.net/flags/gr-maced.html - Flags of the World
• The Vergina Sun - www.tetraktys.org/images/tetraktys_ani.gif
• Republic of Macedonia National Flag 1992-1995 - www.fotw.net/flags/mk_verg.html - Flags of the World