A cross, a mourning dress, a red rose, a wedding ring, candles on the festive table - day after day we meet symbols. Where does their vitality and emotional strength come from? The famous German scientist Prof. Hans Biedermann, using the achievements of archeology, ethnography, art history, philology, psychology and other sciences, shows the origins of symbols in the beliefs and lifestyle of prehistoric people, in the culture of ancient world civilizations, in the Eastern and European Middle Ages. This edition differs from the dictionaries published in recent years on this topic by its wide scope of concepts, including all types of symbols, from religious to political and everyday. The encyclopedia contains over 500 keywords and over 600 illustrations, as well as an extensive bibliography. The articles included in it are distinguished by thoroughness and at the same time by simplicity and accessibility of presentation.

Designed for a wide range of readers.

From the scientific editor of the Russian edition

The Encyclopedia of Symbols offered to the reader, created by a prominent specialist in the field of symbolism G. Biedermann, aims to acquaint the general reader with the origin, meaning, use (conscious or subconscious) of various symbols - verbal, pictorial, gesture symbols - from ancient times to our days. The encyclopedia characterizes not only the religious symbols of different peoples and eras, but also the most significant, from the point of view of the compiler of the encyclopedia, cultural and historical symbolic images created by mankind. At the same time, images that have penetrated into the sphere of everyday colloquial language, images of real-life or literary heroes (for example, Casanova, Caesar, Faust, heroes of sagas and legends) are also considered symbols. Figurative and symbolic meaning, as shown in the encyclopedia, can have objects surrounding a person Everyday life, plants, animals, insects, body parts (thus, the religious and symbolic meaning of the images of windows, doors, hands, eyes, etc. is revealed). The articles of the encyclopedia talk about the symbolism of color, precious stones, celestial bodies, flowers, perceived both by religious consciousness and in the secular socio-cultural tradition, up to games. The analysis of political and ritual-political symbolism and possible ways of its influence on the human psyche is interesting. We are talking about royal (royal) regalia, coats of arms - not only noble, but also state. The interpretation of various gestures cannot fail to attract attention; in particular, a special article is devoted to the meaning of "figurest".

When characterizing the meaning of certain symbols in the encyclopedia, they indicate their use, and sometimes in the opposite meaning, in different cultures, ancient and modern. The author seeks to go beyond Europe, he shows the symbolism of Muslim, Indian, Chinese cultures. When interpreting symbols, different approaches and points of view that exist in modern science: Explanations related to the perception of primitive man, the theory of the archetype of Jung, modern psychoanalysts, based on the study of subconscious reactions to certain verbal and pictorial images, are widely presented. It will be interesting for the reader to get acquainted with the interpretation of dreams given in separate articles. All articles of the encyclopedia are based on a variety of sources: folklore, literary, visual. The edition is illustrated. Of course, as noted in the author's preface, it is practically impossible to cover the symbolism of all times and peoples within the framework of one publication. The selection of symbols is to a certain extent subjective. In particular, this was reflected in a large number of specifically Germanic examples closest to the compiler. For Russian readers, there will be a noticeable shortage of those symbols and images that arose on Slavic or Russian soil. But even in its present form, the Encyclopedia of Symbols is of great interest and will undoubtedly benefit the widest range of readers.

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor I. S. Sventsitskaya

Ancient metalanguage of cultures, expression of internal. beauty and meaning of space. whole. The origin of many symbols is rooted in the depths of millennia, in archaic cultures and ancient civilizations, of which they were an organic element. Symbols ... ... Encyclopedia of cultural studies

- (from the Greek sign, sign) 1) in artificial formalized languages, a concept that is identical to a sign; 2) in the aesthetics and philosophy of art, a universal category that reflects the specifics of the figurative development of life by art contains, ... ... Encyclopedia of cultural studies

EAGLE- the king of birds, the most common symbol of all fauna, associated with divinity, courage, faith, victory, greatness and power, especially imperial. Like a lion among animals, the eagle is perceived as a royal bird. He is sometimes portrayed...

PENTAGRAM, PENTAD, PENTACLE- (from the Greek "pentagonal outline") one of the most common magical symbols in European culture, which is an equiangular five-pointed star, sometimes included in a pentagon. The suit of the Younger is also called pentacles ... ... Symbols, signs, emblems. Encyclopedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people with that surname, see Gordienko. Gordienko Andrey Nikolaevich Birth name: Andrey Nikolaevich Gordienko Occupation: Russian publisher, historian, writer, translator ... Wikipedia

Christian symbolism is a set of symbols and signs used by various Christian churches. Contents 1 The appearance of Christian symbols 2 Hara ... Wikipedia

CROSS- "sign of signs", which since prehistoric times has served as a protective symbol in almost all cultures of the world. The Scandinavians, for example, depicted the hammer of Thor, the god of war and thunderstorms, in the form of a T-shaped cross. The cross was also an attribute of the gods of Assyria, Persia ... Symbols, signs, emblems. Encyclopedia

PEACOCK- a symbol of pride, an emblem of beauty and immortality. In many countries, the peacock was considered royal bird, and Hindus revere it as sacred. In the homeland of the peacock, in South Asia, he is highly valued for the fact that he warns of the approach of tigers, snakes and ... ... Symbols, signs, emblems. Encyclopedia

SPIDER- a symbol of savagery, evil and the devil, weaving a web in order to capture the souls of sinners. The spider also serves to characterize the miser who "drinks the blood" of the poor, like a spider from a fly. On the other hand, the spider is considered an insect that brings good luck, and ... ... Symbols, signs, emblems. Encyclopedia

ROOSTER- the oldest symbol of dawn, awakening, vigilance and a call to battle. The rooster has long been hoisted onto towers so that it looks in all directions and warns of danger. This motif sounds in the "Tale of the Golden Cockerel" by A. S. Pushkin. In the Sumerian epic ... ... Symbols, signs, emblems. Encyclopedia

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Name: Encyclopedia of symbols
Author: Hans Biedermann
Moscow, "Republic", 1996 .- 335 p.
Format: DjVu
Size: 17.8 Mb
Quality: scanned pages
Russian language
ISBN: 5-250-02592-7

A cross, a mourning dress, a red rose, a wedding ring, candles on the festive table - day after day we meet symbols. Where does their vitality and emotional strength come from? The famous German scientist Prof. Hans Biedermann, using the achievements of archeology, ethnography, art history, philology, psychology and other sciences, shows the origins of symbols in the beliefs and lifestyle of prehistoric people, in the culture of ancient world civilizations, in the Eastern and European Middle Ages. This edition differs from the dictionaries published in recent years on this topic by its wide scope of concepts, including all types of symbols, from religious to political and everyday. The encyclopedia contains over 500 keywords and over 600 illustrations, as well as an extensive bibliography. The articles included in it are distinguished by thoroughness and at the same time by simplicity and accessibility of presentation.

"The "Encyclopedia of Symbols" offered to the reader, created by a prominent specialist in the field of symbolism G. Biedermann, aims to acquaint the general reader with the origin, meaning, use (conscious or subconscious) of various symbols - verbal, pictorial, gesture symbols - from ancient times The encyclopedia characterizes not only the religious symbols of different peoples and eras, but also the most significant, from the point of view of the compiler of the encyclopedia, cultural and historical symbolic images created by mankind. , images of real-life or literary heroes (for example, Kazakova, Caesar, Faust, heroes of sagas and legends). Figurative and symbolic meaning, as shown in the encyclopedia, objects of everyday life surrounding a person, plants, animals, insects, body parts (so , reveals the religious and symbolic meaning of the image windows, doors, hands, eyes, etc.). The articles of the encyclopedia talk about the symbolism of color, precious stones, celestial bodies, flowers, perceived both by religious consciousness and in the secular socio-cultural tradition, up to games. The analysis of political and ritual-political symbolism and possible ways of its influence on the human psyche is interesting. We are talking about royal (royal) regalia, coats of arms - not only noble, but also state. The interpretation of various gestures cannot fail to attract attention; in particular, a special article is devoted to the meaning of "figs-gesture".
When characterizing the meaning of certain symbols, the encyclopedia indicates their use, and sometimes in the opposite sense, in various cultures, ancient and modern. The author seeks to go beyond Europe, he shows the symbolism of Muslim, Indian, Chinese cultures. When interpreting symbols, different approaches and points of view that exist in modern science are used: explanations related to the perception of primitive man, the theory of the Jung archetype, modern psychoanalysts, based on the study of subconscious reactions to certain verbal and pictorial images, are widely presented. It will be interesting for the reader to get acquainted with the interpretation of dreams given in separate articles. All articles of the encyclopedia are based on a variety of sources: folklore, literary, visual. The edition is illustrated. Of course, as noted in the author's preface, it is practically impossible to cover the symbolism of all times and peoples within the framework of one publication. The selection of symbols is to a certain extent subjective. In particular, this was reflected in a large number of specifically Germanic examples closest to the compiler. For Russian readers, there will be a noticeable shortage of those symbols and images that arose on Slavic or Russian soil. But even in its present form, the Encyclopedia of Symbols is of great interest and will undoubtedly benefit the widest range of readers.
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor I. S. Sventsitskaya