Signs and symbols in art. Signs and symbols Since primitive times, various types of images (sculptural, pictorial, graphic) have been symbolic
Using the Symbol when creating tombstones monuments allows you to convey a wide layer of meanings, one way or another associated with a deceased person. It should be noted that the use of symbolism differs from the simple transmission of information in the form of text by its incomparably greater semantic richness. The perception of a particular symbol is a purely individual process, even despite the established rules for their interpretation. By deciphering the symbol of a tombstone, a person independently forms an idea of the deceased person.
There is a huge number of historically established funeral tombstone symbols of various natures - ethnic, professional, indicating social status, age, certain personal qualities, era, but primarily religious.
The following is an approximate list of the most common symbols used when creating tombstones. The symbols are grouped according to the nature of the elements used. At the end is a list of Latin quotations most commonly used in Catholic tombstones.
Geometric symbolism
Circle- a pre-Christian symbol, whose original meaning was also adopted by the Christian religion. A universal symbol of Eternity and Eternal Life, extremely often found on tombstones. Its most common form is a cross in a circle (Celtic cross). Two circles - one above the other - symbolize the earth and sky. Three interconnected circles symbolize the Trinity.
Equilateral triangle / Trefoil / Triquetra (“Gothic rosette”, triangle of three arcs) - Christian symbol of the Holy Trinity. It can also look like a triangle in a circle, a triquetra in a circle, a circle in a triangle. Additionally, the triangle is used to symbolize the "All Seeing Eye" (an eye in an equilateral triangle). The All-Seeing Eye, enclosed in a triangle and a circle, symbolizes the eternity of the Holy Trinity.
Pyramid- symbol of Eternity. It was believed that this symbol prevents the influence of dark forces on the grave.
Square- symbolizes earthly existence. On some monuments you can see a square inverted into a diamond shape, indicating with its angles the directions of the earth and sky.
Pentagram- a five-pointed star, drawn with one stroke of a pen, enclosing an equilateral pentagon, in Christianity personifies the five wounds of Christ. Ancient symbol, used by the Babylonians, whose origin is precisely unknown. In pre-Christian times, the Celts called the pentagram the “witch’s mark.” In the Middle Ages, it was also called the “goblin cross” and the seal of Solomon (an interesting variation, in addition, the pentagram symbolized the five senses). In the Middle Ages, the symbol was actively used by alchemists and researchers. It is believed that the pentagram protects against the influence of dark forces and demons, just like the pentagon. Also used by Wicca representatives. In Judaism, the pentagram symbolizes the five books of Moses.
Star of David- a generally accepted symbol of Judaism, a six-pointed star formed from two triangles, personifies divine protection. The oldest symbol used in Greece and some states of Asia Minor. In the Middle Ages it was also used by alchemists as a symbol of fire and water. Star of David received widespread as a symbol of Judaism only at the beginning of the 20th century with the light hand of Jewish activist Theodore Hertzel.
Swastika (Crux Dissimulata)- one of the oldest and most widespread symbols, it has several ways of writing. Represents the sun, fire, the circle of life and the four cardinal directions. The exact origin of the symbol has not been established; it was known in ancient Asia, and it is believed that it was from there that it passed to the Germanic tribes. The cross inscribed in a circle also symbolizes the directions of earth and sky and human self-improvement. IN different cultures has its own specifics: in Buddhist memorials it symbolizes the doctrine of the Buddha; in China it also has two forms - male and female (clockwise/counterclockwise). It was used by the Romans, and also, as everyone knows, was a symbol of Nazi Germany...
Cross (crucifixion) is a unifying symbol of various directions of Christianity, personifies the sacrifice of Christ, the resurrection and faith itself.
There are quite a few various forms Christian cross:
Latin cross ("God's sign")- one of the oldest symbols of Christianity, as well as one of the simplest and most common forms (I must say that it only benefits from the laconic design).
Golgotha(three-step) cross - a Latin cross mounted on three steps, symbolizing faith, hope and love (or mercy). In Catholic culture, the tradition of decorating the Latin Calvary cross with a wreath of roses or lilies is very common. The pink wreath itself symbolizes rewarded virtue and beauty, the wreath of lilies - purity and purity, the frontal wreath can also symbolize Eternity, creating, together with the Latin cross, the form of the Celtic.
Celtic (Irish) cross is a cross enclosed in a circle, personifying Eternity or Eternal Life. The legend of St. Patrick is associated with this form of the cross,
who drew a cross in a circle on the sacred stone of the Moon Goddess and blessed it.
Eastern cross- belongs to the Orthodox (Orthodox) Church and is accepted in Russia and Greece. This cross has two additional parts at the top and bottom: at the top -
a tablet with the inscription “Jesus Christ - King of the Jews”, below is a crossbar that touched the feet of the crucified Christ.
Gothic cross ("Fleuree")- all four sides of this cross expand like petals, symbolizing an adult, mature Christian.
Cross - trefoil ("Botonee")- the three sides of this cross end with a modified image of a trefoil, symbolizing the Trinity (occurs
and in Orthodox cemeteries).
Greek cross- all four sides of this cross are equal in length. This shape of the cross sends us back to the pre-Christian era, when its four equal sides
symbolized the four elements - earth, air, fire and water.
Ionic cross- similar in shape to the Celtic cross, but its sides expand like a Gothic one. There are at least three other more distinctive forms of the cross found on tombstones.
Andreevsky cross- a cross in the shape of " X“According to legend, St. Andrew could not allow himself to be crucified on a cross similar to the cross of Jesus, so he begged his tormentors to be crucified on a cross of this shape.
Egyptian/Coptic cross- Ankh, a symbol of Eternal Life, which is actually found on Catholic tombstones.
Teutonic/Maltese cross- looks like an equilateral Gothic cross. OnMoscow Vvedensky cemetery, almost all of the listed forms are representedcrosses, often not only in their pure form, but also with very interesting and effective variations.
"Object" symbols
Angel- cemetery “classic”, a symbol of spirituality. In the canonical Christian perception, angels - “messengers of the Lord” guard graves, accompany the souls of the dead, and pray for those in Purgatory. Two of them are easily recognizable - these are the archangels Michael and Gabriel, saints especially revered by the Catholic Church: Michael is usually depicted with a sword, Gabriel with a trumpet (the sign of the Day of Judgment). Angels depicted without these artifacts for the most part belong to the countless host of guardian angels, family and, so to speak, personal.
Arch (or rainbow)- victory of Life over Death, or victory in death (“trampling death by death...”), the path to Heaven, the transition from life through death to Eternal Life.
Harp- a symbol of piety and hope. Refers to St. Cecilia, patroness of musicians.
All Seeing Eye- “The Lord is omnipresent.” The “all-seeing eye” enclosed in a triangle symbolizes the Trinity.
Cherub head- personification of the soul.
burning lamp- The Eternal Flame or the immortal soul of a person.
Children- usually symbolize the untimely death of an innocent. Often this is the death of parents (or one of them), mourned by children. The image of a child holding a skull represents a child's grave. Children are often depicted with garlands of flowers - roses or lilies (both flowers symbolize purity).
Drapery- a symbol of grief and mourning.
Female figure (mourner)- a canonical funerary motif as common as angels. There is no point in explaining that she personifies grief from the loss of a loved one, unfading love, humility and faith.
Sunset- extinction of life, death.
Star- a symbol of the life of Christ, his five wounds. In a broader sense, it is a symbol of spirituality, the Eternal Light piercing the darkness of oblivion. The five-pointed star symbolizes a pure soul rising into Heaven...
Celtic knot- resurrection and Eternal Life.
Keys- symbolize spiritual knowledge. In the hands of an angel or saint (St. Peter) means the keys to Paradise
Book- prayer book, bible, Book of Life, can also symbolize knowledge or even memory. Usually depicted open. May indicate the “professional” affiliation of the priest.
Crown- immortality, a symbol of honor and glory. May be depicted in the hands of angels.
Crown crowning a cross- a symbol of the supreme power of the Lord.
Scythe- death as “the harvest of the Lord”, personification of Death - Gloomy Mower
winged wheel- personification of the Holy Spirit.
winged ball- originally a symbol of Ra, the Egyptian sun god. In the Victorian era, it was transformed into a Christian symbol, personifying the life-giving power of the Lord.
winged skull- a very old symbol, which later turned into the head of a cherub as the personification of the soul of the deceased ascending to Heaven.
Jug- a traditional Jewish symbol: a jug for washing the hands of the high priests.
Labyrinth- life path.
Menorah- a Jewish symbol of the presence of God, a candlestick with seven candles, symbolizing the seven days of creation.
Obelisk- Egyptian universal form of monument, revived in the 19th century.
Hourglass- symbolize the inevitable passage of time, the transience of life, death and Eternity. An hourglass lying on its side means that time has stopped for the deceased; an hourglass with wings symbolizes the rapid flight of time...
Flame- Eternity.
Broken ring- loss of one of the family members.
Destroyed Column(can be decorated with a flower garland) - life cut short too early, loss of the head of the family, decay and decline.
Shell- tradition of using shells in funeral rituals goes back to hoary, pre-Egyptian antiquity. The shell is a symbol of fertility and abundance, rebirth and wandering. There is an old custom of leaving small pebbles, coins and shells in cemeteries as a sign of remembrance...
Dawn, rising sun- renewed, revived Life.
Sarcophagus, coffin- mortality, perishability of all things.
Candle- Life. Extinguished candle- faded life...
Scroll- a symbol of life and time. Both ends, twisted upward, show the uncertainty of the past and future and the uncertainty of life (“The ways of the Lord are inscrutable”). In the hand of an angel means that life is being written by him. Can also symbolize recognition and memory.
Heart A traditional symbol of love, courage and intelligence, the flaming heart represents exceptional religiosity. The heart enclosed in a crown of thorns symbolizes the suffering of Christ. The heart pierced by a sword symbolizes the Virgin Mary at the moment when she hears Simeon’s prophecy about the birth of Christ (“And the sword will pierce your soul...”), and this symbol can also represent mercy. Two interconnected hearts represent the bond of marriage.
Crossed swords- death in battle.
Sleeping Sculpture- a dream is a thread between Life and Death. A sleeping child personifies purity, naturalness, and innocence.
Shell valve(round, resembling a flower) - a symbol of pilgrimage, wanderings, eternal life, birth and resurrection. A traditional symbol of the Puritans, which arose as a sign of the pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James, when the shell shell was hung around the neck as a pendant.
Arrow or figure with an arrow- mortality
Symbol of Tao(Yin/Yang) - oddly enough, this symbol of the unity of opposites is also found on Christian tombstones...
Pipes- a symbol of victory and salvation on Judgment Day.
Urn- a widely used symbol of mourning. Initially, in ancient times, the urn was a container for the ashes of the deceased. Since the mid-19th century, a symbolic funeral composition representing an angel (or mourner) bending over an urn with ashes, decorated with drapery or a flower garland, has become widespread.
Torch- duplicates the symbol of a lamp, candle, lamp: Eternal Life of the soul.
Extinguished torch- physical death.
Cherubim(child angels) - usually denote children's graves.
Scull(with crossed bones), dancing skeleton - "Memento mori" - a traditional symbol of death.
Anchor(or cross and anchor) - an early Christian symbol from the time of the catacomb church, a disguised symbol of the cross (funny that as a result of an inversion). In the words of Christ, “hope is the anchor of the soul.” Often depicted sandwiched between rocks. An anchor with a broken chain symbolizes an interrupted life. It may also simply indicate the professional affiliation of the deceased.
Image hands it’s quite possible to highlight V separate section:
Outstretched hands- a plea for mercy.
blessing hand- blessing to those who remain.
Hand pointing up - symbolizes hope for the mercy of the Lord, confirms life after death.
Hand pointing down- symbolizes sudden death.
Hands holding a chain with a broken link- a symbol of the loss of one of the family members.
The Hand of God Pulling a Link from a Chain- means that He takes the soul of the deceased to himself.
Hands holding an open bible- symbolize the Christian faith.
Clasped hands- last farewell. Unity and love even after death. This symbol has an interesting detail: as a rule, the right hand holds the left, left hand- this is the hand of a woman, a wife; this can often be determined by the cuff. Clasped hands and heart represent mercy.
Two hands touching thumbs- an interesting symbol meaning a wish for long life and prosperity and related to Judaism. At the end of the service in Orthodox synagogues, this gesture is a blessing.
Animals
Butterfly- soul / short life. A rather rare symbol, most often found on the graves of children. Symbol of the resurrection of Christ, three stages: caterpillar - chrysalis - butterfly represent life - death - resurrection.
Squirrel holding a nut in its paws- religiosity, spiritual search
Dove- Holy Spirit. The image of the white dove is taken from the episode of the Baptism of the Lord in the Gospel of John. The dove, depicted with an olive branch, symbolizes hope.
Dolphin- resurrection.
Dragon- a dragon defeated by St. George - a symbol of victory over sin.
Snake- a snake coiled in a ring and biting its tail symbolizes Eternity.
Whale- motherhood.
Lion- personifies the power of God and eternally protects the grave and soul of the deceased from dark forces. In addition, it symbolizes courage, courage and, like most Christian symbols, the resurrection.
Horse- courage and generosity. In addition, the following "equestrian" saints are represented in Catholicism: St. George, St. Martin, St. Maurice and St. Victor.
Frog- worldly joys and sins, on the other hand, can symbolize resurrection
Deer- faith, spiritual search / Christ who defeated Satan.
Eagle- symbol of St. Peter. May indicate military career deceased. Courage, valor.
Peacock/Phoenix- symbolize resurrection, immortality and spiritual beauty.
Rooster- awakening, resurrection.
Birds in flight- a symbol of the “winged soul”, Eternal Life, often used on the graves of children. The tradition of depicting the soul in the form of a bird dates back to the Ancient Egyptian civilization. Later, wings began to be depicted as a symbol of divine mission.
Fish- indicates faith
Dog- a kind of symbol meaning that the owner deserved love
Owl- a traditional symbol of wisdom.
Lamb- one of the favorite Christian symbols and one of the favorite symbols for marking a child's grave. Symbolizes purity, innocence and humility. It is curious that, being one of the fundamental symbols of Christianity, personifying the sacrifice of Christ, it originally appeared in Egyptian mythology...
Plants.
Wreath, garland- originally, an ancient pre-Christian symbol of victory and recognition. It was perceived by the Christian religion as a symbol of victory through the atonement of sins, and is currently one of the most common memorial motifs.
Abstract tree- Tree of Life.
Abstract flower- fragility of life.
Acanthus- divine garden. One of the oldest gravestone motifs, reminiscent of the rocky lands where Greek cemeteries were located.
Pineapples and figs- prosperity, Eternal Life
Pansies- a symbol of humility and memory.
Hawthorn- hope, joy, symbol of spring.
Oak- a symbol of Christ, it is believed that his cross was made of oak. In pre-Christian times, the Druids worshiped the oak tree as the Tree of Life. On the other hand, as a decoration for a grave, oak leaves and acorns symbolize strength, power (especially military power), and victory.
Honeysuckle- devoted love and tenderness, generosity.
Dogwood- a symbol of Christianity, divine sacrifice, resurrection, triumph of Eternal Life.
Cypress- Romanesque pre-Christian tradition. The house was decorated with cypress branches as a sign of grief while the body of the deceased was there; it was laid on cypress branches before burial. According to one version, cypress symbolizes hope and memory. Cypress trees have been and remain an essential part of Mediterranean cemeteries.
Brush of grapes with leaves- Christian faith (grapes are one of the symbols of Christ).
Crocus- youth.
Signs and symbols Since primitive times, various types of images (sculptural, pictorial, graphic) have been sign and symbolic codes that were used by ancient people to carry out rituals, preserve and transmit information. Any significant sound, gesture, thing, event can be either a sign or a symbol.
Signs and symbols Signs are generally accepted symbols for objects, phenomena, and actions. Examples of signs include road signs or symbols on geographical maps, SOS sounds or ambulance sirens, the most different gestures etc.
Signs and symbols A symbol can be designated by a number, property, or shape. For example, the number 7 is a symbol of perfection and completeness (seven days in each phase of the moon, seven colors of the rainbow, seven notes, seven days of the week, seven virtues, seven deadly sins, seven sacraments Hieronymus Bosch (ok) Seven Deadly Sins
Signs and symbols Art speaks to people in the language of symbols. A symbol in art is artistically embodying an idea. A symbol, like a riddle, has multiple meanings; its meanings can be revealed indefinitely, unlike a sign, which is understood by everyone in the same way. The depth of understanding of a symbol depends on a person’s ability to interpret, on his erudition and intuition. Hieronymus Bosch (Nearby) Triptych Garden of Earthly Delights.
Signs and symbols by S. Botticelli “The Annunciation” There were eras in history when people especially often turned to symbols in art. In the Middle Ages, man's aspiration to God was of particular interest. Therefore, the things that surrounded a person interested the artist only to the extent that they were connected with the meaning of the Holy Scriptures. Many medieval paintings depict a cup, grapes (wine) and bread, symbols of the sacrament of communion; Lily or iris flowers are a symbol of the Mother of God.
Signs and symbols The choice of color and color is also symbolic: red-brown was a symbol of everything earthly (clay, earth); the red color of shed sacrificial blood, the fire of faith; blue or blue symbolized everything heavenly and holy; A green hope, the color of life, a symbol of consolation, rebirth to a new life. Trinity. Andrey Rublev.
Signs and symbols from the 15th century. The things depicted in the picture are endowed with both a religious and everyday double meaning. The traditional divine symbolism of the Middle Ages continues in the religious. In everyday life, the usual significance of a thing in a person’s everyday life is manifested.
Giusappe Recchi. Still life with five senses. Giuseppe Recchi, a master of still lifes, solved this problem as a true follower of laconicism in one picture. On a small table, he laid out several objects that personified the five senses of man: a lute - hearing, a notebook with notes - vision, a dish of izheyu - taste, a spyglass and glasses - another reminder of vision, flowers - smell. To personify the sense of touch, a small box was left. In the art of Naples, paintings on the themes of the five human senses - hearing, sight, taste, smell, touch - occupied their place. Famous paintings Jose de Ribera on the same topic. For Ribera, the sense of touch was personified by a blind sculptor, the sense of smell by a peasant with garlic, and hearing by a cheerful girl with a tambourine. There was a separate picture for each of the feelings.
Y. Van Streck. Vanity of Vanities Many works of the 17th century. are symbolic in nature, which is often conveyed by the objects presented in them: glasses of wine, bread, fish, withered flowers, watches, etc. Sometimes ordinary objects, unusually combined in one composition, represent figurative codes that are difficult to unravel. This is especially characteristic of the widespread in the 17th century. a still life called vanitas (vanitas vanity of vanities) and reminding a person of the frailty of his existence.
The skull is a reminder of the inevitability of death. The skull is a reminder of the inevitability of death. Soap bubbles - the brevity of life and the suddenness of death; a reference to the expression homo bulla “man is bubble" Soap bubbles - the brevity of life and the suddenness of death; a reference to the expression homo bulla “a man is a soap bubble.” Cups, playing cards or dice, chess (rarely) a sign of an erroneous life goal, a search for pleasure and a sinful life. Cups, playing cards or dice, chess (rarely) are a sign of an erroneous life goal, a search for pleasure and a sinful life. Hourglass and mechanical watches represent the transience of time. Hourglass and mechanical watches represent the transience of time. Musical instruments, notes, brevity and the ephemeral nature of life, symbol of the arts. Musical instruments, notes, brevity and the ephemeral nature of life, symbol of the arts. Weapons and armor are a symbol of power and might, a designation of what cannot be taken with you to the grave. Weapons and armor are a symbol of power and might, a designation of what cannot be taken with you to the grave. Crowns and papal tiaras, scepters and orbs, wreaths of leaves are signs of transient earthly domination, which is opposed to the heavenly world order. Crowns and papal tiaras, scepters and orbs, wreaths of leaves are signs of transient earthly domination, which is opposed to the heavenly world order.
Balthasar van der Ast “Fruit Basket” If we assume that apples here symbolize victory over sin, and insects and lizards were often associated with evil, then this usual painting has a lot of disguised symbolism. The presence of defects and wormholes, butterflies, dragonflies and flies is very unusual for still lifes. The plot - a lizard gnawing an apple that fell out of a basket, turns into a scene of the struggle between good and evil.
Kiprensky Orest Adamovich - Portrait of Ekaterina Sergeevna Avdulina. Avdulina is wearing a pearl necklace. Pearls in Christian symbolism mean both wealth of spirit and grief and sadness. And if Avdulina herself is the embodiment of fragile young beauty and spirituality, then the dark thunderclouds and the road, barely visible in the twilight, gently rising up the hill, symbolize the difficult path of life and evoke the idea of the fragility and defenselessness of spiritualized beauty in our harsh world. While working on the portrait, the artist was overcome by sad thoughts, which can be briefly expressed in the words of Friedrich Schiller: Everything beautiful perishes in its best color, This is the lot of the beautiful in the world. A fan rolled up and lowered in the hand symbolizes disappearance.
Symbols in architecture. Very expressive, for example, symbolism Orthodox churches. The number of chapters on the temple is also symbolic. If a temple has one dome, it means it is dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ. Two chapters remind us of the dual nature of Christ: God and Man. The three heads of the temple indicate the three faces of the Holy Trinity; The five chapters mean Jesus Christ and the four evangelists; seven chapters of seven holy sacraments and seven Ecumenical Councils; thirteen Jesus Christ and 12 apostles.
Self-portrait in a felt hat. Van Gogh Vincent.. Portraits, landscapes, still lifes, genre scenes of Vincent van Gogh () reflect his rebellious, independent of canons and norms, lonely soul.
V. Van Gogh. Starry night. His works are permeated with a sense of acute anxiety and confusion. Difficult inner world the artist is often revealed through symbols. Van Gogh sought to reflect the content with the help of expressive, psychologically rich colors.
Symbols in painting. “I tried to express the terrible passions of man in red and green,” said the artist. The emotional intensity was intensified many times over thanks to the technique used by the master of applying paint with small dashed lines and the wave-like rhythm of their movement. V. Van Gogh. Still life with oleander V. Van Gogh. Church in Auvers
Symbols in painting. P. Picasso. Musical instruments. P. Picasso. Violin. Pablo Picasso also used symbolism in his works (). The characters in his still lifes were often musical instruments. Perhaps this is due to the sophistication of their forms, or perhaps to the desire to synthesize painting and music.
Symbols in the music of N. Paganini “Perpetual Motion” The symbol of the embodiment of the image of “perpetual motion” became the instrumental pieces “Perpetuum mobile” (“Perpetual Motion”) by various composers: N. Paganini, F. Mendelssohn, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and others. Musical art speaks to us in the language of sounds and is filled with secrets. With amazing variety and depth, through a system of signs and symbols, music expresses the richest world of human feelings. Even a single sound, taking into account all its aspects of height, duration, timbre, and volume, is a sign-intonation. It can indicate timidity or confidence, constraint or freedom, tenderness or rudeness.
Symphony 5 by L. Beethoven Symphony 5 by L. Beethoven. A musical sign that becomes a symbol can be called the motif of fate, the grain-intonation from which the entire Symphony 5 of L. Beethoven grows. And such examples in musical art multitude. Symphony 5 by L. Beethoven National anthems are musical symbols that embody the unity of the people, their culture, and pride in their country.
Homework Select works of music, poetry or fine art that, through the language of signs and symbols, would tell about some event in your life, about something that left a mark on your memory and soul. Select works of music, poetry or fine art that, through the language of signs and symbols, would tell about some event in your life, about something that left a mark on your memory and soul.
G. BC e. Not preserved.
In the loggias of the building Russian National Library(b. Public) architect Russia erected statues of scientists, philosophers, and poets of antiquity.
There are ten statues in total: here are Herodotus and Euclid, Cicero and Tacitus, Plato and Homer, Virgil and Euripides, Demosthenes and Hippocrates. The facade is crowned with the figure of the goddess of wisdom Minerva.
Among them is a statue Hippocrates- Chief Physician of World Medicine. In his right hand is a staff entwined with a snake. 
The god of healing - Asclepius (Aesculapius) was also depicted with a staff with a snake entwined around it. The snake and the cup, as you know, are the emblem of medicine.
And the image of the daughter of Asclepius Hygiei(from her name - hygiene), captured in a fountain in St. Petersburg. Fountain "Hygieia" was created by the sculptor D. Jensen and the architect A. Stackenschneider and installed in front of the facade of the Military Medical Academy on the street. Lebedeva. 
On the pedestal there is a statue of a seated Hygieia, her left hand with a bowl is extended forward, and along her arm, entwining it, a serpent crawls towards the bowl.
A very harmonious monument, one of my favorites.
Fountain with snakes
In the courtyard of the Institute of Experimental Medicine (IEM) on Academician Pavlov Street there is a fountain by the sculptor I. Bezpalov. A bronze bowl is installed in the center of a granite pool. Along the edges are four pedestals on which snakes are coiled. 
According to the book of symbols, a reptile curled into a ball means not only health, but also prudence, doubt, and precaution.
There, by the way, there is a famous monument to a dog, erected on the initiative of Academician I. Pavlov - one of the first monuments to animals.
Apollo
In the Summer Garden there is a statue of Apollo Phoebus - the god of arts and sunlight. A snake wrapped itself around a tree next to him. This is a copy of the ancient original, the famous Apollo Belvedere by the Italian master Paolo Triscorni. 
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Zakharyevskaya st., 23. House of L. I. Nezhinskaya in the Art Nouveau style. At the entrances there are huge statues of the sun god Ra, and on the walls there is an abundance of decorative elements on the theme of Ancient Egypt. 
In terms of the number of snakes in the design of the facade, this is the most “snake” house in St. Petersburg.
The head of Medusa the Gorgon during the Classical and Empire periods became traditional decorative element, accompanying military fittings in the architecture of buildings and fences. It is a frequent motif in the decoration of fences and bridges in St. Petersburg.
Southern lattice of the Summer Garden overlooking the Moika River, architect Charlemagne 
Another netsuke figurine.
Kiyohime- in Japanese folklore, a girl who turned into a snake out of longing for her lover. The figurine of Kiyohime’s netsuke is a reminder of the possible retribution for unfulfilled promises. 
The young monk Anchin promised to return, but forgot about Kiyohime, and she waited a long time for his return.
Seething with anger, she headed towards the monastery and turned into a huge dragon snake. Anchin, in fear, decided to hide from the snake under the bell. However, Kiyohime found it and entwined the bell with the rings of her body. With the fire of hatred, Kiyohime melted the bell and burned the monk, and then left the monastery.
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Naga guards at the entrance to a Buddhist temple in Cambodia 
Sculpture of Buddha sitting on a cobra 
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A sculptural group at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport based on the myth of churning (churning) the Ocean of Milk. Deva gods and asura demons are engaged in churning the Ocean of Milk to obtain the nectar of immortality amrita.
On one side, the snake king Vasuki is pulled by the gods, on the other by the asuras.
This brought not only amrita to the world, but also a lot of valuable artifacts.
Fountain in a park on the banks of the Mekong, Vientiane, Laos 
Wat Samphan is a giant Dragon Temple. Thailand 
Stunning temple, which is surrounded by a huge serpent-dragon on the outside
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And finally, a “man-made” snake
Pharaoh snake
Pharaoh snakes are a series of reactions that are accompanied by the formation of a porous product from reacting substances and are accompanied by the rapid release of gas. Chemical trick)) 
As a result, the reaction looks as if a large snake is crawling out of the mixture of reagents and crawling across the table, like a real one.
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The all-Ukrainian project “Together for Nature” continues to accept applications for participation in the contemporary sculpture competition “Symbol of the Carpathians”. Based on its results, they will choose best project and then they will install a sculpture of the Eurasian lynx in Morshyn. You can take part in the competition. And we found the best ones for you interesting examples how sculptures became symbols of cities.
The Spoonbridge and Cherry
Where: 726 Vineland Pl, Minneapolis, Minnesota
The art installation in the form of a giant spoon and a cherry was created in 1985 by artist Claes Oldenburg. It became the centerpiece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the largest urban sculpture park in the world.
The spoon itself weighs about two tons, and the cherry weighs 500 kg. The stem of the cherry tree is a fountain that sprays water and then it flows by spoon into the pond.
By the way, the reservoir itself is shaped like a linden seed. And this is no coincidence: many linden trees grow next to it.
Cloud Gate
Where: 201 E. Randolph St., Millennium Park, Chicago
Cloud Gate, one of Chicago's most visited attractions, was first shown to the public in 2004 at the opening of Millennium Park. “The Bob,” as Kapoor's work is called, weighs 110 tons and is made of 168 stainless steel plates. The seams between them are so polished that the sculpture looks monolithic and incredibly light, despite its enormous size and significant weight.
London artist Anish Kapoor gave it the name "Cloud Gate" for a simple reason - 80 percent of its surface reflects the sky. And at the bottom of the sculpture there is a concave dome, entering which visitors can see their reflection from different perspectives.
LOVE
Where: Avenue of the Americas, 55th Street & 6th Ave, New York
LOVE is considered a pop art icon along with Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup can. The design of the letters LO over VE was originally created in painterly form by artist Robert Indiana when MoMA commissioned him for a Christmas card in 1964. In his youth, the artist attended a Christian church, where there were posters reading “God is love.” They inspired Indiana to create LOVE: four bold letters in bright colors.
In 1970, Indiana repeated the LOVE design in the form of a sculpture that became a symbol of New York.
Interestingly, Robert Indiana did not register copyright for his work. In the late 60s, when a huge number of "pirated" versions of LOVE appeared, Indiana tried to copyright his work, but failed.
Der Hase
Where: Tiergarthertorplatz, Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
Nuremberg is a city of rabbits and hares. Here they can be found everywhere, in various incarnations: from figurines and chocolate coins in souvenir shops to art objects. And this is no coincidence.
In 1502, Albrecht Dürer created the drawing "Hare". This is one of the first works he signed and dated. The residents of Nuremberg loved the bunny depicted by Dürer so much that copies of the painting appeared in almost every house.
Based on it, in 1984, German avant-garde artist Jurgen Hertz created the grotesque sculptural composition Der Hase - a figure of a giant bronze rabbit with bulging eyes crawling out of a wooden box. And next to him lurked a small gilded hare. The sculpture was created as a parody of the famous graphic work Durer and installed in front of the house-museum of the outstanding artist.
Angel of the North
Where: Durham road, Gateshead, England
Since its installation in 1998, the Angel of the North has become the most recognizable symbol of Gateshead, a city in the north-east of England.
This gigantic 20-meter sculpture with a wingspan of 54 meters and weighing 208 tons was created by contemporary monumentalist Antony Gormley.
They decided to install the sculpture on a hillside, which was not easy, given the peculiarities of its design. The statue must withstand wind speeds of 160 km/h, and therefore required the construction of a concrete foundation 21 m underground. As a result, the total weight of the structure was 700 tons, of which 500 tons are the foundation, and 200 tons are the weight of the sculpture.
Many Gateshead residents objected to the statue, saying it would distract drivers and cause road accidents on the A1. In addition, the Getshead Post published a scathing article comparing Gormley's work to Albert Speer's sculpture of Icarus, commissioned by the Nazis in the 1930s.
Despite criticism, the Angel of the North was installed and became one of the most famous urban sculptures in the world. Since the statue is located next to one of the UK's largest motorways, it is seen by around 90,000 people every day.
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History of the sword.
In world history, the origin of the sword is hidden under the impenetrable thickness of centuries. A sword is a type of bladed weapon with a straight blade, intended for a slashing blow or slashing and piercing blows; in the broadest sense, it is the collective name for all long bladed weapons with a straight blade.
Since ancient times, swords of various shapes have been known: short and long, wide and narrow, straight and curved, light and heavy, two-handed. In the Bronze Age, swords were made of bronze, in the Iron Age - respectively, from iron.
The sword consists of the following parts: blade, hilt, pommel and guard. The combination of the handle, guard and pommel is called the hilt. (Fig. 1)
The guard is a part that protects the fighter's hand. In most medieval blades it has the form of a crosshair, but there are also cup-shaped (like rapiers), block-shaped (like gladius) or even net-like guards.
The pommel (also known as the head) is a weight on the end of the sword opposite the blade. Usually has a more or less spherical shape. It is needed to balance the weapon: to move the center of gravity of the sword from its middle closer to the hand.
What is a sword made of?
Figure 1
There is probably no need to explain what a blade and a hilt are. I note that the blades differ primarily in shape, length and method of sharpening. For example, most European blades in the Middle Ages were double-edged and sharpened at the end, but this is not at all necessary. The side cutting edge of the blade is called the blade, and the piercing end is called the tip.
For many centuries, the sword remained the most formidable and most revered type of weapon. The extraordinary popularity of the sword has its reasons. Even though a blow with a sword cannot be compared with an ax in terms of penetrating and lethal force, and the radius of threat cannot be compared with a spear or axe, the sword has several serious advantages.
A warrior with a sword gets tired much less than someone with an unbalanced weapon. A blow uses up a small fraction of the energy that is needed to swing an axe.
It is convenient to parry blows with a sword - in any case, more convenient than with a polearm, which tends to break. The sword helps its owner to defend himself. The sword is a fast weapon. Even chopping, it is still quite maneuverable. An important consequence of all this: a sword is better than many types of weapons in allowing you to realize an advantage in combat technique.
Warriors of hoary antiquity and the romantic Middle Ages saw in the sword not just a strip of sharpened metal that brings death, but something more - a faithful friend, often endowed with magical properties, and treated it with respect, as a living being.
In the early Middle Ages, a blacksmith was considered an extraordinary creature, close to a sorcerer, undoubtedly due to his ability to make weapons and forge swords.
Symbolism of the sword.
As the main type of weapon, the sword was a symbol of war, strength and power, and as the main instrument of “God's judgment” - the highest justice and justice. And these are only the most important, generally accepted symbolic meanings of the sword. For many peoples who worshiped its magical power, the sword also meant divine intelligence, insight, power, fire, light, division or death. Losing a sword in battle was tantamount to losing strength, so a broken sword symbolized defeat.
IN mythology many deities are armed with formidable punishing swords. Hindu Vishnu, for example, was depicted with a flaming sword in his hands. But Ruevit, the god of war among the Baltic Slavs, surpassed everyone in this regard: as many as seven swords hang on his belt, and the eighth is raised in his right hand.
One of the ancient Greek legends gave birth to a new one symbolic meaning sword. A certain Damocles, the favorite of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius, once openly envied the wealth, power and happiness of his patron. To give Damocles a real idea of the position and fate of the monarchs, Dionysius swapped places with him for one day. Damocles was seated in the royal place during the feast, but a sword was hung over his head from a horsehair. It was then that the envious man realized the illusory nature of the crown-bearers’ happiness. Since then, the expression “sword of Damocles” has become a symbol of impending, threatening danger.
IN heroic epic swords are necessarily endowed with magical power. A special place in folklore is occupied by the treasury sword, the samoseek - a wonderful weapon that ensures victory over enemies. But it is very difficult to get such a sword: you must first find it somewhere far away, in a burial mound, and then endure a difficult battle with the ghost of the sword’s former owner. Ilya Muromets had to defeat the hero Svyatogor, a gigantic giant who supported the sky with his head, in order to take possession of his treasure sword. The German hero Beowulf rushed into a deep pool, where a terrible female monster was waiting for him, and in an underwater lair he found a giant sword glowing from within, with the help of which the brave hero defeated a monstrous enemy, invulnerable to conventional weapons. Siegfried killed 700 Nibelungs, two giants and defeated the evil dwarf Albrich in a difficult duel before the wonderful sword Balmung was in his hands.
Enchanted swords are not given into the hands of anyone except those for whom they are intended. Only Arthur, heir to King Uther Pendragon of Britain, manages to remove the enchanted sword from the anvil. The sword of the tragically deceased knight Balin was enclosed by the sorcerer Merlin in a piece of marble by the power of magic, and no one except the sinless knight Galahad, to whom it was intended, could by any effort remove it from the stone.
Sometimes magic swords were a gift from the gods or powerful spirits. King Arthur received Excalibur directly from the hands of the Lady of the Lake. Not only the sword itself, but also its sheath were endowed with miraculous properties: those who wore them in battle could not lose a drop of blood.
The swords, animated by the power of magic, behaved like intelligent living beings. Prompting the owner to fight or take revenge, they rang and themselves broke out of their sheaths, not agreeing to go back until they tasted the enemy’s blood. Anticipating the death of the owner, the sword dimmed and became covered with bloody sweat. If a knight committed an act that stained his honor, the sword, refusing to serve the unworthy, rusted, broke, or simply fell out of his hands.
The sword usually served its owner until his death. A dying, bleeding knight would break his sword so that it would “die” with him and not go to the enemy. Mortally wounded, Arthur orders his comrade to throw Excalibur into the waters of a magical lake. Roland, feeling the approach of death, tries to break Durandal on the stones, but his magnificent sword does not even dull, bouncing off the granite blocks with a ringing sound, and then the frantic knight falls on the sword and, covering it with his own body, dies. However, sometimes the legendary sword, anticipating a meeting with a new hero and new amazing feats, stubbornly refuses to die and waits in the wings in a burial mound or in a deep dark cave.
IN religion, especially in Christianity, the sword is sometimes given the most unexpected symbolic interpretations. Thus, in Revelation, a double-edged sword, as a symbol of divine wisdom and truth, comes out... from the mouth of Christ himself. In the Book of Genesis, the fiery sword of the biblical cherub, guarding the road to Eden, is a symbol of purification. The sword is clutched in the hand of one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse, personifying war.
In Buddhism, the sword is seen as a symbolic weapon of wisdom, cutting off ignorance. In China, a sword in the hands of guardian gods is considered a talisman for the whole family: on New Year's Eve, the Chinese hang posters with images of such gods on the doors of their houses.
In Western European iconography, where the sword appears primarily as an instrument of martyrdom, it is an attribute of many saints. The sword pierces the chest of St. Justina, Euphemia and Peter the Martyr, the neck of Lucia and Agnes, the head of Thomas Becket and a book in the hands of St. Boniface, who also fell by the sword. This sad row is closed by the image of the Virgin Mary, whose chest is pierced by seven swords at once - the seven sorrows of the Mother of God.
Perhaps, in the hands of only one Catholic saint, Martin of Tours, the sword has a completely different semantic meaning. According to church tradition, Martin, who met a wet and chilled traveler on the road, cut his cloak in half with a sword to protect the poor man from the weather. In this case, the sword is a symbol of division, participation and goodness.
In Byzantine Orthodoxy, the Roman warrior-martyrs, defenders of the Christian faith, are especially revered: Artemius of Antioch, Dmitry of Thessalonica, Mercury, Theodore Tiron, John the Warrior. All of them were depicted with a sword in their hand or at their belt. Armed with a sword and the most warlike of the divine retinue is the Archangel Gabriel.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, princes - defenders of the Russian land can be depicted with a sword, symbolizing defense, defense: Georgy (Yuri) Vsevolodovich, who fell in the battle with the Tatars on the City River (1238), Mstislav the Brave, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and others, and also the prince-martyrs killed by the sword: Boris and Gleb.
IN fine arts uh According to the Renaissance, the sword as an attribute is characteristic of a number of figures that allegorically represent human feelings: Courage, Firmness, Anger, Justice, Temperance and Despair. In the last two it is depicted in a special way: the sword of Temperance is sheathed, which is tightly tied to the hilt to make it difficult to remove; and for Despair, represented as a woman throwing herself on her own sword, it serves as an instrument of suicide.
IN heraldry the sword emblem may symbolize higher military authority or justice. A military heraldic sword is usually depicted naked, blade up, except in cases where it is placed in a coat of arms in memory of the fallen - then the sword is pointing towards the ground.
In our country, the “punishing sword of revolution”, placed in the hands of the Cheka employees, then passed to the GPU and the NKVD. During the Stalinist era, this sword, having lost all connection with the principle of socialist legality, turned into a weapon of mass terror. Before the Great Patriotic War, the emblem of a sword cutting a snake adorned the chevron of military counterintelligence officers “Smersh” (“Death to spies!”). In the post-war period, the emblem depicting a shield with two crossed swords became the distinctive sign of employees of the Ministry of Justice.
In the Middle Ages Western Europe and Japan there was a real cult of the sword. The main weapon of the knight and samurai gradually acquired ritual and ceremonial significance. The symbolic birth of a knight was accompanied during initiation by the sword touching the candidate’s shoulder three times. The knight’s entire subsequent life was inextricably linked with the sword: in battle, the sword served him as a weapon; on the way, the cross-shaped handle of the sword stuck into the ground became a symbolic crucifix. The sword was an instrument of justice during the “divine judgment” and an instrument of retribution during the execution of death sentences. From the 13th-14th centuries, the sword, as a symbol of the supreme military power of monarchs, became one of the royal, imperial and princely regalia.
Sword of Victory.
Few people know that one of the most famous and tallest Soviet sculptures - “The Motherland is Calling!”, which is installed here in Volgograd on the Mamayev Kurgan, is only the second part of a composition that consists of three elements at once. This triptych (a work of art consisting of three parts and united by a common idea) also includes the monuments: “Rear to Front”, which is installed in Magnitogorsk and “Warrior-Liberator”, located in Treptower Park in Berlin. All three sculptures have one common element - the Sword of Victory.
Two of the three monuments of the triptych - “Warrior-Liberator” and “Motherland Calls!” - belong to the hand of one master, the monumental sculptor Evgeniy Viktorovich Vuchetich, who turned to the theme of the sword three times in his work.
The sculptor himself commented on his commitment to the image of the sword: “I only turned to the sword three times - the Motherland raised one sword to the sky on Mamayev Kurgan, calling on her sons to expel the fascist barbarians trampling Soviet land. The second sword is held with the tip downwards by our victorious Warrior in Berlin's Treptower Park, who cut the swastika and liberated the peoples of Europe. The man forges the third sword onto a plow, expressing the desire of people of good will to fight for disarmament in the name of the triumph of peace on the planet.”
The historical sequence was different. First, the Victorious Warrior was erected (1946-1949, together with the architect Ya.B. Belopolsky), the Motherland was erected on Mamayev Kurgan in 1963-1967 with the same Belopolsky and group), and the third monument of Vuchetich, which is not related for this series, was installed in New York in front of the UN headquarters in 1957. The composition, entitled “Let's Beat Swords into Plowshares,” shows us a worker beating a sword into a plow. The sculpture itself was supposed to symbolize the desire of all people of the world to fight for disarmament and the triumph of peace on Earth.
Monument “Rear to Front”
Figure 2
The first part of the trilogy “Rear to Front”, located in Magnitogorsk, symbolizes the Soviet rear, which ensured the country’s victory in the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. The reasons why Magnitogorsk received such an honor - to become the first Russian city in which a monument to home front workers was erected - should not surprise anyone. According to statistics, every second tank and every third shell during the war was fired from Magnitogorsk steel
The authors of this monument were sculptor Lev Golovnitsky and architect Yakov Belopolsky. To create the monument, two main materials were used - granite and bronze. The height of the monument is 15 meters, while outwardly it looks much more impressive. This effect is created by the fact that the monument is located on a high hill. The central part of the monument is a composition that consists of two figures: a worker and a soldier. In the sculpture, a worker hands a sword to a Soviet soldier. It is implied that this is the Sword of Victory, which was forged and raised in the Urals. The worker is oriented to the east (in the direction where the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works was located), and the warrior is looking to the west. Where the main fighting took place during the Great Patriotic War. The rest of the monument in Magnitogorsk is the eternal flame, which was made in the form of a star-flower made of granite.
On the bank of the river, to install the monument, an artificial hill was erected, the height of which was 18 meters (the base of the hill was specially reinforced with reinforced concrete piles so that it could withstand the weight of the installed monument and would not collapse over time). The monument was made in Leningrad, and in 1979 it was installed on site. The monument was also supplemented with two trapezoids as tall as a man, on which were listed the names of residents of Magnitogorsk who received the title of Hero during the war. Soviet Union. In 2005, another part of the monument was opened. This time the composition was supplemented by two triangles, on which you can read the names of all the residents of Magnitogorsk who died during the fighting in 1941-1945 (in total, a little more than 14 thousand names are listed
In the sculpture, a worker hands a sword to a Soviet soldier. It is implied that this is the Sword of Victory, which was forged and raised in the Urals, and later it was raised by the “Motherland” in Volgograd. The city in which a radical turning point in the war occurred, and Nazi Germany suffered one of its most significant defeats. The third monument of the “Warrior-Liberator” series lowers the Sword of Victory in the very lair of the enemy - in Berlin.
Monument “The Motherland Calls!”
Figure 3
Later, this sword forged in the rear will rise up in Volgograd on the Mamayev Kurgan “Motherland”. In the place where the turning point in the Great Patriotic War took place. This sculpture was created according to the design of sculptor E. V. Vuchetich and engineer N. V. Nikitin. The sculpture on Mamayev Kurgan represents the figure of a woman standing with a sword raised up. This monument is a collective allegorical image of the Motherland, which calls on everyone to unite in order to defeat the enemy.
Monument “The Motherland Calls!” is the compositional center of the monument-ensemble “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad”, which is located on Mamayev Kurgan. N.S. Khrushchev, approving the project of the monument-ensemble, demanded that the sculpture of the Motherland be taller than the American Statue of Liberty. As a result, Vuchetich had to abandon the original design of the sculpture - a relatively short figure of the Motherland with a folded banner in his hand. As a result, the height of the sculpture is 52 meters, and the length of the sword is 33 meters.
Initially, the 33-meter sword, which weighed 14 tons, was made of stainless steel in a titanium sheath. But the huge size of the statue led to strong swinging of the sword, which was especially noticeable in windy weather. As a result of such impacts, the structure gradually deformed, the titanium plating sheets began to shift, and when the structure rocked, an unpleasant metallic grinding sound appeared. To eliminate this phenomenon, a reconstruction of the monument was organized in 1972. During the work, the sword blade was replaced with another one, which was made of fluorinated steel, with holes made in the upper part, which were supposed to reduce the effect of the windage of the structure.
The Motherland crowns a huge hill above Sorrow Square in Volgograd. The mound is a bulk mound, about 14 meters high, and the remains of 34,505 soldiers - defenders of Stalingrad - are buried in it. A serpentine path leads to the top of the hill to the Motherland, along which there are 35 granite tombstones of Heroes of the Soviet Union, participants in the Battle of Stalingrad. From the foot of the mound to its top, the serpentine consists of exactly 200 granite steps 15 cm high and 35 cm wide - according to the number of days of the Battle of Stalingrad. In addition to the figure of the Motherland, near the mound there is a complex of memorial sculptural compositions, as well as a memory hall.
At the end of the grandiose work, E.V. Vuchetich admitted: “The ensemble is now complete. Behind this are fifteen years of search and doubt, sadness and joy, rejected and found solutions. What did we want to tell people with this monument on the historical Mamayev Kurgan, on the site of bloody battles and immortal feats? We sought to convey, first of all, the indestructible moral spirit of Soviet soldiers, their selfless devotion to the Motherland.
The monument to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad is a monument to the greatest historical event. This is a monument to a mass of heroes. And therefore we were looking for large-scale, especially monumental solutions and forms that, in our opinion, would allow us to most fully convey the scope of mass heroism
Monument “Warrior-Liberator”
Figure 4
And at the end of the composition, the “Warrior-Liberator” will lower his sword on the swastika in the very center of Germany, in Berlin, completing the defeat of the fascist regime. A beautiful, laconic and very logical composition that unites the three most famous Soviet monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War.
The thirteen-meter bronze figure of a soldier represents the Soviet Army, which took up arms with the sacred goal of liberating its homeland from invaders, destroying fascism, which threatened humanity with enslavement, and protecting the peaceful labor of people all over the world. The figure of the young warrior breathes with indestructible strength. The little child trustingly clung to the chest of the kind giant. The ancient sword with which the warrior cut the swastika is a symbol of the defense of a just and noble cause, a symbol of the struggle for people to live happily, so that they work calmly, without fear that the fiery squall of war will sweep over the earth again. The statue of the warrior-liberator is perfectly perceived from all sides, which is facilitated by its easy reversal. The vertical lines of the draped raincoat give the figure the necessary stability. The base of the monument is a green mound, reminiscent of ancient burial mounds. This adds another note to the national melody of the entire ensemble. On the mound there is a light pedestal of a figure, inside of which a mausoleum is built - the solemn completion of the entire ensemble.
On May 8, 1949, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the grand opening of a monument to Soviet soldiers who died during the assault on the German capital took place in Berlin. The “Warrior-Liberator” monument was erected in Berlin’s Treptow Park. Its sculptor was E. V. Vuchetich, and its architect was Ya. B. Belopolsky. The height of the warrior sculpture itself was 12 meters, its weight was 70 tons. This monument became a symbol of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War; it also personifies the liberation of all European peoples from fascism
The sculpture of the soldier was produced in the spring of 1949 in Leningrad at the Monumental Sculpture plant; it consisted of 6 parts, which were then transported to Germany. Work on the creation of a memorial complex in Berlin was completed in May 1949. On May 8, 1949, the memorial was solemnly opened by the Soviet commandant of Berlin, Major General A.G. Kotikov.
The monument to Soviet soldiers in the center of Europe will always remind people of the sacred duty of everyone - to tirelessly fight for peace on earth.
CONCLUSION
IN modern society a sword is both a weapon and a cultural symbol, which is reflected in a variety of semantic forms and guises.
The study is devoted to elucidating the reason and necessity for such an invariable presence of the sword symbol, the main focus of which is expressed in the question: “what does such an archaic object give to a person in the modern information society and why is its presence in culture inescapable not only as a weapon.”
The belonging of the sword to culture is due to its presence in all cultural genres and in repositories of cultural memory. The loss of the utilitarian meaning of the sword did not end its presence in cultural forms, but determined its existence as a symbol.
The sword is one of the most complex and most common symbols. On the one hand, the sword is a formidable weapon that brings life or death, on the other hand, it is an ancient and powerful force that arose simultaneously with the Cosmic Balance and was its opposite. The sword is also a powerful magical symbol, an emblem of witchcraft. In addition, the sword is a symbol of power, justice, supreme justice, all-pervading intelligence, insight, phallic strength, light. The sword of Damocles is a symbol of fate. A broken sword means defeat. Thus, the sword, having left practical reality, nevertheless lives in the reality of quite a large number of people as a symbol and artifact. Its meaning and role at the symbolic level remains virtually unchanged.
