St. Jerome, by Lucas van Leyden

Skull symbolism is the attachment of symbolic meaning to the skull, generally human. The most common symbolic use of the skull is as a representation of death and mortality. Saint Jerome and a skull, by Albrecht Durer The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Saint Jerome and a skull, by Albrecht Durer The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... For other uses see: Jerome (disambiguation) Jerome (about 340 - September 30, 420), (full name Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. ... A hippopotamus skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of Craniates which serves as the general framework for a head. ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ...

Humans can recognize the fragments of a cranium in the earth, even when other bones look like shards of stone. The human brain has a specific region for recognizing faces ^[1], and is so attuned to finding them that it can see faces in a few dots and lines or punctuation marks; the human brain cannot avoid recognizing a human skull as having once been human. A hippopotamus skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of Craniates which serves as the general framework for a head. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The smiley has gone through many incarnations over the years, but it consistently retains the same features. ... Emoticon (pronounced (IPA) ), a portmanteau of Emotion Icons or Emotion Iconization, an emoticon, also called a smiley, is a sequence of ordinary printable characters, such as :-), ^_^, ._. ...

Moreover, a human skull with its large eye sockets displays a degree of neoteny, which humans often find visually appealing—yet a skull is also obviously dead. As such, human skulls have a greater visual appeal than the other bones of the human skeleton, and can fascinate even as they repel. The human eye. ... Neoteny describes a process by which paedomorphism is achieved, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. ... Infants and toddlers are the prototypical models for cuteness. ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Bone (disambiguation), including Bones which redirects here. ... Diagram of a human skeleton The human skeleton is made of individual or joined bones (such as the skull), supported and supplemented by a structure of ligaments, tendons, muscles, cartilage and other organs. ...

Examples

The Neanderthals painted the skulls of their respectfully buried dead with red ochre coloring (see Shanidar): a transfusion to carry its late inhabitant into the Next World: where there is metaphor and tradition there is humanity ^{[citation needed]}. Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (in the Middle Palaeolithic, early Stone Age). ... Shanidar The cave site of Shanidar is located at the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in north-eastern Iraq. ... In language, a metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin rhetorical trope) is defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. ... The word tradition, comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ...

The skull that is often engraved or carved on the head of early New England tombstones might be merely a symbol of mortality, but the skull is also often backed by an angelic pair of wings ^[2], lofting mortality beyond its own death. The states marked in red show New England. ...

"All is Vanity" by C. Allan Gilbert, 1873-1929

One of the best-known examples of skull symbolism occurs in Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the title character recognizes the skull of an old friend: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest. . ." Hamlet is inspired to utter a bitter soliloquy of despair and rough ironic humor. All is Vanity, by C. Allan Gilbert, 1873-1929 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years or less. ... All is Vanity, by C. Allan Gilbert, 1873-1929 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years or less. ... Charles Allan Gilbert (1873 - 1929) was an American artist and illustrator. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... The third quarto of Hamlet (1605); a straight reprint of the 2nd quarto (1604) The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and is one of his best-known and most-quoted plays. ...

Compare Hamlet's words "Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft" to Talmudic sources: "…Rabi Ishmael [the High Priest]… put [the decapitated head of a martyr] in his lap… and cried: oh sacred mouth!…who buried you in ashes…!". The skull was an emblem of melancholy for Shakespeare's contemporaries ^{[citation needed]}. The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... Melancholia (Greek μελαγχολια) was described as a distinct disease as early as the fifth and fourth centuries BC in the Hippocratic writings. ...

The emblem of the skull cannot be assumed to be a mere symbol of Death. The skull is placed significantly on the writing desk of Saint Jerome in Albrecht Dürer's woodcut. Not truly a Memento mori, the skull's huge empty eye-sockets contrast with Jerome's closed eyes in one of the best evocations of the interior vision of contemplation, perhaps focused on Eternity, ever realized in Western art ^{[citation needed]}. An emblem consists of a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept - often a concept of a moral truth or an allegory. ... Symbols of death are the symbolic, often allegorical, portrayal of death in various cultures. ... Jerome (ca. ... Self-Portrait, 1493, Oil on Canvas Albrecht Dürer (May 21, 1471 – April 6, 1528) [1] was a German painter, wood carver, engraver, and mathematician. ... Four horsemen of the Apocalypse by Albrecht Dürer. ... Memento mori is a Latin phrase that may be freely translated as Remember that you are mortal, Remember you will die, or Remember your death. It names a genre of artistic creations that vary widely from one another, but which all share the same purpose, which is to remind people...

Sugar skull given for the Day of the Dead. They're also made with chocolate and amaranto

Skulls ans skeletons are the main symbol of the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (913x1033, 189 KB) Summary Photo of a candy skull made of sugar, a common gift and decoration for the Day of the Dead in Mexico. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (913x1033, 189 KB) Summary Photo of a candy skull made of sugar, a common gift and decoration for the Day of the Dead in Mexico. ... Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration. ... Species See text The amaranths (also called pigweeds) comprise the genus Amaranthus, a widely distributed genus of short-lived herbs, occurring mostly in temperate and tropical regions. ... The word holiday has related but different meanings in English-speaking countries. ... Sugar skull given for the Day of the Dead, also made with chocolate and amaranto The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos, Día de los Difuntos or Día de Muertos in Spanish) is an ancient Aztec celebration in memory of deceased ancestors, celebrated on November...

Venetian painters of the 16th century elaborated moral allegories for their patrons, and memento mori was a common theme. The theme carried by an inscription on a rustic tomb, "Et in Arcadia ego"—"I too [am] in Arcadia," if it is Death that is speaking—is made famous by two paintings by Nicholas Poussin, but the motto made its pictorial debut in Guercino's version, 1618-22 (in the Galleria Barberini, Rome): in it, two awestruck young shepherds come upon an inscribed plinth, in which the inscription ET IN ARCADIA EGO gains force from the prominent presence of a wormy skull in the foreground. Et in Arcadia ego is a Latin phrase that most famously appears as the title of two paintings by Nicolas Poussin 1594–1665). ... Arcadia is a poetical name for fantasy land (having more or less the same notation as Utopia ), named after the Greek land. ... Et in Arcadia ego by Nicolas Poussin. ... The Italian painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591—1666) known as Guercino, was born at Cento, a village not far from Bologna. ...

Next to the Magdalene's dressing-mirror, in a convention of Baroque painting ^{[citation needed]}, the Skull has quite different connotations and reminds the viewer that the Magdalene has become a symbol for repentance. In C. Allan Gilbert's much-reproduced lithograph of a lovely Gibson Girl seated at her fashionable toilette, an observer can witness its transformation into an alternate image. A ghostly echo of the worldly Magdalene's repentance motif lurks behind this turn-of-the 20th century icon. Mary Magdalene is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted disciple of Jesus. ... Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 _ December 23, 1944) was an American graphic artist, noted for his creation of one of the first pin-up girls, the Gibson Girl. Woman Jurors by Charles Dana Gibson, 1902 He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. ...

The skull becomes an icon itself when its painted representation becomes a substitute for the real thing. Simon Schama chronicled the ambivalence of the Dutch to their own worldly success during the Dutch Golden Age of the first half of the 17th century in The Embarrassment of Riches. The possibly frivolous and merely decorative nature of the still life genre was avoided by Pieter Claesz in his "Vanitas" (illustration, below right): Skull, opened case-watch, overturned emptied wineglasss, snuffed candle, book: "Lo, the wine of life runs out, the spirit is snuffed, oh Man, for all your learning, time yet runs on: Vanity!" The visual cues of the hurry and violence of life are contrasted with eternity in this somber, still and utterly silent painting. For other senses of this word, see icon (disambiguation). ... Schama speaking at Strand Bookstore, New York City 2006 Simon Michael Schama, CBE (born 13 February 1945) is a University Professor in history and art history at Columbia University. ... Rembrandt The Nightwatch (1642) The Dutch Golden Age (1584-1702) was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. ... A still life is a work of art which represents a subject composed of inanimate objects. ... Pieter Claesz (ca. ... Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz This article is about the fine art genre. ... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ...

Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz, 1630 (Mauritzhuis, The Hague)

When the skull is represented in Nazi SS insignia, the death's-head (Totenkopf) deals with the fear of death, but when tattooed on the forearm its apotropaic power helps an outlaw biker cheat death ^{[citation needed]}. The skull and crossbones signify "Poison" when they appear on a glass bottle containing a white powder. But it is not the same emblem when it flies high above the poop deck as the Jolly Roger: there the pirate death's-head epitomizes the pirates' ruthlessness and despair: their usage of death imagery might be paralleled with their occupation challenging the natural order of things ^{[citation needed]}. Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz (1597 - 1661). ... Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz (1597 - 1661). ... Pieter Claesz (ca. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A tattoo is a mark made by inserting pigment into the skin; in technical terms, tattooing is micro-pigment implantation. ... Apotropaic is an adjective that means intended to ward off evil or averting or combating evil and commonly refers to objects such as amulets and talismans or other symbols. ... Butch Cassidy, a famous Western American outlaw An outlaw, a person living the lifestyle of outlawry, meaning literally outside of the law. ... Although the term refers to any motorcycle enthusiast, sometimes the word biker is sometimes used to mean an outlaw biker, or bikie, who is a member of a 1%er or outlaw motorcycle gang. ... A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two bones crossed together under the skull. ... An emblem consists of a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept - often a concept of a moral truth or an allegory. ... A typical Jolly Roger The Jolly Roger is the traditional flag of European and American pirates, envisioned today as a skull over crossed bones on a black field. ...

When a skull was worn as a trophy on the belt of the Lombard king Alboin, it was a constant grim triumph over his old enemy, and he drank from it. In the same way a skull is a warning when it decorates the palisade of a city, or deteriorates on a pike at a Traitor's Gate. The Skull Tower, with the embedded skulls of Serbian rebels, was built in 1809 on the highway near Niš, Serbia, as a stark political warning from the Ottoman government. In this case the skulls are the statement. Alboin or Alboïn (d. ... The Tower of London, seen from the River Thames, with a view of the water gate called Traitors Gate. ... A remaining wall (photo courtesy of freesrpska. ... Location in Serbia General Information Mayor Smiljko Kostić (NS) (since 2004) Land area 597 km² Population (2002 census) 250,518 (City of NiÅ¡) Population density (2002) 420/km² Coordinates 43°19 N 21°54 E Area code +381 18 Subdivisions 5 Municipalities License plate code NI Time zone UTC+1... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah...

A skull adorned the altar of a pagan Gaulish tribe ^{[citation needed]}, and the rafters of a traditional Jivaro medicine house in Peru ^[3], or in New Guinea. The temple of Kali is veneered with skulls, but the goddess Kali offers life through the welter of blood. The late medieval Dutch painters ^{[citation needed]} place the skull where it lies at the foot of the Cross at Golgotha (Hebrew: the place of the skull). But for them it has become quite specifically the skull of Adam. Map of Gaul circa 58 BC For Gaul after the Roman conquest, see Roman Gaul Gaul (Latin Gallia) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the... Shuar, in the Shuar language, means people. ... Kali (Sanskrit: काली) is a goddess with a long and complex history in Hinduism (although sometimes presented in the West as dark and violent). ... A Greek cross (all arms of equal length) above a saltire, a cross rotated by 45 degrees For other uses, see Cross (disambiguation). ... Calvary (Golgotha) was the hill outside Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Adam and Eve. ...

The Serpent crawling through the eyes of a skull is a familiar image that survives in contemporary Goth subculture. The serpent is a chthonic god of knowledge and of immortality, because he sloughs off his skin. The serpent guards the Tree in the Greek Garden of the Hesperides and, not that much earlier, a Tree in the Garden of Eden. The serpent in the skull is always making its way through the socket that was the eye: knowledge persists beyond death, the emblem says, and the serpent has the secret. Serpent is a word of Latin origin (serpens, serpentis) which is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit term serp, that is normally substituted for snake in a specifically mythic or religious context, in order to distinguish such creatures from the field of biology. ... NYC goth band The Naked and the Dead (1985). ... In mythology chthonic (from Greek χθονιος-pertaining to the earth; earthy) designates, or pertains to, gods or spirits of the underworld, especially in Greek mythology. ... For the ancient Greek city Hesperides see Benghazi. ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew Gan Ēden, גַּן עֵדֶן) is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man - Adam - and woman - Eve - lived after they were created by God. ...

"Calavera de la Catrina" by José Guadalupe Posada (1851-1913)

The skull speaks. It says "Et in Arcadia ego" or simply "Vanitas." In a first-century mosaic tabletop from a Pompeiian triclinium (now in Naples), the skull is crowned with a carpenter's square and plumb-bob, which dangles before its empty eyesockets (Death as the great leveller), while below is an image of the ephemeral and changeable nature of life: a butterfly atop a wheel—a table for a philosopher's symposium. Image File history File links Calavera de la Catrina by José Guadalupe Posada (before 1913) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Calavera de la Catrina by José Guadalupe Posada (before 1913) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Calavera de la Catrina José Guadalupe Posada (2 February 1851 – 20 January 1913) was a Mexican engraver and illustrator. ... Et in Arcadia ego is a Latin phrase that most famously appears as the title of two paintings by Nicolas Poussin 1594–1665). ... Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz This article is about the fine art genre. ... A computer-generated depiction of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 which buried Pompeii, from the BBCs Pompeii: The Last Day. ... In Roman Era dwellings (particularly those of the wealthy), triclinia were standard issue. ... Symposium originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means to drink together) but has since come to refer to any academic conference, whether or not drinking takes place. ...

Similarly, a skull might be seen crowned by a chaplet of dried roses, a "Carpe diem", though rarely as bedecked as Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada's Catrina. The skull speaks in the catacombs of the Capuchin brothers beneath the church of S. Maria della Concezione in Rome ^[4], where disassembled bones and teeth and skulls of the departed Capuchins have been rearranged to form a rich Baroque architecture of the human condition, in a series of anterooms and subterranean chapels with the inscription, set in bones: Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace (Odes 1. ... Calavera de la Catrina José Guadalupe Posada (2 February 1851 – 20 January 1913) was a Mexican engraver and illustrator. ... For the Baroque style in a more general sense, see Baroque. ...

Noi eravamo quello che voi siete, e quello che noi siamo voi sarete.

"We were what you are; and what we are, you will be."

An old Yoruba folktale ^[5] tells of a man who encountered a skull mounted on a post by the wayside. To his astonishment, the skull spoke. The man asked the skull why it was mounted there. The skull said that it was mounted there for talking. The man then went to the king, and told the king of the marvel he had found, a talking skull. The king and the man returned to the place where the skull was mounted; the skull remained silent. The king then commanded that the man be beheaded, and ordered that his head be mounted in place of the skull. The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in West Africa. ... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Beheading. ...

Popular culture

Lee Falk's legendary superhero The Phantom uses the mark of the skull as his trademark. He is noted for wearing a Skull Ring, which leaves a permanent skull-mark on whoever he hits with his fist. The Phantom often use the mark of the skull to psychologically outwit his enemies. Don Newtons cover to The Phantom #74 featuring the Phantom of 1776. ... Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ... The Phantom is an American comic strip created by Lee Falk (also creator of Mandrake the Magician), recounting the adventures of the titular costumed crime-fighter. ...

The symbolic image of the skull permeates the Indiana Jones movies to such an extent that skulls become décor—and even comic relief when Marion encounters multiple cobwebby skulls and skeletons during the escape from the subterranean Map Room at Tanis (Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981). Every appearance of a skull in the Jones series emphasizes the 1930s' cultural view: a gulf between the rational, modern, progressive, scientific, and vigorously physical daylight world embodied by the intrepid American archaeologist, with the sinister, dangerous, mythical, exotic, dead lore of Antiqity or the Orient in torchlit interiors of caves and temples, as well as exemplifying the fate of those who have gone before but failed. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Dr. Henry Indiana Jones, Jr. ... Raiders of the Lost Ark, also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, is a 1981 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. ... The term the Orient - literally meaning sunrise, east - is traditionally used to refer to Near, Middle, and Far Eastern countries. ...

The giant gorilla King Kong had his home on "Skull Island," presumably a place of dangerous power. Perhaps a similar power flows to the superhero He-Man from Castle Grayskull, a castle shaped like a huge gray skull. It has been suggested that the relationship of He-Man and the sorceress of Grayskull mirrors Carl Jung's ideas about the animus and the anima: the sorceress, an all-knowing woman, is the source of the hero's power, and she dwells within the head. Still, the skullface of Grayskull is also the face of Skeletor, He-Man's enemy. Type Species Troglodytes gorilla Savage, 1847 distribution of Gorilla Species Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei The gorilla, the largest of the living primates, is a ground-dwelling herbivore that inhabits the forests of Africa. ... King Kong battles a pterosaur in the original 1933 version. ... Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ... He-Man as seen in a DC comic from December, 1982, one of his earliest appearances and preceding the debut of his animated series. ... Caernarfon Castle, Wales. ... Magic (also called magick to distinguish it from stage magic) is a supposed way of influencing the world through supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... Carl Jungs autobiographical work Memories , Dreams, Reflections, Fontana edition Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875, Kesswil, – June 6, 1961, Küsnacht) (IPA: ) was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. ... The Official Website of Animus - Art Rock Group According to Carl Jung, the animus is the masculine side of a womans personal unconscious. ... Anima, in Jungian psychology: 1. ...

The evil mystique of a skull is playfully subverted in the LucasArts adventure game The Curse of Monkey Island, in which the face of Skull Island (revealed after a long pan) is actually that of a duck. The game also introduces Murray, the mighty talking skull, who cackles and threatens demonically but, lacking arms, is actually completely helpless. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Curse of Monkey Island (CMI) is the third game in the Monkey Island series of computer adventure games by LucasArts, following the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChucks Revenge. ...

The Marvel Comics anti-hero, The Punisher, wears a costume with a large human skull emblazoned on the front. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... The Punisher (Frank Castle) is a Marvel Comics anti-hero. ...

In the Harry Potter novels, the Dark Mark, emblem of Lord Voldemort, is a skull entwined with a serpent. The Harry Potter books are an extremely popular series of fantasy novels by British writer J. K. Rowling. ... The Dark Mark conjured by Barty Crouch Jr. ... Lord Voldemort (born Tom Marvolo Riddle on December 31, 1926) is the fictional arch-villain of the Harry Potter series. ...

Death's Head is also the name of a Marvel Comics character. Deaths Head is the name of a cyborg bounty hunter created by Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior for the Marvel UK imprint of Marvel Comics. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ...

The helmet's of the Stormtroopers, and Darth Vader in particular, in Star Wars were said to be "Death's Head" masks during character development. For other meanings of stormtrooper see Stormtrooper (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and be more accessible to a general audience, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the revamped original Star Wars Trilogy. ...

The popular monster truck Grave Digger has a large skull mountain as the backdrop for its graveyard mural paint scheme. Skulls are also used on many t-shirts, posters, and other promotional materials for the truck, as they correlate with the truck's somewhat macabre image. 2005 Bigfoot monster truck racing in Arizona A monster truck is an automobile, typically a pickup truck, which has been modified or purpose built with extremely large wheels and suspension. ... Grave Digger is one of several monster trucks currently racing in the USHRA Monster Jam series. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...

References

Footnotes

1. ↑  University of Wales, Bangor - NEW FUNCTION IDENTIFIED FOR AN AREA OF THE BRAIN
2. ↑  THE MYSTERY of graveyard art & symbols by Tony Taylor
3. ↑  Roma leggendaria - 6 - un demonio con la faccia di un papa (in Italian)
4. ↑  F.W. Up De Graff. Head hunters of the Amazon: Seven Years of Exploration and Adventure, New York: Garden City 1925 p. 273-283
5. ↑  William R. Bascom: Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa (Indiana) ISBN 0-253-20638-3

General

1. Ariès, Philippe, L'Homme devant la mort: (Seuil, 1985), 2 vol. ISBN 2-02-008944-0, ISBN 2-02-008945-9
2. Veyne, Paul (1987). A History of Private Life : 1. From Pagan Rome to Byzantium ( p. 208 illustrates the skull mosaic from Pompeii)

Philippe Aries was an important French medievalist and historian of the family and childhood, in the style of Georges Duby. ...

External links

• A Great Article about Skull symbols around the globe
• A Gallery of Images of Death
• Examining the symbolism of the anamorphic skull in Hans Holbein's double portrait The Ambassadors
• "Skulls and the Motorcycle"