Thunderbolt
A thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors,[1] or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus,[2] of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies, though this is not currently the case. As a divine manifestation the thunderbolt has been a powerful symbol throughout history, and has appeared in many mythologies. Drawing from this powerful association, the thunderbolt is often found in military symbolism and semiotic representations of electricity.
In Mythology
Lightning plays a role in many mythologies, often as the weapon of a sky god and storm god. As such, it is an unsurpassed method of dramatic instantaneous retributive destruction: thunderbolts as divine weapons can be found in many mythologies.
- In Hindu mythology, the god Indra is known as the god of lightning. His main weapon is the thunderbolt (Vajra).
- In Hittite and Hurrian mythology, a triple thunderbolt was one symbol of Teshub.
- In Greek mythology, the thunderbolt is a weapon given to Zeus by the Cyclops.
- In Roman mythology, the thunderbolt is a weapon given to Jupiter by the Cyclops.
- In Turkish mythology, Bayülgen creates the thuderbolts.
- In Celtic mythology, Taranis is the god of thunder, in Irish, Tuireann.
- In Germanic mythology, Thor is specifically the god of thunder and lightning, wielding Mjolnir.
- In Maya mythology, Huracan is sometimes represented as three lightning bolts.
- In Cherokee mythology, the Ani Hyuntikwalaski ("thunder beings") cause lightning fire in a hollow sycamore tree.
- In Ojibway mythology, thunder is created by the Thunderbirds (Nimkiig or Binesiiwag), which can be both benevolent and malevolent to human beings.
- In Igbo mythology, the thunderbolt is the weapon of Amadioha/Amadiora.
In the Modern World
The thunderbolt or lightning bolt continues into the modern world as a prominent symbol; it has entered modern heraldry and military iconography.
- In iconography
- The lightning bolt is used as an electrical symbol[3]
- In fiction
See also
References
- ^ V. Clube and B. Napier, 1982, The Cosmic Serpent, pg.173ff,
- ^ Plato, Timaeus 22C-D
- ^ Compliance Engineering, "On Graphical Symbols", 2001, Geoffrey Peckham
External links