Palm branch
The palm branch, or palm frond, is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient
In Christianity, the palm branch is associated with Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, celebrated on Palm Sunday, when the Gospel of John says of the citizens, "they took palm branches and went out to meet Him" (12:13 HCSB). Additionally, the palm has meaning in Christian iconography, representing victory, i.e. the victory of the spirit over the flesh (Revelation 7:9).
Since a victory signals an end to a conflict or competition, the palm developed into a symbol of peace, a meaning it can have in Islam,[1] where it is often associated with Paradise.
The palm appears on several flags or seals representing countries or other places, with the
Antiquity
In
The palm was a symbol of
In Archaic Greece, the palm tree was a sacred sign of Apollo, who had been born under a palm on the island of Delos.[8] The palm thus became an icon of the Delian League. In recognition of the alliance, Cimon of Athens erected a bronze statue of a palm tree at Delphi as part of a victory monument commemorating the Battle of the Eurymedon (469/466 BC).[9] In addition to representing the victorious League, the bronze palm (phoinix) was a visual pun on the defeated Phoenician fleet.[10] From 400 BC onward, a palm branch was awarded to the victor in athletic contests, and the practice was brought to Rome around 293 BC.[11]
The palm became so closely associated with victory in ancient Roman culture that the Latin word palma could be used as a
Coins issued under
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Palms on anAchaemenidseal impression, 5th century BC. The iconography of palm was commonly used by ancient Babylonians.
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Apollo holding a laurel branch and libation bowl, next to a palm that represents his birth on Delos (Comacchio Painter, c. 450 BC)
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Monkey next to a palm, symbolizing the sun god's daily rising, on an Egyptian amuletic bead (ca. 1300 BC)
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Stylized palms on the Ishtar Gate, Babylon (ca. 575 BC)
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Palm branch inscribed over Durand Stone. The stone dates back to the Kassite period (1600 BC — 1155 BC).
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Antimachus I Theos, king of Bactria(2nd century BC)
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Victorious charioteer holding a palm branch on a Roman mosaic
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Symmachus bearing the palm of triumph over death (4th century)
Judaism
In
During the Roman Empire, the date palm represented
In 1965, Judean date palm seeds dated at around 2000 years old were recovered during excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada in Israel. In 2005, some of the seeds were planted. One grew and has been nicknamed "Methuselah".[20]
Christianity
In Christianity, the palm branches distributed during Palm Sunday services originate in the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul, as in the Palm Sunday festival celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Many churches of mainstream Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, Moravian and Reformed traditions, distribute palm branches to their congregations during their Palm Sunday services. Christians take these palms, which are often blessed by clergy, to their homes where they hang them alongside Christian art (especially crosses and crucifixes) or keep them in their Bibles or devotionals.[21] In the period preceding next year's Lent, known as Shrovetide, churches often place a basket in their narthex to collect these palms, which are then ritually burned on Shrove Tuesday to make the ashes to be used on the following day, Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.[22][23]
In Western Christian art,
The general significance of the palm on early Christian monuments is slightly modified according to its association with other symbols (e.g., with the monogram of Christ, the Ichthus (Fish), or the Good Shepherd). On some later monuments the palm was represented merely as an ornament separating two scenes. Palms also represented heaven, evidenced by ancient art often depicting Jesus in heaven among palms.
In the
Gallery of Martyrs Bearing Palms
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St. Lawrence, holding Martyr's Palm
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Procession of virgin martyrs bearing wreaths, with palms behind them (Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, before 526 AD)
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St. Sebastian holding two Arrows and the Martyr's Palm by Andrea del Sarto (early 16th century)
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Maarten Pepyn, 1668)
Islam
The palm is richly significant in Islamic culture, and the palm symbolizes rest and hospitality in many cultures of the Middle East. The presence of palm trees around an oasis showed that water was the gift of Allah. [26] In the Quran, the palm appears in the paradisical imagery of the Garden (Jannah).[27] In one prophetic tradition, the Dome of the Rock will stand on a palm tree issuing from one of the rivers of Paradise.[28] Muhammad is said to have built his home out of palm,[29] to have leaned against a palm while speaking,[30] and to have raised the first mosque as a roofed place with palm trees.[31]: 566
The first muezzin climbed palm trees to call the faithful to prayer,[29] from which the minaret developed.[28] In the Quran, Mary is said to have given birth to Jesus under a date palm.[32][33]
In
Modern usage
The Latin motto of
Today, the palm, especially the
The palm branch symbol is included in MUFI: ⸙ (2E19, 'Palm Branch' in Unicode).
In
Flags and seals
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Combat patch for United States Forces – Iraq: the palm fronds are intended to represent peace and prosperity, below the Lamassuembodying Mesopotamian cultural heritage
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Maltese coat of arms
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Village flag of Drnovice, Czech Republic
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Coat of arms of Saint-Étienne, France
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Coat of arms of Fiľakovo, Slovakia
Allegories of Victory and Peace
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Medal of Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (early 1620s), with armed Victory holding a palm and embracing Prudence[41][42]
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Allegory of the Peace of Pressburg (1805), with the figure on the right holding a palm, on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
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Army of India Medal (reverse), with palm tree in background, created 1851
Bibliography
- Chase, Holly (1990). Harlan Walker (ed.). The Date Palm: Pillar of Society. Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1989: Staples. Prospect Books. pp. 61–69. ISBN 9780907325444.
- Rustomji, Nerina (2009). The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231140850.
- Vioque, Guillermo Galán (2002). Martial, Book VII: A Commentary. Translated by J.J. Zoltowski. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-12338-0.10.47.3
Livy
References
- ISBN 978-0253216274.
- ISBN 978-3525530283.
'passim'
- ^ Chase 1990, p. 65.
- ^ "Sex Life of the Date". University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
- ISBN 978-0814629703.
- ASIN B07G4R2J49.
- ^ Ahmad Tafazzoli. "Draxt ī āsūrīg" [The Babylonian tree]. Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
- Apollo's birth is described in the Homeric Hymnto Delian Apollo.
- ^ Harrison, Evelyn B. (1996). "Pheidias". Personal Styles in Greek Sculpture. Cambridge University Press. p. 27.
- ^ Kuiper, Kathleen (2011). Ancient Greece: From the Archaic Period to the Death of Alexander the Great. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 89.
- ^ Vioque 2002, p. 411.
- ^ Vioque 2002, p. 61, 206, 411.
- ^ Vioque 2002, p. 205-206.
- ISBN 978-1405129435. p. 302:
Caesar, Bellum Civile 3.105
- ISBN 978-0199226825.
- ^ Vioque 2002, p. 61.
- Vayikra Rabbah30:2
- Vayikra Rabbah30:12
- ISBN 978-0521145671.
- ISBN 978-0520269262.
- ^ Kirk, Lisa (25 March 2018). "Ideas for Displaying Palm Sunday Palms Around Your Home". Blessed Is She. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "This Sunday at Grace: February 4, 2018". Grace Episcopal Church. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Shrove Tuesday". The Times-Reporter. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Hassett, M. (1911). "Palm in Christian Symbolism". The Catholic Encyclopedia.
- ^ Eva March Tappan. "When Knights Were Bold". gatewaytotheclassics.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2004.
- ^ Chase 1990, p. 64.
- ^ Rustomji 2009, p. 43, 67.
- ^ a b Rustomji 2009, p. 132.
- ^ ISBN 9781402770043.
- ISBN 978-0898694949.
- ISBN 9789231039096.
- ^ Quran 19:16-34
- ISBN 978-0742562967.
- ISBN 9780801464898.
- ^ "1 Dinar FAO". Numista. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ "5 Fils". Numista. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ "Viscount Lord Nelson's Arms". Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "Motto". USC. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "Introduction". Virtual Palm Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Arabic Song Lyrics and Translations". 22 March 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
- )
- S2CID 170265105. p. 7:
on the translation of cura as "prudence" rather than the more usual "care, concern"
- ^ Christiansen, Keith; Mann, Judith W. (2002). Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi. Yale University Press. p. 211.
- ^ "Allegory of Victory". Louvre. 1635.
External links
- Media related to Palm fronds at Wikimedia Commons