European symbols
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A number of symbols of Europe have emerged throughout history, but the largest contribution came when the Council of Europe (COE) developed a series of symbols for the continent of Europe. These have since been shared with the European Union (EU). The COE and EU symbols are intended to symbolise the organisations themselves, and as a focus for a form of Pan-European identity. Later, the EU has created further symbols for itself.
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[edit] Europa
In Greek mythology, Europa (Greek Ευρώπη) was a Phoenician woman of high lineage. A Crete story tells that she was abducted by Zeus in the form of a white bull.
According to legend, Zeus was enamored of Europa and decided to seduce or ravish her, the two being near-equivalent in Greek myth. He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her female attendants were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back. Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity, and Europa became the first queen of Crete. Zeus gave her a necklace made by Hephaestus and three additional gifts: Talos, Laelaps and a javelin that never missed. Zeus later re-created the shape of the white bull in the stars, which is now known as the constellation Taurus. Some readers interpret as manifestations of this same bull the Cretan beast that was encountered by Hercules, the Marathonian Bull slain by Theseus (and that fathered the Minotaur). Roman mythology adopted the tale, substituting the god Jupiter for Zeus.
The etymology of her Greek name (ευρυ- "wide" or "broad" + οπ– "eye(s)" or "face") suggests that Europa represented a lunar cow, at least at some symbolic level. Metaphorically, at a later date it could be construed as the intelligent or open-minded, analogous to glaukopis (γλαυκώπις) attributed to Athena.
The continent Europe has ultimately been named after her. In the eighth century ecclesiastical uses of "Europa" for the imperium of Charlemagne provide the source for the modern geographical term. The name of Europe as a geographical term came in use by Ancient Greek geographers such as Strabo.[1] It is derived from the Greek word Europa (Ευρώπη) in all Romance languages, Celtic languages, Germanic languages, Slavic languages, Baltic languages, in Finno-Ugric languages (Hungarian Európa, Finnish Eurooppa, Estonian Euroopa), as well as in Latin.
Statues of Europa and the bull, are placed outside several European Union institutions, and the €2 Greek euro coin pictures them. Europa's name appeared on postage stamps commemorating the Council of Europe, which were first issued in 1956.
Europa's earliest literary reference is in Iliad xiv.321ff. Another early reference to her is in a fragment of the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, discovered at Oxyrhyncus. The earliest vase-painting securely identifiable as Europa, dates mid-seventh century BC.
"Europa seated on a bull" has been a frequent motif in European art since Greco-Roman times.
[edit] Flag
The Flag of Europe consists of a circle of twelve golden (yellow) stars on a blue background. It is most commonly associated with the European Union (EU), formerly the European Communities, which adopted the flag in the 1980s. However it was first adopted by the Council of Europe (CoE), which created it in 1955.
The EU and CoE are separate organisations; while the EU has 27 members, the CoE has 47 members and 5 observers comprising not only all 27 EU members but also all European countries except Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Vatican City. When adopted by the CoE, it was to represent not just itself, but the whole of Europe. Since both the EU and the CoE represent European unity, the two organisations are using the same flag.
[edit] Anthem
The European anthem is based on the prelude to "The Ode to Joy", 4th movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Due to the large number of languages in Europe, it is an instrumental version only with the original German lyrics having no official status. The anthem was announced on 19 January 1972 by the Council of Europe after being arranged by conductor Herbert von Karajan. The anthem was launched via a major information campaign on Europe Day, 5 May 1972.
It was adopted by European Community leaders in 1985. It does not replace national anthems, but is intended to celebrate their shared values.[1]. It is played on official occasions by both the Council of Europe and the European Union.
In addition to The Ode to Joy, there are other classical scores that identify pan-europeanism. The European Broadcasting Union uses the prelude of Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Te Deum as its hymn. It is played before and after every Eurovision Song Contest. The UEFA Champions League Anthem has since 1992 been played before each UEFA Champions League game. It is an arrangement of Georg Frideric Handel's "Zadok the Priest" from the Coronation Anthems.
[edit] Europe Day
"Europe Day" is a celebration of Europe held annually on either the 5 or 9 of May due to differences between the CoE and EU.
9 May 1950 was the date of the "Schuman Declaration", the proposal to pool the French and West German coal and steel industries. This is considered a founding moment for what is now the EU and was adopted as its flag day at the Milan European Council summit in 1985. Since then it has been celebrated in various forms in most member states and surrounding countries such as Turkey, although the day is generally not observed in the United Kingdom.[2]
The CoE was founded on 5 May 1949 and hence chooses that date for its celebrations. It established this date in 1964 and, despite a preference for 9 May, it is still observed by some European because of the CoE's role in defending human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, whereas the Schuman declaration was merely proposing the pooling of French and German coal and steel. Furthermore, 9 May coincides with Victory Day, the end of World War II (celebrated on May 8 or 5 in western Europe), in the former Soviet Union states.
[edit] The euro and its symbol
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The euro has, since its physical introduction in 2002 been the single currency used by most EU Member States. Hence it has become one of the most tangible symbols of European unity for citizens. The official symbol of the currency alike.
[edit] Motto
An EU motto, Latin: In varietate concordia (united in diversity), was first established through an unofficial process in 2000. It was selected from entries proposed by school pupils submitted to the website http://www.devise-europe.org, and then accepted by the President of the European Parliament, Nicole Fontaine. The English version, United in diversity, has been written into the English-language version of the failed Constitution for Europe, and now appears on official EU websites. See http://eurominority.org/version/eng/languages-motto.asp for the motto in many languages not listed below.
Interestingly, the proposed change would make the motto essentially the same as the South African motto officially adopted in 2000-04-27: "!ke e: |xarra ||ke" in ǀXam, an extinct Khoisan language. "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika", translated as "Unity in Diversity", is also the national motto of Indonesia. Unity in diversity is the official motto of Papua New Guinea.
[edit] Translations
[edit] Official EU languages
[edit] Languages of candidate countries
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[edit] Other languages used by EU citizens
[edit] In languages used in the potential candidate countries
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[edit] Recent events
| “ | Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic declare that the flag with a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background, the anthem based on the ‘Ode to Joy’ from the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, the motto ‘United in diversity’, the euro as the currency of the European Union and Europe Day on 9 May will for them continue as symbols to express the sense of community of the people in the European Union and their allegiance to it. | ” |
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—Final Act, Official Journal of the European Union, 2007 C 306-2 [3] |
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The ill-fated European Constitution would have legally enshrined the flag, motto, anthem and euro as being official to the EU. The upcoming Treaty of Lisbon does however not mention the symbols, apart from the euro being made the official currency of the union. Despite being dropped from the new treaty, the the EU symbols will continue to be used as before. In comparison, some countries such as the United Kingdom have not formally adopted their flag in any form, but are used nonetheless in a de facto manner.
Although the symbols are not mentioned in the body of the Treaty of Lisbon itself, a declaration by sixteen Member States on the symbols, including the flag, was included in the final act of the Treaty of Lisbon stating that the flag, the anthem, the motto and the currency and Europe Day "will for them continue as symbols to express the sense of community of the people in the European Union and their allegiance to it."[3]
[edit] Presidency insignia
Since the 1990s, every Presidency of the EU Council has had its own logo and visual profile. These sets of colours and designs follow much of the political life of the EU in the 6-month period of length of the presidencies. The EU has no official coat of arms, and the logo of the EU Council does arguably fill the lack of symbols.[citation needed]
[edit] Institutional emblems
Every institution, body and agency of the EU has an individual emblem. However the Commission and the Agency for Reconstruction simply use the EU flag rather than any adapted symbol.
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- ^ Strabo, Geography 8.1.1
- ^ Lamming, R. (9 May 2008) Europe Day, but not in Britain, Federal Union
- ^ a b Official Journal of the European Union, 2007 C 306-2 , p. 267
[edit] External links
- The symbols of the EU – Europa
- Council of Europe Logo and the European Flag – Council of Europe
- Why the European flag has been chosen – European NAvigator
- The European Anthem and downloads – Council of Europe
- European anthem – European Navigator
- European commission poster: European Navigator
- The European motto – Eurominority
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