The truth shall set you free > Religion
THE SWASTIKA, THE EARLIEST KNOWN SYMBOL, by Wilson, Thomas, 1832-1902/1896
Prometheus:
791
William Simpson1 makes observations upon the latest discoveries
regarding the Swastika and gives his conclusion:
* * * The finding of the Swastika in America gives a very wide geographical
space that is included by the problem connected with it, but it is wider still, for the
Swastika is found over the most of the habitable world, almost literally “ from
China to Peru,” and it can be traced barb tr> a very early period. The latest idea'—)
formed regardtngTTQe Swastika is that it may bo a form of the old wheel symbolism /
and that it represents a solar movement, or perhaps, in a wider sense, the whoW
celestial movement of the stars. The Dharmachakra, or Buddhist wheel, of which
the so-called “praying wheel” of the Lamas of Thibet is only a variant, can now be
shown to have representecT the solar motion. It did not originate with the Bud-
dhists; they borrowed it from the Brahminical system to the Veda, where it is called
“ the wheel of the sun.” I have lately collected a large amount of evidence on this
subject" being engaged^in writing upon it, and the numerous passages from the old
Brahminical authorities leave no doubt in the matter. The late Mr. Edward Thomas
* * * and Prof. Percy Gardner * * * declared that on some Andhra gold coins
and one from Mesembria, Greece, the part of the word which means davT or when
the sun shines, is represented by the Swastika^ These details will be found in a
letter published in the “Athenaeum” of August 20,1892, written by Prof. Max Muller,
who affirms that it
le meaning of the symbol in Greece. This
die of Apollo’s breastrthrnris a largo
another instancegomgiar to snow its solar sTgUtttuance
evidence may be “decisive” for India and Greece, but it dobs not-jaake,us_quito cer-
tainjJbont other parts of The worltH Still it raises a strong presumption that its
meaning is likely to be somewhat simihir wherever the symbol is found.
It is now assumed that the Triskelion or Three Legs^of the Isle of Man is only '
a variant of the Swastika. * * * There are many variants besides this in which
the legs, or limbs, differ in number, and they may all be classed as whorls, and were
possibly all, more or less, forms intended originally to express circular motion. As the
subject is too extensive to be fully treated here, and many illustrations would be nec-
essary, to those wishing for further details I would recommend a work just published
entitled “The Migration of Symbols,” by Count Goblet d’Alviella, with an intro-
duction by Sir George Birdwood. The frontispiece of the book is a representation
of Apollo, from a vase in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, and on the mid-
mb pronrhieTTt Swastika. In this we have
While accepting these new
interpretations of the symbol, mill StaTTTnclined to the notion that the Swastika
may, at the same time, have been looked upon in some pas£s__asa cross—that is._a
pre-Christian cross, which now finds acceptance by some^autliorities as representing
the four cardinal points. The importance of the cardinal points in primitive sym-
bolism appears to me to have been very great, and has not as yet been fully realized.
This is too large a matter to deal with here. All I can state is, that the wheel in
Tn^ia.wfls mwiftcfAii with the title of a ChaTcravarlin—from 'Chakra, a "Wheel—Ihe/7
title meaning; a supreme ruler, or a universal jnonarch. wfixTruled the four quart,riaL**
of the- world, and on his coronationhoTiad to drive his chariot, or wheel, to the four l
cardinal-points to signify his conquest of them. Evidence of other ceremonies of
the same_kind in Europe can be produced. From instances such as these, I am
inclined to assume that the Swastika, as across, represented the four quarters over(J^
which the solar power by its revolving motion carried its influence. /
ORIGIN AND
Prehistoric archeologists have found in Europe many specimens of f
ornamental sculpture and engraving belonging to the Paleolithic age, "
1 Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund, January, 1895, pp. 84,85.
792
REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
/ but the cross is not known in any form, Swastika or other. In the FTeo-
l lithic age, which spread itself over nearly the entire world, with many
l geometric forms of decoration, no form of the cross appears in times
/ of high antiquity as a symbol or as indicating any other than an orna-
' mental purpose. In the age of bronze, however, the Swastika appears,
intentionally used, as a symbol as well as an ornament. Whether its
first appearance was in the Orient, and its spread thence throughout
prehistoric Europe, or whether the reverse was true, may not now be
determined Avith certainty. It is believed by some to be involved m
that other Avarmly disputed and much-discussed question as to the local-
ity of origin and the mode and routes of dispersion of Aryan peoples.
L""There is evidence to sIioav that it belongs to an earlier epoch than this,
and relates to the similar problem concerning the locality of origin and
the mode and routes of the dispersion of Ijpouze. Was bronze discov-
( erect in eastern Asia and was its migration westward through Europe,
or Avas it discovered on the Mediterranean, and its spread thence! The
SAvastika spread through the same countries as did the bronze, and
there is every reason to believe them to have proceeded contempora-
neously—whether at their beginning or not, is undeterminable.
The first appearance of the SAva^stijia-was^ipparentlyin. the^Orient,
preciselynTvnTa^ impossible to say, but probably in central
and southeastern Asia among the forerunners or predecessors of the
Bramins and Buddhists. At all events, a religious and symbolic sig-
nification Avas attributed to it by the earliest knoAvn peoples of these
localities.
M. Michael Zmigrodzki, a Polish scholar, public librarian at Suclia,
near OraeoAv, prepared and sent to the World’s Columbian Exposition
at Chicago a manuscript chart in French, showing his opinion of the
migration of the Swastika, which Avas displayed in the Woman’s
Building. It AAras arranged in groups: The prehistoric (or Pagan) and
Christian. These Avere divided geographically and Avitli an attempt at
chronology, as follows:
I. Prehistoric:
1. India and Bactria.
2. Cyprus, Rhodes.
3. North Europe.
1. Central Europe.
5. South Europe.
6. Asia Minor.
7. Greek and Roman epoch—Numismatics.
II. Christian:
8. Gaul—Numismatics.
9. Byzantine.
10. Merovingian and Carloviugian.
*? 11. Germany.
12. Poland and Sweden.
13. Great Britain.
Lastly he introduces a group of the Swastika in the nineteenth cen-
tury. He presented figures of Swastikas from these localities and
THE SWASTIKA.
793
representing tliese epoclis. He bad a similar display at the Paris Expo-
sition of 1889, which at its close was deposited in the St. Germain Pre-
historic Museum. I met M. Zmigrodzki at the Tenth International
Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology in Paris, and
heard him present the results of his investigations on the Swastika.
I have since corresponded with him, and he has kindly sent me sepa-
rates of his paper published in the Archives fiir Ethnographie, with
2GG illustrations of the Swastika; but on asking his permission to use
some of the information in the chart at Chicago, he informed me he had
already given the manuscript chart and the right to reproduce it to the
Chicago Folk-Lore Society. The secretary of this society declined to
permit it to pass out of its possession, though proffering inspection of
it in Chicago.
In his elaborate dissertation Count Coblet d’Alviella1 shows an ear-
lier and prehistoric existence of the Swastika before its appearance on
the hill of Hissarlik. From this earlier place of origin it, according to
him, spread*-to the Bronze age terramaj^sj)f northern Italy. All this
was prior to the thirteenth century B. C. From the hill of Ilissarlik it
spread east and west; to the east into Lyeaonia and Caucasus, to the!
west into Myceme and Greece; first on the pottery and then on the)
coins. From Greece it also spread east and west; east to Asia Minor
and west to Thrace and Macedonia. From the terramares he follows it
through the Villanova epoch, through Etruria and Grand Greece, to
Sicily, Gaul, Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, to all of which migration*-
he assigns various dates down to the second century B. C. It devel-
oped westward from Asia Minor to northern Africa and to Borne, with
evidence in the Catacombs; on the eastward it goes into India, Persia,
China, Tibet, and Japan. All this can be made apparent upon exami-
nation of the plate itself. It is introduced as Chart i, p. 794.
The author enters into no discussion with Count d’Alviella over the
correctness or completeness of the migrations set forth in his chart.
It will be conceded, even by its author, to be largely theoretical and
impossible to verify by positive proof. He will only contend that there
is a probability of its correctness. It is doubted whether he can main-
tain his proposition of the constant presence or continued appearance
of the Swastika on altars, idols, priestly vestments, and sepulchral <
urns, and that this demonstrates the Swastika to have always possessed
the attributes of a religious symbol. It appears to have been used
more frequently upon the smaller and more insignificant things of every-
day life—the household utensils, the arms, weapons, the dress, the fibuhe,
and the pottery; and while this may be consonant with the attributes
of the talisman or amulet or charm, it is still compatible with the theory
of the Swastika being a sign or symbol for benediction, blessing, good
fortune, or good luck; and that it was rather this than a religious
symbol.
1 “La Migration des Symboles,” pi. 3. *
Chart I.—Probable introduction of the Swastika into different countries, according to Count Goblet d’Alviella.
[ “La Migration des Symboles,” pi. 3.]
? ? ?
r
Troad
XIII Century B. C., and earlier.
XIII and XII B.C.
XI toVI B.C....
VI B.C,
V B.C
IV B. C.....................
Ill B. C....................
II B. C.t to II A.D.........
III A.D.....................
Ill to VIII A.D.............
IX A.D......................
Terremares
Mycenae
Villanova
I
Greece
(pottery)
Lvcaonia
Caucasus
Etruria
Greece
Greece
(coins)
I
[
Thrace
Macedonia
I
Asia
Minor
Greece
Sicily
Gaul
Scandinavia Germany Great Britain Xortli Africa
Home
(Catacombs)
?
India
Persia
I
China
I___
f
Tibet
Iceland
Japan
794 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
THE SWASTIKA.
795
Count Goblet d’Alviella, in the fourth section of the second chapter1
relating to the country of its origin, argues that the Swastika sign was
employed by all the Aryans except the Persians. This omission he
explains by showingjfliat the Swastika in all other lands stood for the
sun or'for the sun-god, while the Aryans of Persia had other signs for
thejame~ thing=the Cruxansata and the winged globe. His conclusion
is^that there were twozones occupied with different symbols, the fron-
tier between them being from Persia, through Cyprus, Rhodes, and Asia
Minor, to Libya; that the first belonged to the Greek civilization, which
employed the Swastika as a sun symbol; the second to the Egypto-
Babylonian, which employed the Crux ansata and the winged globe as
sun symbols.
Professor Sayce, in his preface to u Troja,” says:1 2 3
The same symbol [the Swastika], as is well known, occurs on the Archaic pottery
of Cyprus *' * * as well as upon the prehistoric antiquities of Athens and
Mykeme [same, “Ilios,” p. 353], but it was entirely unknown to Babylonia, to
Assyria, jo*. Phrenicia^jnid^ to Egypt. It must th ere foriy~5ttber"h'a^ in
EmiQpeuJLiid-apxgml. eastward through Asia Minor or have been disseminated west-
ward from the primitiye home of the Hittites. The latter alternative is the more ^
probable; but whether it is so ornot, the presence of the symbol in the land of the
iEgean indicates a particular epoch and the influence of a pre-Phoenician culture.
Hr. Schliemann4 reports that “Rev. W. Brown Keer observed the
Swastika innumerable times in the most ancient Hindu temples, espe-
cially those of the Jainas.”
Max Muller cites the following paragraph by Professor Sayce:5
It is evident to me that the sign found at Hissarlilc is identical with that found
at Mycenm and Athens, as well as on the prehistoric pottery of Cyprus (Di Cesnola,
Cyprus, pis. 44"and 47), since the general artistic character of the objects -with which
this sign is associated in Cyprus and Greece agrees with that of the objects dis-
covered in Troy. The Cyprian vase [fig. 156, this paper] figured in Di Cesnola’s
“ Cyprus/’ pi. 45, which associates the Swastika with the figure of an animal, is a
striking analogue of the Trojan whorls, on which it is associated with the figure of
the stags. The fact that it is drawn within the vulva of the leaden image on the
Asiatic goddess shown in fig. 226 (“Ilios,” fig. 125 this paper) seems to show that it
was a symbol of generation.
Count Goblet d’Alviella,6’ citing Albert Dumont7 and Perrot and
Chipiez,8 says:
The Swastika appears in Greece, as well as in Cyprus and Rhodes, first on the pot-
tery, with geometric decorations, which form the second period in Greek ceramics.
From that it passes to a later period, where the decoration is more artistic and the
appearance of which coincides with the development of the Phomician influences on
the coasts of Greece.
Dr. Ohnefalscli-Richter, in a paper devoted to tlie consideration of
1 “La Migration des Symboles,” p. 93.
2 Ibid., p. 107.
3 “Ilios.,” p. xxi.v
4 Ibid, p. 352.
fiIbid, p. 353.
6 “ La Migration des Symboles,” p. 43.
7 “Peintures cdramiques de la Grece propro,” i, pi. xv, fig. 17.
8 “Histoire de Part dans Pantiqnitd,” in, figs. 513,515,518.
79G
REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
lie Swastika in Cyprus,1 expresses the opinion that the emigrant or
commercial Plienicians traveling in far eastern countries brought
the Swastika by the sea route of the Persian Gulf to Asia Minor and
Cyprus, while, possibly, other people brought it by the overland route
from central Asia, Asia Minor, and Hissarlik, and afterwards by migra-
tion to Cyprus, Carthage, and the north of Africa.
Professor Goodyear says:* 2
y The true home of the Swastika is the Greek geometric style, as will be immediately
obvious to every expert who examines the question through the study of that style.
In seeking the home of a symbol, we should consider where it appears in the largest
dimension and where it appears in tlie most formal and prominent way. The Greek
geometric vases are tin*- only monuments on which the Swastika systematically
v/appears in panels exclusively assigned to it (pi. 60, fig. 13; and pi. 56, lig. 4). There
are no other monuments on which the Swastika can bo found in a dimension taking
up one-half the, hpight-fif. the entire object (pi. 56, fig. 4). The ordinary size of the
Swastika, in very primitive times, is under a third of an inch in diameter. They are
found in Greek geometric pottery 2 or 3 inches in diameter, but they also appear in
tho informal scattering way (pi. 61, fig. 4) which characterizes the Swastika in other
styles.
Prometheus:
The Swastika dates from the earliest diffusion of theJ^gyjitia^iimandcr in the
t/fuiHin of tho Mediterranean, and it is a profound remark of Do Morgan (Mission
Seieutiiique an ('ancase) that the area of the Swastika .appears to be coextensive
\vitb_t.ho area of bmir/.e. In northern^prehistorie Europe, where the Swastika has
attracted considerable attention, it is distinctly connected with the bronze culture
derived, fronTtlio sonthT^Whcn foil ml oil prehistoric jmllCiy ~oTtUc north, the
southern home'oTlts beginnings is equally clear.
In seeking tho home of a symbol, we should consider not only the nature of its
appearance, but also where it is found in the largest amount, for this shows the
center of vogue and power—that is to say, the center of diffusion. The vogue of the
Swastika at Troy is not as great as its vogue in Cyprian Greek pottery (pi. 60, fig. 15)
and Rhodian pottery (pi. 60, fig. 2). * * * Tl is well known to Melian vases (pi.
60, fig. 8) and to archaic Greek vases (pi. 61, fig. 12), but its greatest prominence is
on the pottery of the Greek geometric style (pi.60, fig. 13; pi.56, fig. 4; pi.61, figs.
1 and 4; and figs. 173 and 174). * * *
Aside from tho Greek geometric style, our earliest reference for tho Swastika, and
. very possibly an earlier reference than the first, is its appearance on tho “lint urns”
v of Ttaly. On such it appears rather as a fragment of the more complicated meander
patterns, from which it is derived. My precise view is that the earliest and, conse-
quently*, imperfect, forms of the Swastika are on the hut urns of Italy, bnt that, as
an independent and definitely shaped pattern, it first belongs to the Greek geometric
style! Ido not assert that the Swastika Tsvery common on hut urns, which are
often undecorated. * * * Our present intermediate link with India for the
Swastika lies in the Cancasus and in the adjacent territory of-Koban. This last
ancient center of the arts in metal has lately attracted attention through the publi-
cation of Virchow (Das Griiberfeld von Koban). In the original Coban l)TQjize»^pf
the Prehistoric Museum of St. Germain there is abundant matter for study (p. 351).
Mr. R. P. Greg, in “ Fret or Key Ornamentation in Mexico and Peru,”3
says:
Both the Greek fret and the fylfot appear to have been unknown to the Semitic
nations as an ornament or as a symbol.
’Bull. Soc. d’Antbrop., Paris, December 6, 1888, pp. 669,679,680.
2 “Grammar of the Lotus,” p. 348 et seq.
3Arelia*ologia, xlvii, pt. 1, p. 159.
THE SWASTIKA.
797
In Egypt the fylfot does not occur. It is, I believe, generally admitted or supposed
that the fylfot is of early Aryan origin. Eastward toward India. Tibet, and China
it was adopted, in all probability, as a sacred symbol of westward it may
have spread in one form oranotherlo Greecch-A^iaMiimr. jmd even to North Germany.
Oartailhac says:1
Modern Christian archaeologists have obstinately contended that the Swastika was
composed of four gamma, and so have called it the Croix Gamince. But the Rarna-
yana placed it on the boat of the Rama long before they had any knowledge of
Greek. It is found on a number of Buddhist edifices; the Sectarians of Yisliuu
placed it as a sign upon their foreheads. Burnouf says it is the Aryan sign par
excellence. It was surely a religious emblem in use in India fifteen centuries before ^
the Christian era, and thence it spread to every part. In Europe it appeared about
the middle of the ’civilization of the bronze age, and we find it, pure or transformed
into a cross, on a mass of objects in metal or pottery during the first age of iron.
Sometimes its lines were rounded and given a graceful curve instead of straight and
square at its ends and angles. [See letter by Gandhi, pp. 803, 805.]
M. Oartailhac notes* 2 several facts concerning the associations of the
Swastika foimcjL by him in Spain and Portugal and belonging to the
first (prehistoric) age of iron: (1) The Swastika was associated with
the silhouettes of the duck or bird, similar to those in Greece, noted
by Goodyear; (2) the association (in his fig. 41) on a slab from the lake
dwellings, of the Maltese cross and reproduction of the triskelion;
(3) a tetraskelion, which he calls a Swastika “flamboyant,” being the
triskelion, but with four arms, the same shown on Lycian coins as
being ancestors of the true triskelion (his fig. 412); (4) those objects
were principally found in the ancient lake dwellings of Sambroso and
Briteiros, supposedly dating from the eighth and ninth centuries B.
With them were found many ornaments, borders representing cords,
spirals, meanders, etc., which had the same appearance as those found
by Schliemann at Mycenra. Oartailhac says:3
Without doubt Asiatic influences are evident in both cases; first appearing in the
Troad, then in Greece, they wero spread through Iberia and, possibly, who can tell,
finally planted in a far-away Occident.
A writer in the Edinburgh Review, in an extended discussion on
“ The pre-Christian cross,” treats of the Swastika under the local name
of “ Fylfot,” but in such an enigmatical and uncertain manner that it is
difficult to distinguish it from other and commoner forms of the cross.
Mr. Waring4 criticises him somewhat severely for his errors:
He states that it is found * * * in the sculptured stones of Scotland (but
after careful search we can find only one or two imperfect representations of it,
putting aside the Newton stone inscription, where it is probably a letter or numeral
only); that it is carved on the temples and other edifices of Mexico and Central
America (where again we have sought for it in vain); that it is found on the cinerary
urns of the terramare of Parma and Vicenza, the date of which has been assigned
by Italian antiquaries to 1000 B. C. (but there again we have found only the plain
* “Ages Prehistoriqiie de PEspagne et du Portugal,” pp. 285-293,
2 Ibid., p. 286.
3 Ibid., p. 293.
* “ Ceramic Art in Remote Ages,” p. 13.
798
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
cross, and not the fylfot), and, finally, he asserts that “it was the emblem of Libitina
or Persephone, the awful Queen of the Shades, and is therefore commonly found
on the dress of the tumulorum fossor in the Roman catacombs,” but we have only
found one such example. “It is noteworthy, too,” he continues, “in reference to
its extreme popularity, or the superstitious veneration in which it has been also
universally held, that the cross pattde, or cruciform hammer (but we shall show
these are different symbols), was among the very last of purely pagan symbols
which was religiously preserved in EuropeTlong alter the establishment of Christi-
/Oh anityTnot in Europe, but i uT8can(iin aviaTand wherever tlie Scand in a v i an s had pene-
trated)!* It may btTseenupou tne bells ot many of outTSarish churches, as
at Appleby, Mexboroughj Haythersaye, Waddingtou, Bishop’s Norton, West Bark-
with, and other places, where it was placed as a magical sign to subdue the vicious
spirit of the tempestand he subsequently points out its constant use in relation
to water or rain.
Mr. Waring continues:
The Rev. C. Boutcll, in “Notes and Queries,” points out that it is to be found on
many mediaeval monuments and bells, and occurs—e. g., at Appleby in Lincolnshire
(peopled by Northmen)—as an initial cross to the formula on the bell “ Sta. Maria,
o. p. n. and c.” In these cases it has clearly been adopted as a Christian symbol.
In the same author’s “ Heraldry,” he merely describes it as a mystic cross.
Mr. Waring makes one statement which, being within his jurisdic-
tion, should be given full credit. He says, on page 15:
It [the Swastika] appear* in_ Sent.)mid and England only in those parts where
Scam]ipavipim penetrated and settled, but is not once found in any works of purely
Irish^or FraiiccTCeltln-ajL
He qualifies this, however, by a note:
, I believe it occurs_twice_on an “Ogam” stone _in the Museum of the Royal Irish
'i Academy, figured’IrTwilde’iTcatalogue (p. lb(i), but the fylfots are omitted in the
wood cut. [See fig. 215.]
Dr. Brinton,1 describing the normal Swastika, u with four arms of
equal length, the hook usually pointing from left to right,77 says: “In
this form it occurs in India and on very early (Neolithic) Grecian,
Italic, and Iberian remains.j; Drr-BriTTtoiris the only_author who,
writing at length or in a, critical manner, attributes the Swastika to the
Neolithic*period in Europe, and in this, more than likely, he is correct.
Professor Virchow’s opinion as to the antiquity of the hill of Hissarlik,
wherein Dr. Schliemann found so many Swastikas, should be consid-
ered in this connection. (See p. 832, 833 of this paper.) Of course,
its appearance among the aborigines of America, we can imagine,
must have been within the Neolithic period.
n
Jo
&
^roc. Amer. Philosoph. Soc., 1889, xxix, p. 179.
THE SWASTIKA.
799
II.—Dispersion of the Swastika.
EXTREME ORIENT.
JAPAN.
The Swastika was in use in Japan in anr.ip.ntn.Rwp.il as modern times.
Fig. 29 represents a bronze statue of Buddha, one-fifteenth natural size,
from Japan, in the collection of M. Cernuschi, Paris. It has eight
Sw&stikas^on the pedestal, the ends all
turned at right angles to the right. This
specimen is shown by De Mortillet1 because
it relates to prehistoric man. The image or
statue holds a cane in the form of a “ tin tin-
nabulum,” with movable rings arranged to
make a jingling noise, and De Mortillet in-
serted it in his volume to show the likeness
of this work in Japan with a number of sim-
ilar objects found in the Swiss lake dwell-
ings in the prehistoric age_of bronze (x>. 806).
The Swastika mark was employed by the
Japanese on their porcelain. Sir Augustus
W. Franks1 2 shows one of these marks, a
small Swastika turned to the left and in-
closed in a circle (fig. 30). Fig. 9 also repre-
sents a mark on Japanese bronzes.3
KOREA.
The U. S. National Museum has a ladies’
sedan or carrying chair from Korea. It bears
eight Swastika marks, cut by stencil in the
brass-bound corners, two on each corner, one
looking each way. The Swas-
tika is normal, with arms cross-
ing at right angles, the ends bent
at right angles and to the right.
It is quite plain; the lines are all
straight, heavy, of equal thickness, and the angles all at 90
In appearance it resembles the Swastika in fig. 9.
Fig. 29.
BRONZE STATUE OF BUDDHA.
Japan.
Eight Swastikas on pedestal. Cano
tintinnabiilum with six movable
rings or bells.
One fifteenth natural size.
Fig. 30.
JAPANESE POT-
TER’S MARK ON
PORCELAIN.
De Mortillet, “ Mu-
see Prehistorique,”
fig. 1248.
degrees.
CHINA.
In the Chinese language the sign of the Swastika is pro-
nounced wan (p. 801), and stands for “many,” “a great number,” “ten
thousand,” “infinity,” and by a synecdoche is construed to mean “long
1 “Mus6e Pr6historique,” fig. 1230; Bull. Soc. d’Antfirop., Paris., 1886, pp. 299,313,
314.
2“Catalogue of Oriental Porcelain and Pottery,” pi. 11, fig. 139.
3De Morgan, “ Au Caucasc,” fig. 180.
800
REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
life, a multitude of blessings, great happiness,” etc.; as is said in French,
“mille pardons,7’ u mille remerciments,77 a thousand thanks, etc. During
a visit to the Chinese legation in the city of Washington, while this paper
was in progress, the author met one of the attaches, Mr. Chung, dressed
in his robes of state; his outer garment was of moire silk. The pattern
woven in the fabric consisted of a large circle with certain marks therein,
prominent among which were two Swastikas, one turned to the right,
the other to the left. The name given to the sign was as reported above,
wan, and the signification was 11 longevity.77 a long life,77 “many years.77
< Thus was showirthatTiirTiir ruTwell asTiear countries, in modern as
< well as ancient times, this sign stood for blessing, good wishes, and, by
/ a slight extension, for good luck.
The author conferred with the Chinese minister, Yang Yu, with the
request that he should furnish any appropriate information concerning
the Swastika in China. In due course the author received the follow-
ing letter and accompanying notes with drawings:
* * * I have the pleasure to submit abstracts from historical and literary
* works on the origin of the Swastika in China and the circumstances connected with
it in Chinese ancient history. I have had this paper translated into English and
illustrated by india-ink drawings. The Chinese copy is made by Mr. Ho Yen-Shing,
the first secretary of the legation, translation by Mr. Chung, and drawings by Mr. Li.
With assurance of my high esteem, I am,
Very cordially, Vang Yu.
Buddhist philosophers consider simple characters as half or incomplete characters
and compound characters as complete characters, while the Swastika pj-| is regarded
as a natural formation, f A Buddhist priest of the Tang Dynasty, Tao Sliih by name,
in a chapter of his work entitled Fa Yuen Clin Lin, on the original Buddha, describes
him as having this jlJJ mark on his breast and sitting on a high lily of innumerable
petals. [PI. 1.] v/
^/Empress Wu (684-704 A. D.), of the Tang Dynasty, invented a number of new forms
for characters already in existence, amongst which was the word forjm^ (g)
for moon, for star, and so on. These characters were once very extensively
used in ornamental writing, and even now the word ((-HJ sun may be found in many
of the famous stone inscriptions of that age, which have been preserved to us up to
the present day. [PL 2.]
The history of the Tang Dynasty (620-906 A. D.), by Lni IIsu and others of the
Tsin Dyuasty, records a decree issued by Emperor Tai Tsung (763-779 A. D.) forbid-
ding the nse of the Swastika on silk fabrics manufactured for any purpose. [PI. 3.]
Fung Tse, of the Tang Dynasty, records a practice among the people of Loh-yang
to endeavor, on the 7th of the 7tli month of each year, to obtain spiders to weave
the Swastika on their web. Rung Ping-Chung, of the Sung Dynasty, says that the
people of Loh-yang believe it to be good luck to find the Swastika woven by spiders
?over fruits or melons. [PI. 4.]
Sung Pai, of the Sung Dynasty, records an offering made to the Emperor by Li
Yuen-su, a high official of the Tang Dynasty, of a buffalo with a Swastika on the
forehead, in return for which offering he was given a horse by the Emperor. [PI. 5.]
The TsMng-I-Luh, by Tao Kuh, of the Sung Dynasty, records that an Empress m
Report of National Museum, 1 894. —Wilson.
Plate 1.
Origin of Buddha according to Tao Shih, with Swastika Sign.
From a drawing by Mr. Li, presented to the U. S. National Museum by Mr. Yang Yu, Chinese
Minister, Washington, I). C.
Report of National Museum, 1894,—Wilson
Plate 2.
Prometheus:
Swastika Decreed by Empress Wu (684 704 A. D.) as a Sign for
Sun in China. _
From a drawing by Mr. Li, presented to the U. S. National Museum by Mr. Yang Y"ii, Chinese
Minister, Washington, D. C.
f
i
Report of National Museum, 1894.—Wilson.
Plate 3.
Swastika Design on Silk Fabrics.
This use of the Swastika was forbidden in China by Emperor Tai Tsung (703-779 A. I).).
From a drawing by Mr. Li, presented to the U, S. National Museum by Mr. Yang Yu, Chinese
Minister, Washington. D. C.
Report of National Museum, 1 894. —Wilson.
Plate 4.
ft #
f-
Swastika in Spider Web over Fruit.
(A good omen in China.)
From a drawing by Mr. Li, presented to tne U. S. National Museum by Mr. Yang Yu, Chinese
Minister, Washington, D. C.
Report of National Mjseum, 1894.—Wilson.
Plate 5.
4 X1
J> it
^
JU
jU
^ is.)
#
• Buffalo with Swastika on Forehead.
Presented to Emperor of Sung Dynasty.
From a drawing by Mr. Li, presented to the U. S. National Museum by Mr. Yang Yu, Chinese
Minister, Washington, D. C. *
1
Report of National Museum, 1 894.—Wilson.
Plate 6.
Incense Burner with Swastika Decoration.
South Tang Dynasty.
From a drawing by Mr. Li, presented to the U. S. National Museum by Mr. Yang Yii, Chinese
Minister, Washington D. C.
»
Report of National Museum, 1894.—Wilson.
Plate 7.
House of Wu Tsung-Chih of Sin Shui, with Swastika in Railing
From a drawing- by Mr. Li. presented to the U. S. National Museum by Mr. Yang Yii, Chinese
Minister. Washington, D. C.
1
Report of National Museum, 1894.—Wilson.
Plate 8.
Mountain or Wild Date.—Fruit Resembling the Swastika.
From a drawing by Mr. Li, presented to the U. S. National Museum by 3Ir. Yang Yu, Chinese
Minister, Washington, D. C.
THE SWASTIKA. 801
the time of the South Tang Dynasty had an incense burner the external decoration
of which had the Swastika design on it. [ PI. 6.]
Chu I-Tsu, in his work entitled Ming Shih Tsung, says Wu Tsung-Chih, a learned
man of Sin Shui, built a residence outside of the north gate of that town, which he
named “Wan-Chai,” from the Swastika decoration of the railings about the exterior
of the house. [PI. 7.]
An anonymous work, entitled the Tung Hsi Yang K*ao, described a fruit called
shan-tsao-tse (mountain or wild date), whose leaves resemble those of the plum. The
seed resembles the lichee, and tho fruit, which ripens in the ninth month of the year,
suggests a resemblance to the Swastika. [PI. 8.]
The Swastika is one of the symbolic marks of the Chinese porcelain.
Prime1 shows what he calls a “tablet of honor,” which represents a
Swastika inclosed in a lozenge with loops at the corners (fig. 31). This
mark on a piece of porcelain signifies that it is an imperial gift.
Major-General Gordon, controller of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich,
England, writes to Dr. Sclilieinann:1 2 “The
Swastika is Chinese. On the breech chasing
of a large gun lying outside my office, captured
in the Taku fort, you will find this same sign.”
But Dumoutier3 says this sign is nothing else
^lan the ancient Chinese character c h e, which,
according to D’Alviella,4 carries the idea of
perfection or excellence, and signifies the
renewal and perpetuity of life. And again,2
“Dr. Lockyer, formerly medical missionary to
tCiina, says the sign ft is thoroughly Chinese.”
The Swastika is found on Chinese musical instruments. The IT. S.
National Museum possesses a Hu-Ch’in, a violin with four strings, the
body of which is a section of bamboo about inches in diameter.
The septum of the joint has been cut away so as to leave a Swastika of
normal form, the four arms of which are connected with the outer walls
of the bamboo. Another, a Ti-Ch’in, a two-stringed violin, with a body
of cocoanut, has a carving which is believed to have been a Swastika;
but the central part has been broken out, so that the actual form is
undetermined.
Prof. George Frederick Wright, in an article entitled “Swastika,”5
quotes Rev. F. H. Chalfont, missionary at Chanting, China, as saying:
“Same symbol in Chinese characters <ouan,? or ‘wan,’ and is a favorite
ornament with the Chinese.”
potter’s mark on porcelain.
Claim.
Tablet of honor, with Swastika.
Prime, “ Pottery and Porcelain,” p. 254.
1 “ Pottery and Porcelain,” p. 254.
2 “Ilios,” p. 352.
3“Le Swastika et la roue solaire en Chine,” Revue d’Ethnographie, iv, pp.
319, 350.
4 “La Migration des Symboles,” p. 55.
5 New York Independent, November 10, 1893; Science, March 23, 1894, p. 162.
II. Mis. 90, pt. 2-----51
802
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
TIBET.
Mr. William Woodville Boekhill,1 speaking of the fair at Kuinbum,
says:
I found there a number of Lh’asa Tibetans (they call them Gopa liere) selling
pulo, beads of various eolors; saffron, medicines, peacock feathers, incense sticks,
etc. I had a talk with these traders, several of whom I had met hero before in
1889. * * * One of them had a Swastika (yung-drung) tattooed on his hand, and
I learned from this man that this is not an uncommon mode of ornamentation in his
country.
Count D’Alviolla says that the Swastika is continued among the
Buddhists of Tibet; that the women ornament their pcttieoats witli it,
and that it is also placed upon
the breasts of their dead.1 2
lie also reports3 a Buddhist
statue at the Musee Guimet
with Swastikas about thebase.
He does not state to what
country it belongs, so the au-
thor has no means of deter-
mining if it is the same statue
as is represented in fig. 29.
INDIA.
Burnouf4 says approvingly
of the Swastika:
Christian arelneologists believe
this was the most ancient sign of
the cross. * * * It was used
among tho Brahmins from all an-
tiquity. (Voyez mot “Swastika”
dans notre dietionnaire Sanskrit.)
FOOTPRINT OF BUDDHA WITH SWASTIKA, FROM AMARAVATI Swa8tifca> or Swasta, ill India COr-
T0PE' responds to “benediction” among
From a figure by Fergusson and Schliemann. . ,
Christians.
The same author, in his translation of the u Lotus de la Bonne Loi,” ^
one of the nine Dharmas or Canonical books of the Buddhists of the -
North, of 280 pages, adds an appendix of his own writing of 583 pages; ;
and in one (No. 8) devoted to an enumeration and description of the
sixty-five figures traced on the footprint of Qakya (fig. 32) commences
as follows:
1. Svastikaya: This is the familiar mystic figure of many Indian seets, represented
1 “ Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891-92,” p. 67.
2“La Migration des Symboles,” p. 55, citing note I, Journ. Asiatique, 2e siSrie, iv,
p. 245, and Pallas, “ Sainmlungen liistorischer Naehriehten iiber die mongolisehen
Volkerschaften,” i, p. 277.
3Ibid., p. 55.
4 “Des Sciences et Religion,” p. 256.
THE SWASTIKA.
803
thus, Lpj, aud whose name signifies, literally, ‘‘sign of benediction or of good
augury/’ (Rgya tcli’er rol pa, Vol. 11, p. 110.)
* * * The sign of the Swastika was not less known to the Brahmins than to
the Buddhists. “Eamayana,” Yol. II, p. 348, ed. Gor., Chap. XCVII, st. 17, tells of
vessels on the sea bearing this sign of fortune. This mark, of which the name and
usage are certainly ancient, because it is found on the oldest Buddhist medals, may
have been used as frequently among the Brahmins as among the Buddhists. Most ofi
the inscriptions on the Buddhist caverns in western India are cither preceded or fol-»
lowed by the holy (sacramentelle) sign of the Swastika. It appears less common on
the Brahmin monuments.
Mr. W. Crooke (Bengal Civil Service, director of Etli. Survey, North-
west Provinces and Oudli), says:1
The mystical emblem of the Swastika, which appears to represent the sun in his
journey through the heavens, is of constant occurrence. The trader paints it on the
flyleaf of his ledger, he who has young children or animals liablo to the evil eye
makes a representation of it on the wall beside his doorpost. It holds first place
among the lucky marks of the Jainas. It is drawn on the shaven heads of children
on the marriago day in Gujarat. A red circle with Swastika in the center is depicted
ou the place where the family gods are kept (Campbell, Notes, p. 70). In the Meerut
division the worshiper of the village god Bhumiya constructs a rude model of it in
the sli^ne by fixing up two crossed straws with a daub of plaster. It often occurs
in folklore. In the drama of the Toy Cart the thief hesitates whether he shall
make a hole in the wall of Charudatta’s house in the form of a Swastika or of a
water jar (Manning, Ancient India, 11, .160).
Village shrines.—The outside (of the shrines) is often covered with rude representa-
tions of the mystical Swastika.
V'
On page 250 lie continues thus:
Charms.—The bazar merchant writes the words “Ram Ram” over his door, or
makes an image of Genesa, the god of luck, or draws the mystical Swastika. The
jand tree is reverenced as sacred by Khattris and Brahmins to avoid the evil eye in
children. The child is brought at 3 years of age before a jand tree; a bough is cut
with a sickle and planted at the foot of the tree. A Swastika symbol is made before
it with the rice flour and sugar brought as an offering to the tree. Threads of string,
used by women to tie up their hair, are cut in lengths and some deposited on the
Swastika.
Mr. Yirchand R. Gandhi, a Hindu and Jain disciple from Bombay,
India, a delegate to the World’s Parliament of Religions at Chicago in
1893, remained for sometime in Washington, 1). C., proselyting among
the Christians. He is a cultivated gentleman, devoted to the spread
of his religion. I asked his advice and assistance, which he kindly
gave, supervising my manuscript for the Swastika in the extreme
Orient, and furnishing me the following additional information relative
to the Swastika in India, and especially among the Jains:
The Swastika is misinterpreted by so-called Western expounders of our ancient
Jain philosophy. The original idea was very high, but later on some persons thought
the cross represented only the combination of the male and the female principles.
While we are on the physical plane and our propensities on the material line, we
think it necessary to unite these (sexual) principles for our spiritual growth. On
1 “Introduction to Popular Religion and Folk Lore of North India,” p. 58.
804
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 18»4.
the higher plane the soul is sexless, and those who wish to rise higher than the
physical plane must eliminate the idea of sex.
I explain the Jain Swastika by the following illustration [fig. 33] : The horizontal
and vertical lines crossing each other at right angles form the Greek cross. They
represent spirit and matter. We add four other lines by
bending to the right each arm of the cross, then three circles
and the crescent, and a circle within the crescent. The idea
thus symbolized is that there are four grades of existence
of souls in the material universe. The first is the lowest
state—Archaic or protoplasmic life. The soul evolves from
that state to the next—the earth with its plant aud animal
life. Then follows the third stage—the human; then the
fourth stage—the celestial. The word celestial” is here
held to mean life in other worlds than our own. All these
graduations are combinations of matter and soul on differ-
ent scales. The spiritual plane is that in which the soul is
entirely freed from the bonds of matter. In order to reach
that plane, one must strive to possess the three jewels
(represented by the three circles), right belief, right knowl-
edge, right conduct. When a person has these, he will
certainly go higher until he reaches the state of liberation,
which is represented by the crescent. The crescent has the
form of the rising moon and is always growing larger. The
circle in the crescent represents the omniscient state of the
soul when it has attained full consciousness, is liberated, and lives apart from matter.
The interpretation, according to the Jain view of the cross, lias nothing to do with
the combination of the male and female principle. Worship of the male and female
principles, ideas based upon sex, lowest even of the emotional plane, can never rise
higher than the male and female.
EXPLANATION OF THE JAIN
SWASTIKA, ACCORDING TO
GANDHI.
(1) Archaic or protoplas-
mic life: (2) Plant and
animal life; (3) Human
life; (4) Celestial life.
THE FORMATION OF THE JAIN SWASTIKA—FIRST
STAGE.
Handful of rice or meal, in circular form, thinner
in center.
THE FORMATION OF THE JAIN SWASTIKA —SECOND
STAGE.
Rice or meal, as shown in preceding figure, with
finger marks, indicated at 1,2,3,4.
The Jains make the Swastika sign when we enter our temple of worship. This
sign reminds us of the great principles represented by the three jewels and by which
we are to reach the ultimate good. Those symbols intensify our thoughts aud make
them more permanent.
THE SWASTIKA.
805
Mr. Gandhi says the Jains make the sign of the Swastika as fre-
quently and deftly as the Roman Catholics make the sign of the cross.
It is not confined to the temple nor to the priests or monks. Whenever^\
or wherever a benediction or blessing is given, the Swastika is used^J
Figs. 34 a, b, c form a series showing how it is made. A handful of
rice, meal, flour, sugar, salt, or any similar substance, is spread over a
circular space, say, 3 inches in diameter and one-eiglith of an inch deep
(fig. 34a), then commence at the outside of the circle (fig. 34b), on its
upper or farther left-hand corner, and draw the finger through the meal
just to the left of the center, halfway or more to the opposite or near
edge of the circle (1), then again to the right (2), then upward (3), finally
1/ Fig. 34c.
THE FORMATION OF THE JAIN SWASTIKA—THIRD STAGE.
Ends turned out, typifying animal, human, and celestial life, as shown in tig. 33.
to the left where it joins with the first mark (4). The ends are swept
outward, the dots and crescent put in above, and the sign is complete
(fig. 34c).
The sign of the Swastika is reported in great numbers, by hundreds
if not by thousands, in the inscriptions on the rock walls of the Bud-v
dhist caves in India. It is needless to copy them, but is enough to say
that they are the same size as the letters forming the inscription; that
they all have four arms and the ends turn at right angles, or nearly so,
indifferently to the right or to the left. The following list of inscrip-
tions, containing the Swastikas, is taken from the first book coming to
hand—the “Report of Dr. James Burgess on the Buddhist Gave Tem-
ples and their Inscriptions, Being a Bart of the Result of the Fourth,
806
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
Fifth, and Sixth Seasons’ Operations of the Archeological Survey of
Western India, 1S7G, 1S77, 187S, 1879
Inserip- Direction
Plato. tion in which ends
number. are bent.
Ilhaja XLIV 2 To right.
Kmla XLYI 26 Do.
Do XL VI 27 To left.
Kol XL VI 5 To right.
Karle 1 I)o.
Do XLVII 3 I)o.
J mmar XLIX 5 Do.
Do XLIX 6 To left.
Do XLIX 7 To right.
Do XLIX 8 To left.
Do XLIX 9 To right.
Do XLIX 10 Do. '
Do YLIX 11 (?) Do.
Do XLIX 12 Do.
Do XLIX 13 (?) Do.
Do XLIX 13 (?) To left.
Do XLIX 14 Do.
Do L 17 To right.
Do L 19 Do.
Xasik LII 5 Do.
Do LV (Xasik 21) 5 (?) l)o.
Do LV (Xasik 24) 8(?) Do.
Cliantre2 says:
I remind you that the (East) Indians, Chinese, and Japanese employ the Swastika,
not only as a religious emblem but as a simple ornament in painting on pottery and
elsewhere, the same as wo employ the Greek fret, lozenges, and similar motifs in our
ornamentation. Xistres [the staff with jingling bells, hold in the hand of Buddha,
on whose base is engraved a row of Swastikas, fig. 29 of present paper] of similar
^ form and-stylo have been found in prehistoric Swiss lake dwellings of the bronze ago.
Thus the niatres and the Swastika~arc brought into relation with each other.
The sistres possibly relate to an ancient religion, as they did in the Orient; the
Swastika may have had a similar distinction.
I)e Mortillet and others hold the same opinion.3
CLASSICAL ORIENT.
Prometheus:
BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA, CIIALDEA, AND PERSIA.
Waring4 says, “In Babylonian and AssjTriau remains we search for
it [the Swastika] in vain.” Max Muller and Count Goblet d’Alviella
are of the same opinion.5
^rubner & Co., London, 1883, pp. 140, pi. 60.
a“Age du Bronze,” pt. 1, p. 206.
3“Musde Tr^historique,” pi. 98; “Notes de l’Origine Orientale de la Mtftallurgie,”
Lyon, 1879; “L’Ago de la Pierre et dn Bronze dans l’Asie Occidental,” Bull. Soc.
d’Anthrop., Lyon, i, fasc. 2, 1882; Bull. Soe. d’Anthrop. de Paris, 1886, pp. 299, 313,
and 314.
4 “Ceramic Art in Remote Ages.”
6“La Migration des Symboles,” pp. 51, 52.
THE SWASTIKA.
807
Of Persia, D’Alviella (p. 51), citing Ludwig Muller,1 says that the
Swastika is manifested only by its presence on certain coins of the
Arsacides and the Sassanides.
PHENICIA.
It is reported by various authors that the Swastika has never been
found in Plienicia, e. g. Max Muller, J. B. Waring, Count Goblet d’Alvi-
ella.1 2
Ohnefalscli-Bicliter3 says that the Swastika is not found in Plienicia,
yet be is of the opinion that their emigrant and commercial travelers
brought it from the far east and introduced it into Cyprus, Carthage,
and the north of Africa. (See p. TOG.)
LYCAONIA.
Lempriere, in his Classical Dictionary, under the above title, gives the
following:
A district of Asia Minor forming the southwestern quarter of Phrygia. The origin
of its name and inhabitants, the Lycaones, is lost in obscurity. * * * Our first
acquaintance with this region is in the relation of the expedition of the younger
Cyprus. Its limits varied at different times. At first it extended eastward from
Iconium 23 geographical miles, and was separated from Cilicia on the south by the
range of Mount Taurus, comprehending a large portion of what in later times was
termed Cataonia.
Count Goblet d’Alviella,4 quoting Perrot and Cliipiez,5 6 states that
the Hittites introduced the Swastika on a bas-relief of Ibriz, Lycaonia, i
where it forms a border of the robe of a king or priest offering n*
sacrifice to a god.
* ARMENIA.
M. J. de Morgan (the present director of the Gizeli Museum at Cairo),
under the direction of the French Government,
made extensive excavations and studies into the
prehistoric antiquities and archaeology of Riigsinn
Armenia. His report is entitled “Le Premier
Age de M<5taux dans FArmenie Busse.”0 He ex-
fcavated a number of prehistoric cemeteries, and
found therein various forms of crosses engraved
on ceintures, vases, and medallions. The Swas-
tika, though present, was more rare. He found
it on the heads of two large bronze pins (figs.
35 and 3G) and on one piece of pottery (fig. 37) chkithan-thagh.
i/from the prehistoric tombs. The bent arms are
all turned to the left, and would be the Suavastika of Prof. Max Muller.
1 “Det Saakaldte Hagebors,” Copenhagen, 1877.
2 “La Migration ties Sj'mboles,” pp. 51, 52.
3 Bull, de la Soe. d’Antlirop., December 6, 1888, xi, p. 671.
4 “La Migration des Symboles,” p. 51.
5 “Histoirc de PArt dans TAntiquity,” iv.
6“Mission Scientifique au Caucase.”
BRONZE PIN-HEAD FROM
808
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
CAUCASUS.
/
In Caucasus, M. E. Chantre1 fouud tlie Swastika iu great purity of
form. Fig. 38 represents portions of a bronze plaque from that coun-
try, used on a ceiuture or belt. Another of slightly
different style, but with square cross and arms bent
at right angles, is repre-
sented in his pi. 8, fig. 5.
These belonged to the
first age of iron, and
much of the art was in-
tricate.1 2 It represented
animals as well as all ge-
ometric forms, crosses,
circles (concentric and
otherwise), spirals, meanders, chevrons,
herring bone, lozenges, etc. These were
sometimes cast in the metal, at other times
repousse, and again wen*, engraved, and
occasionally these methods were employed
together. Fig. 39 shows another form,
frequently employed and suggested as a possible evolution of the
Swastika, from the same locality and same plate. Fig. 40 represents
Fig. 36.
BRONZE PIN-IIEAI) FROM
AKTHALA.
DeMorgau, “Au Cauease,” fig.
I7K.
SWASTIKA MARK ON BLACK POTTERY.
Cheithan-thagh.
I>e Morgan, “Au Cauease,” fin. 179.
Fig. 38.
FRAGMENT OF BRONZE CEINTUltE.
Swastika repousse.
Necropolis of Koban, Caucasus.
Chantre, “ Le Cauease,” pi. 11, fig. 3.
signs reported by Waring3 as from Asia Minor, which he credits, with-
out explanation, to Ellis’s “Antiquities of Heraldry.”
1 “ Recherches Anthropologiques dans le Cauease/’ tome deuxikme, p6riode proto-
Mstorique, Atlas, pi. 11, fig. 3.
3Count Goblet d’Alviella, “La Migration des Symboles,” p. 51.
3 “Ceramic Art in Remote Ages,” pi. 41, figs. 5 and 6,
THE SWASTIKA.
809
The specimen shown in fig. 41 is reported by Waring,1 quoting
Rzewusky,2 as one of the several branding marks used on Circassian
horses for identification.
Mr. Frederick Rem-
ington, the celebrated
artist and literateur, has
an article, “Cracker Cow-
boy in Florida,”3 wherein
he discourses of the for-
gery of brands on cattle
in that country. One of
his genuine brands is a
circle with a small cross
in the center.^ The for-
gery consists in elongat-
ing each arm of the cross
and turning it with a
scroll, forming an ogee
Swastika(fig.l3d), which,
curiously enough, is ] >rae-
tically the same brand
used on Circassian horses (fig. 41). Max Ohnefalsch-Richtcr4 says that
instruments n£ copper^ (audumbaroasih) are rec-
ommended in the Atharva-Veda to make the Swas-
tika, which represents the figure 8; and thus he
attempts to account for the use of that mark '
branded on the cows in India (supra,p. 772), on the''
horses in Circassia (fig. 41), and
said to have been used in Arabia.
Fig. 39.
RRONZE AGRAFE OK KELT PLATE.
Triskelion in spiral.
Ivoban, Caucasus.
Chant re, “ Le Oauoase,” j>I. 11, fig. 4.
Fig. 40.
SWASTIKA SIGNS KKOM ASIA
MINOR.
Waring, “ Ceramic Art in Remote
Ages,” ]>l. 41, figs. 5 and 6.
ASIA MINOR—TROY (lIISSARLIK).
Many specimens of the Swastika were found by Dr.
Schliemann in the ruins of Troy, principally on spindle
Mvhorls, vase's, and bijoux "of precious metal. Zmig-
rodzki5 made from Dr. Schliemann’s great atlas the
following classification of the objects found at Troy,
ornamented with the Swastika and its related forms:
Fifty-five of imre form; 114 crosses with the four dots, points or
alleged nail holes (Croix swasticale); 102 with three branches or arms
(triskelion); 86 with five branches or arms; 63 with six branches or
arms; total, 420.
Zmigrodzki continues his classification by adding those which have
Fig. 41.
RRAND FOR HORSES
IN CIRCASSIA.
Ogee Swastika, tet-
raskeliou.
Waring, “ Ceramic Art in
Remote Ages,” |»1. 42,
lig. 20c.
1 “ Ceramic Art in Remote Ages,” pi. 42, lig. 20c.
2 “ Mines de POrient,” v.
3 Harper's Magazine, August, 1895.
4Rulletins de la Soc. d'Antlirop., 1888, ii, p. 678.
5Dixifcme Congr&s International d’Anthropologie et d'Arcli<Sologie l*r6histori(pie,
Paris, 1889, p. 474,
810
/
relation to the Swastika thus: Eighty-two representing stars; 70 rep-
resenting suns; 42 representing branches of trees or palms; 15 animals
non-feroeious, deer, antelope, hare, swan, etc.; total, 209 objects. Many
of these were spindle whorls.
Dr. Scliliemann, in his works, “Troja” and “Ilios,” describes at length
his excavations of these cities and his discoveries of the Swastika on
many objects. His reports are grouped under titles of the various
cities, first, second, third, etc., up to the seventh city, counting always
from the bottom, the first being deepest and oldest. The same system
will be here pursued. The first and second cities were 45 to 52 feet (13
to 10 meters) deep; the third, 23 to 33 feet (7 to 10 meters) deep; the
fourth city, 13 to 17.0 feet (4 to 5J meters) deep; the fifth city, 7 to 13
feet (2 to 4 meters) deep; the sixth was the Lydian city of Troy, and
the seventh city, the Greek Ilium, approached the surface.
First and Second Cities.—But few whorls were found in the first and
second cities1 and none of these bore the Swastika
mark, while thousands were found in the third,
fourth, and fifth cities, many of which bore the
Swastika mark. Those of the first city, if unorna-
mented, have a uniform lustrous black color and are
the shape of a cone (fig. 55) or of two cones joined
at the base (figs. 52 and 71). Both kinds were
found at 33 feet and deeper. Others from the same
city were ornamented by incised lines rubbed in
with white chalk, in which ease they were fiat.1 2 In
the second city the whorls were smaller than in
the lirst. They were all of a black color and their
incised ornamentation was practically the same as
those from the upper cities.3
Zmigrodzki congratulated himself on having discovered among
Sehliemann’s finds what he believed to be the oldest representation of
the Swastika of which we had reliable knowledge. It was a frag-
^nent of a vase (fig. 42) of the lustrous black pottery peculiar to the
whorls of the first and second cities. But Zmigrodzki was compelled
to recede, which he did regretfully, when Scliliemann, in a later edi-
tion, inserted the footnote (p. 350) saying, that while he had found
this (with a companion piece) at a great depth in his excavations, and
had attributed them to the first city, yet, on subsequent examination,
he had become convinced that they belonged to the third city.
The Swastika, turned both ways and |7J-i, was frequent in the third,
fourth, and fifth cities.
The following specimens bearing the Swastika mark are chosen, out
of the many specimens in Scliliemann’s great album, in order to make
a fair representation of the various kinds, both of whorls and of Swas-
1 “ Ilios,” pp. 229, 350, note 1.
3 Ibid, %s. 63-70, p. 229.
3 Ibid, pi 303.
Fig. 42.
FRAGMENT OF Ll’STROlS
1SLACK POTTERY.
Swastika, right.
Depth, 23 feet.
SchlkMiiann, “Ilios,” fij;. i?47.
THE SWASTIKA.
811
tikas. They are arranged in the order of cities, the depth being indi-
cated in feet.
The Third, or Burnt, City (23 to 33 feet dee])).—The spindle-whorl
shown in fig. 43 contains two Swastikas and two crosses.1 Of the one
Fig.43.
SPINDLE-WHORL with two swastikas ANI) TWO
, ' CROSSES.
Depth, 23 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. isr>s.
Fig. 44.
SPINDLE-WIIORL WITH TWO SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 23 feet.
Schlieinann, “ Ilios,” fij'. IS74.
Swastika, two arms are bent to the right at right angles, while the
other two are bent to the right in curves. The other Swastika has but
two bends, one at right angles, the
other curved, both to the right. The
specimen shown in tig. 44 has two
Swastikas, in one of which the four
arms are bent at right angles to the
left. The entire figure is traced in
double lines, one
heavy and one
light, as though
to represent
edges or shad-
ows. The second Swastika has its ends bent at an
obtuse angle to the left, and at the extremities the
lines taper to a point.
Fig. 45.
SPINDLE-WHORL WITH TWO SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 23 feet.
Sclilieinann, “ Ilios,” (is;. P.U'.i.
SPINDLE-WHORL WITH TWO
SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 28 feet.
Schlieinann, “ Ilios,” %. Is2»>.
The whorl shown in
fig. 45 is nearly spher-
ical, with two Swas-
tikas in the upper part.
The ends of the four arms in both are bent
at right angles, one to the right, the other
to the left. Fig. 4G represents a spindle-
whorl with two irregular Swastikas; but
one arm is bent at right angles add all the
arms and points are uncertain and of un-
equal lengths. The rest of the field is covered with indefinite and inex-
plicable marks, of which the only ones noteworthy are points or dots,
seven in number. In fig. 47 the top is surrounded by a line of zigzag
Fig. 47.
SPINDLE-WHORLWITII THREE SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 23 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” tig. IN5I.
‘All spindle-whorls from tlio hill of Hissarlik are represented- one-half natural
size.
812
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891.
or dog-tooth ornaments. Witliin this field, on the upper part and
equidistant from the central hole, are three Swastikas, the ends of all
of which turn to the left, and but one at right angles.
one
Fig.48.
SPINDLE-WHORL WITH SWASTIKAS
Depth, 23
Sohliomann, “ Ilios,” fij;.
All three have
or more ends
bent, not at any an-
gle, but in a curve
or hook, making an
ogee. Fig. 48 shows
a large whorl with
two or three Swas-
tikas on its upper
surface in connection
with several indefi-
nite marks appar-
ently without mean-
ing. The dots are
interspersed over the field, the Swastikas all bent to the right, but
with uncertain lines and at indefinite angles. In one of them the main
line forming the cross is curved toward the central
hole; in another, the ends are both bent in the
same direction—that is, pointing to the periphery
of the whorl. Fig. 49 shows a sphere or globe (sec
/ tigs. 7d, 88) divided by longitudinal lines into four
segments, which are again divided by an equa-
torial line. These segments contain marks or dots
and circles, while one segment contains a normal
Swastika turned to the left. This terra-cotta ball
has figured in a peculiar degree in the symbolic
representation of the Swastika. (Ireg says of it:1
"We sco on one hemisphere the Ft1 standing for Zeus
(=Indra) the sky god, and on the other side a rude representation of a sacred
(somma) tree; a very interesting and curious western perpetuation of the original
idea and a strong indirect proof of the Fy standing for the enihlom of the sky god.
F i g.. .">() represents
one of the biconieal
spindle-whorls with
various decorations
on the two sides,
longitudinal lines
interspersed with
dots, arcs of con-
centric circles ar-
ranged in three
parallels, etc. On one of these sides is a normal Swastika, the
arms crossing at right angles, the ends bent at right angles to the left.
1 Archioologia, xlviii, pt. 2, p. 322.
SPHERE DIVIDED INTO KIOHT
SEGMENTS, ONE OP WHICH
CONTAINS A SWASTIKA.
Srhlieninnn, “ Ilios,” %. P.i9<i.
Fig. 50.
mCONIOAL SPINDLE-WIIORL WITH SWASTIKA.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fi;;. 1949.
THE SWASTIKA.
813
The specimen shown in fig. 51 contains four perfect Swastikas and two
inchoate and uncertain. Both of the latter have been damaged by
breaking the surface. The four Swastikas all have their arms bent to
the right; some are greater than at right angles, and one arm is curved.
Several ends are tapered to a point. Fig. 52 shows a whorl of biconical
form. It contains two Swastikas, the main arms of which are ogee
Fig. 51.
MICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH SIX SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 33 feet.
Schlietniinn, “ Ilios,” tig. ]«r>n.
Fig.52.
15ICON1CAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH TWO OOEE
SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 33 feet.
St'hliemann, “Ilios,” tig. ]',7tl.
forms, crossing each other at the center at nearly right angles, the
ogee ends curving to the right. In fig. 55 the entire field of the upper ^
surface is filled with, or occupied by, a Greek cross, in the center of
which is the central hole of the whorl, while on each of the four arms
is represented a Swastika, the main arms all crossing at right angles,
the ends all bent to the right at a slightly obtuse angle. Each of these
bent ends tapers to a point, some
with slight curves and a small flour-
ish. (See figs. 55 and 34 for refer-
ence to this flourish.) The specimen
shown in fig. 54 has a center field in
its upper part, of which the decora-
tion consists of incised parallel lines
forming segments of circles, re-
peated in each one of the four quar-
ters of the field. The center hole
is surrounded by two concentric
rings of incised lines. In one of
these spaces is a single Swastika; its main arms crossing at right
angles, two of its ends bent to the left at right angles, the other two
in the same direction and curved.
U’INDLE-WHORL WITH
FOUR SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 33 feet.
Prometheus:
>e Mortillet, “ Mus6e Pr£his-
torique,” fig. 1240.
Fig. 54.
SPINDLE-WHORL WITH
ONE SWASTIKA.
Depth, 33 feet.
De Mortillet, “ Musee Pre-
historique,” fig. 1241.
The Fourth City (13.2 to 17.6 feet deep).—Schliemann says:1
We find among the successors of the burnt city the same triangular idols; the same
primitive bronze battle-axes; the same terra-cotta vases, with or without tripod feet;
the same double-handled goblets (6iita a/j,(piHV7teXXcx)\ the same battle-axes of
jade, porphyry, and diorite; the same rude stone hammers, and saddle querns of
trachyte. * * * The number of rude stone hammers and polished stone axes are
fully thrice as large as in the third eity, while the masses of shells and cockles
1 ** Ilios,” pp. 518, 571.
814
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
accumulated in tlie d6bris of the houses are so stupendous that they bafllo all
description. The pottery is coarser and of a ruder fabric than in the third city.
* * * There were also found in the fourth city many needles of bone for female
handiwork, bear tusks, spit rests of mica
schist, whetstones of slate, porphyry, etc.,
of the usual form, hundreds of small silex
saws, and some knives of obsidian. Stone
whorls, which are so abundant at Mycense,
are but rarely found here; all of those which
occur are, according to Mr. Davis, of steatite.
On the other hand, terra-cotta whorls, with
or without incised ornamentation, are found
by thousands; their forms hardly vary from
those in the third (the burnt) city, and the
same may be generally said of their incised
ornamentation. “ ~ * The same repre-
sentation of specimens of whorls are given
as in the third city, and the same observa-
tions apply.
Fig. 55 shows a simple cone, the upper surface being flat and without
other decoration than three Swastikas equidistant from the hole and
from eacli other, all made by
the two crossed ogee lines
with ends curved to the right.
This specimen is much like
that of fig. 71 (Madam Schlie-
mann collection in the lT. S.
National Museum, Cat. No.
149704). Fig. 5G shows a re-
markable spindle-whorl. Its
marks greatly excited the in-
terest of l)r. Schliemann, and
he devoted much space to the
discussion of these and simi-
lar characters. The whorl is
in the form of a cone. It bears upon its conical surface four Swastikas,
the ends of three of which bend to the right and one to the left. There
are but two of these ends which
bend at right angles. Most of
them are at an obtuse angle, while
the ends of two are curved. Some
taper to a point and finish with a
slight flourish. The other marks
which so interested Dr. Schlie-
mann were the chevron ornament
(zigzag), drawn in parallel lines,
which, he strongly argued, and
fortified with many authorities,
represented lightning. The second series of marks he called a “ burn-
ing altar.” This assertion he also fortified with authorities and with
CONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 13^ feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. 18!U.
CONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH FOITIt SWASTIKAS OF VARI-
OUS KINDS.
Depth, 13£ feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig.
Fig. 55.
CONICAL SPINDLE-WHOM. WITH THREE OGEE
SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 13J feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. 1S50.
THE SWASTIKA.
815
illustrations of a similar sign from different countries. (See fig. 101.)
Tlie third series of marks represented an animal, name and character
unknown, with a head or tusks
with two large branching horns
or ears, a straight back, a stiff but
drooping tail, four legs, and two
rows of the remarkable dots—
seven in one, six in the other—
placed overtliebackof theanimal.
(See figs. 99 and 100.)' Fig. 57
represents another cone-shaped
whorl, the flat surface of which is
engraved with one perfect Swas-
tika, the two arms crossing each
other at right^ angles and the two ends bending at right angles to
the right;’ the other two are curved, also to the right. Two of the
other figures Dr.
Scliliemann calls
Swastikas, al-
though they are
uncertain in some
of their arms
and angles. The
fourth character
he imagined to
be an inchoate or
attempted Swas-
tika. Fig. 58
shows a biconical whorl with curious and inexplicable characters. One
of them forms a crude Swastika, which, while the main arms cross at
right angles the ends are bent
at uncertain angles, three to
the left and one to the right.
These characters are so unde-
termined that it is doubtful
if they could have had any sig-
nification, either ornamental
or otherwise. Fig. 59 is almost
conical, the flat surface thereof
being only slightly raised at
the center. It is much the same
form as the whorls shown in
figs. 55 and 71. The nearly fiat
surface is the top, and on it,
equidistant from the center
hole and from each other, are three ogee Swastikas of double lines,
with their ends all curved to the right. In the alternate spaces are
small incised circles, with dots in the centers. In fig. GO a biconical
Pig. 60.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH TWO SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 16J feet.
Schliemanu, “ Ilios,” fig. 1863.
I
Pig. 59.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH THREE OGEE SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 13£ feet.
Schliemann, “Ilios/’ fig. 199<i.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH ONE SWASTIKA.
Depth, 13 J feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. 1983.
816
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
BICONICAL
Fig. 61.
SPINDLE-WIIORL WITH FIVE OOKK
SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 18 feet.
Srhliemann, “Ilios.” fig. 31*05.
whorl is shown. It has three of the circle segments marked in equi-
lateral positions, with three or four parallel lines, after the style shown
in fig. 51. In the spaces are two Swastikas, in both of which the two
main arms cross at right angles. Some
of the ends bend at a right, and others
at an obtuse, angle. In one of the
Swastikas the bent ends turn toward
each other, forming a rude figure 8.
The specimen shown in fig. G1 is bicon-
ical, but much flattened; it contains
live ogee Swastikas, of which the ends
of four bend to the right and one to
the left. In an interval between them
is one of the burning altars. Fig. G2
shows three Swastikas with double
parallel lines. The main arms cross each other at right angles; the ends
are bent at nearly right angles, one to the left, one to the right, and
the other both ways. Fig. G3 represents
a spindle-wliorl
with a cup-
sliaped depres-
sion around the
central hole,
which is sur-
rounded by three
lines in concen-
tric circles, while
on the field, at
00 degrees from
each other, are four ogee Swastikas (tetraskelions), the arms all turn-
ing to the left and spirally each upon itself. The specimen shown in
fig. G4 is biconical,
though, as usual,
the upper cone
is the smallest.
There are parallel
lines, three in a set,
forming the seg-
ments of three cir-
cles, in one space
of which appears
a Swastika of a
curious and unique
form, similar t o
that shown in fig.
GO. The two main arms cross each other at very nearly right angles and
the ends also bend at right angles toward and approaching each other, so
Fig.62.
SPINDLE-WHORL WITH Till
SWASTIKAS.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Si-lilieinann, “ fig. Is.r>5.
Fig.63.
SPINDLE*WIIOIiL HAVING FOUR OGEE SWAS-
TIKAS WITH SPIRAL VOLUTES.
Depth, 18 feet.
Srhliemann, “ Ilios,” ti^j. W>S.
Fig. 64.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH ONE SWASTIKA.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. lsii5.
THE SWASTIKA.
817
that if continued slightly farther they would close and form a decora-
tive figure 8. The specimen shown in fig. 05 is decorated Avitli parallel
lines, three in number, arranged in
segments of three circles, the periphery
of which is toward the center, as in
figs. GO and G4. In one of the spaces
is a Swastika of curious form; the main
arms cross each other at right angles,
but the four ends represent different
styles—two are bent square to the left,
one square to the right, and the fourth
curves to the left at no angle. Fig. GG
shows a biconical whorl, and its top is
decorated to represent three Swastikas
and three burning altars. The ends of the arms of the Swastikas all
bend to the left, some are at right angles and some at obtuse angles,
while two or three are curved; two
of them show corrections, the marks
at the ends having been changed in
one case at a different angle and in
another from a straight line to a
curve. Fig. G7 shows four speci-
mens of Swastika, the main arms
of all of which cross at right angles.
The ends all bend to the right, at
nearly right angles, tapering to a
point and finishing with the slight
flourish noted in the Jain Swastika
(fig. 34c). They are alternated with
a chevron decoration. Fig. G8 shows three Swastikas, the ends of the
arms of which are all bent to the left. One Swastika is composed of
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH THREE SWAS-
TIKAS ANI) THREE BURNING ALTARS.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. 1872.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH ONE SWAS-
TIKA.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Schliemami, “Ilios,” fig. 1886.
Fig. 67.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH FOUR SWAS-
TIKAS.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. 1873.
Fig. 68.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH THREE SWAS-
TIKAS OB' DIFFERENT STYLES.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Scliliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. 1911.
two ogee lines. Two arms of another are curved, but all others are
bent at right angles, some of them tapering to points, finishing with a
H. Mis. 90, pt. 2-----------52
818
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1*94.
Fig.G9.
BICONIOAL SPINDLE 'WHOM. AVITII ONE SWASTIKA OF THE
FIGURE-8 STYLE.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Schliemann, *• I!ius,” fig. ]srti.
little flourish (figs. 07 and 34e). One of these ends, like that in fig. GO,
has been corrected by the maker. Fig. 09 represents one Swastika in
which the main arms cross at nearly right angles. Both ends of one
arm turn to theleftand those
of the other arm turn to the
right in figures style. One
of the ends is curved, the
others bent at different
angles. Fig. 70 shows the
parallel lines representing
segments of a circle similar
to figs. 00, 04, G5, and 09,
except that it has four in-
stead of three. It has one
Swastika; the main arms (of
double lines) cross at right
angles, the ends all curving
to the left with a slight ogee.
The V. S. National Museum was, during 1893, the fortunate recipient
of a collection of objects from Madame Schliemann, which her husband,
before his death, had signi- __
fled should be given to the
United States as a token
of his remembrance of and
regard for his adopted
country. He never forgot
that he was an American
citizen, and, preparing for
death, made his acknowl-
edgments in the manner
mentioned. The collection
consisted of 178 objects, all
from ancient Troy, and they made a fair representation of his general
finds. This collection is in the Department of Prehistoric Anthropol-
ogy. In this collection is a spin-
dle whorl, found at 13J feet (4
meters) depth and belonging to
the fourth city. It had three
Swastikas upon its face, and is
here shown as fig. 71.1
The Fifth City.—Schliemann
says:2
The rude stone hammers found in
enormous quantities in the fourth city
are no longer found in this stratum, nor
did the stone axes, which are so very
abundant there, occur again here. In-
2 Ibid, p. 573.
Fig. 70.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-AVIIOBI. WITH ONE SWASTIKA, SLIGHTLY OGEE.
Depth, 19.8 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. IwM.
CONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL AVITII THREE OGEE SAVAST1K.VS.
Depth, 13.5 feet.
Gift of Madame Schliemann. Cat. No. 149704, U. S. N. M.
1 “Ilios,” fig. 1852.
THE SWASTIKA.
819
stead of the hundreds of axes I gathered in the fourth city, I collected in all only two
here. * * * The forms of the terra-cotta whorls, too, are in innumerable instances
different here. These objects are of a much inferior fabric, and become elongated
and pointed. Forms of whorls like Nos. 1801, 1802, and 1803 [see figs. 72, 73, and 74],
which were never found before, are here plentiful.
The Sixth and Seventh Cities.—The sixth city is described ill “Ilios,”
page 587, and the seventh on pages G08 and G18. Both cities contained
occasional whorls of clay, all thoroughly baked, without incised or
painted ornamentation, and shed no fur-
ther light on the Swastika.
Fig.
pheres
Figs. 72, 73, 74.
FORMS OF WHORLS FROM THE FIFTH BURIED CITY OF
HISSARLIK, FOR COMPARISON.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” figs. 1801, 1602, 1803.
75 represents the opposite liemis-
of a tern-cotta ball, found at a
depth of 2G feet, divided by in-
cised lines into fifteen zones, of
which two are ornamented with
points and the middle zone, the
largest of all, with thirteen spec-
imens of y=, and flf.
Zmigrodzki says1 that there
were found by Schliemann, at Hissarlik, fifty-five specimens of the Swas-
tika “pure and simple” (pp. 809, 82G). It will be perceived by exami-
nation that the Swastika “pure and simple” comprised Swastikas of
several forms,- those in which the four arms of the cross were at other
angles besides right angles, those in which the ends bent at square
and other angles to the right; then those to the left (Burnouf and Max
Miiller’s Suavastika); those in which the bends were, some to the right
and some to the left, in the same design; where the points tapered oif
and turned outward with a
flourish; where the arms
bent at no angle, but were
in spirals each upon itself,
and turned, some to the
right, some to the left.
We shall see other related
forms, as where the arms
turn spirally upon each
other instead of upon them-
selves. These will some-
times have three, five, six,
or more arms, instead of
four (p. 7G8). The cross and the circle will also appear in connection
with the Swastika; and other designs, as zigzags (lightning), burning
altars, men, animals, and similar representations will be found associ-
ated with the Swastika, and are only related to it by the association
of similar objects from the same locality. A description of their pat-"
terns will include those already figured, together with Schliemann’s
1 Tenth Congr. Inter. d’Anthrop. et d’Archmol. Prohist., Paris, 1889, p. 474.
Fig. 75.
TERRA-COTTA SPHERE WITH THIRTEEN SWASTIKAS,
Third city. Depth, 26 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” figs. 215, 24<i.
820
REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1894.
comments as to signification and frequency. They become more impor-
tant because these related forms will be found in distant countries and
among distant peoples, notably among the prehistoric peoples of Amer-
ica. Possibly these design shave
(^a signification, possibly not.
Dr. Schliemann thought that in
many cases’ they had. Professor
Sayce supported him, strongly
inclining toward an alphabetic
or linguistic, perhaps ideo-
graphic, signification. No opin-
ion is advanced by the author
on these theories, but the de-
signs are given in considerable
numbers, to the end that the
evidence may be fully reported,
and future investigators, radi-
cal and conservative, imaginative and unimaginative, theorists and
agnostics, may have a fair knowledge of this mysterious sign, and
an opportunity to indulge their respective talents
at length. Possibly these associated designs may
throw some light upon the origin or history of the
Swastika or of some of its related forms.
The specimen represented in fig. 70 is not a
spindle-whorl, as shown by the number and loca-
tion of the holes. It bears a good representation
of a Swastika the form of which has been noticed
several times. The two main arms cross each other
at nearly right angles. The ends of the arms all
bend to the right at a slightly obtuse angle and turn
outward with a flourish somewhat after the style of the Jain Swastika
(fig. 34c). Pig. 77 represents a spindle-whorl with a Swastika of the ogee
style curved to the right. The center hole of the whorl forms the cen-
spindle-wiiokl with ogee
SWASTIKA.
Tliirdeity. Depth, 23 lent.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. I''---
Fig. 70.
TERRA-COTTA DISK WITH ONE SWASTIKA.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. 1849.
Fig. 78.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-W1IOKL WITH IRREGULAR SWAS
TIKAS AND CROSSES.
Fourth city. Depth, 13.6 feet.
Schliemann, “Ilios,” fig. 1871.
Fig. 79.
BICONICAL SPINDLE-WHORL WITH UNCERTAIN
AND MALFORMED SWASTIKAS.
Third city. Depth, 33 feet.
Schliemann, “ Ilios,” fig. Ia70.
ter of the sign. The figure is of double lines, and in the interspaces are
four dots, similar to those iu figs. 00-118, and others which Dr. Schliemann
THE SWASTIKA.
821
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