The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migration: With Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric TimesWilson, Thomas
Religion
The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migration: With Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times
Wilson, Thomas
Industries, Primitive; Swastikas; Symbolism
From the earliest time of which we have knowledge of the thoughts or
desires of man we know that the raising up "heirs of his body" constituted
his greatest blessing and happiness, and their failure his greatest
misery. The first and greatest command of God to man, as set forth in the
Holy Bible, is to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth."[154] This was repeated after the Deluge,[155] and when He
pronounced the curse in the Garden, that upon the woman[156] was, "In
sorrow thou shalt bring forth children." God's greatest blessing to
Abraham, when He gave to him and his seed the land as far as he could see,
was that his seed should be as the dust of the earth, "so that if a man
can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be
numbered."[157] "Tell the stars, if thou be able to number them * * * so
shall thy seed be. * * * As the father of many nations," etc. We all know
the story of Sarai, how, when she and Abraham had all riches and power on
earth, it was as naught while they were childless, and how their greatest
blessing was the Divine promise of an heir, and that their greatest
happiness was over the birth of Isaac. This may be no proof of the
symbolism of the Swastika, but it shows how, in high antiquity, man's
happiness in his children was such as makes the Swastika mark, in the
position indicated, equally a symbol of good fortune and blessing as it
was when put on the spindle-whorls of Hissarlik, the vases of Greece, or
the fibulæ of Etruria.
_The age of the Trojan cities._--It may be well to consider for a moment
the age or epoch of these prehistoric Trojan cities on the hill of
Hissarlik. Professor Virchow was appealed to by Schliemann for his
opinion. He says:[158]
Other scholars have been inclined to ascribe the oldest cities of
Hissarlik to the Neolithic age, because remarkable weapons and
utensils of polished stone are found in them. * * * This conception is
unjustified and inadmissible. To the third century A. D. belongs the
surface of the fortress hill of Hissarlik, which still lies above the
Macedonian wall; and the oldest "cities"--although not only polished
stones but also chipped flakes of chalcedony and obsidian occur in
them--nevertheless fall within the age of metals, for even in the
first city utensils of copper, gold, and even silver were dug up. No
stone people, properly so called, dwelt upon the fortress hill of
Hissarlik, so far as it has been uncovered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account