AMULETS - SACRED DISKS - SYMBOLS - MYSTERY CENTRES Two terracotta discs, or plaques. Their function is unknown: some historians suggest that they are complex amulets, while others have suggested that they were used for impressing designs on sacred cakes, used in religious and initiation ceremonies (however, these are themselves intaglio reliefs, taken in their turn from a mould). While it is possible to identify most of the objects depicted on these disks, the symbolism, or significance of these objects is in some instances a matter of dispute. The drawings are from Elworthy, Horns of H
AMULETS - SACRED DISKS - SYMBOLS - MYSTERY CENTRES Two terracotta discs, or plaques. Their function is unknown: some historians suggest that they are complex amulets, while others have suggested that they were used for impressing designs on sacred cakes, used in religious and initiation ceremonies (however, these are themselves intaglio reliefs, taken in their turn from a mould). While it is possible to identify most of the objects depicted on these disks, the symbolism, or significance of these objects is in some instances a matter of dispute. The drawings are from Elworthy, Horns of Honour and Other Studies in the By-Ways of Archaeology, 1900. [Left] This example is now in the Louvre, Paris. In so far as they may be identified, the symbols seem to relate to the pagan pantheon: the caduceus and two-handled bowl of Mercury, the lyre of Apollo, the trident of Neptune, the thunderbolt of Jupiter, and so on. One is forced to conclude that it had some ritual importance in one or other of the ancient Mystery Centres. [Right] This example was presented to the Ashmolean Museum by Arthur Evans, and was found at Taranto. It was long thought to be an amulet. In so far as they may be identified, the symbols seem to relate to the pagan pantheon: the caduceus of Mercury, the lyre of Apollo, the thunderbolt of Jupiter, and so on. One is forced to conclude that it had some ritual importance in one or other of the ancient Mystery Centres.
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Photo credit: © Charles Walker Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, amulets, archival, archive, art, artistic, artwork, book, centres, discs, disks, esoterica, historic, historical, history, illustration, image, mono, mystery, paranormal, sacred, symbols, terracotta
