Minoan symbolic labrys of gold, 2nd millennium BC: many have been found in the sacred cave of Arkalochori on Crete)

Labrys is the term for a doubleheaded axe, known to the Classical Greeks as pelekus πέλεκυς or sagaris (the term for a single-bladed axe being hēmipelekus "half-pelekus", e.g. Il. 23.883). Representations of the labrys are on Neolithic finds of "Old Europe", and the labrys is continued in Minoan Thracian, Greek (and Byzantine) art and mythology. It also appears in African mythology (see Shango). Today, it is sometimes used as a symbol associated with female and matristic power. Minoan Labrys 2nd millennium BC (Iraklion museum?) http://ccwf. ... Minoan Labrys 2nd millennium BC (Iraklion museum?) http://ccwf. ... Map of Minoan Crete The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, prior to Helladic or Mycenaean culture (i. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) // Events To grasp the spirit of the 2nd millenium BC, we must divide it in two parts, for there is a period of change around its middle so important that it creates two separate sub-millenia. First half The... Greece and Crete Crete, sometimes spelled Krete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Ax(e) is an ancient and ubiquitous tool that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber, as a weapon and a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. ... Sagaris was the Greek name for a weapon used by Scythian tribes (Hdt. ... The Iliad (Greek Ιλιάς, Ilias) tells part of the story of the siege of the city of Ilium, i. ... The Neolithic, (Greek neos = new, lithos = stone, or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ... Some archaeologists and ethnographers use the term Old Europe to characterize the autochthonous (aboriginal) peoples who were living in Neolithic southeastern Europe before the immigration of Indo-European peoples (for this reason also called Pre-Indo-European). ... Map of Minoan Crete The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, prior to Helladic or Mycenaean culture (i. ... Thrace is a historical and geographic area in south-east Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, north-eastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... // Etymology World map showing Africa (geographically) The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — land of the Afri (plural, or Afer singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day... In Yorùbá mythology, Shango is perhaps the most important Orisha; he is a Sky Father, god of thunder and the ancestor of the Yorùbá. Shango is worshipped in Haitian Vodun, as a god of thunder and weather; in Brazilian Candomblé Ketu (under the name Xangô); in Umbanda, as... Female symbol Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces egg cells. ... Matriarchy is an theoretical or imaginary form of government in which community power is conceived as lying with the women or mothers of a community. ...

Etymology

In English the first appearance of "labrys" is reported in OED from Journal of Hellenic Studies XXI. 108 (1901): "It seems natural to interpret names of Carian sanctuaries like Labranda in the most literal sense as the place of the sacred labrys, which was the Lydian (or Carian) name for the Greek πέλεκυς, or double-edged axe." And, p. 109, "On Carian coins indeed of quite late date the labrys, set up on its long pillar-like handle, with two dependent fillets, has much the appearance of a cult image." The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ... In Antiquity, Labraunda in the mountains near the coast of Caria in Asia Minor was held sacred by Carians and Mysians alike. ... Lydia (disambiguation) Lydia is a historic region of western Anatolia, congruent with Turkeys modern provinces of Ä°zmir and Manisa. ... Caria (Greek Καρία) was a region of Asia Minor, situated south of Ionia, and west of Phrygia and Lycia. ...

The non-Greek word "labrys" first appears in Plutarch as the Lydian word for axe (Greek Questions, xlv): Plutarch Mestrius Plutarch (cz. ... Lydia (disambiguation) Lydia is a historic region of western Anatolia, congruent with Turkeys modern provinces of Ä°zmir and Manisa. ...

Herakles, having slain Hippolyte and taken her axe with the rest of her arms, gave it to Omphale. The kings of Lydia who succeeded her carried this as one of their sacred insignia of office, and passed it down from father to son until Candaules. Candaules, however, disdained it and gave it to one of his companions to carry. When Gyges rebelled and was making war upon Candaules, Arselis came with a force from Mylasa to the assistance of Gyges, slew Candaules and his companion, and took the axe to Caria with the other spoils of war. And having set up a statue of Zeus, he put the axe in his hand and called the god, "Labrandeus," labrys being the Lydian word for 'axe'. (Λυδοὶ γάρ ‘λάβρυν’ τὸν πέλεκυν ὀνομάζουσι 2.302a.)

Archeology suggests that the veneration of Zeus Labraundeos at Labraunda was far older than Plutarch imagined. Like its apparent cognate "labyrinth", the word entered the Greek language as a loanword, so that its etymology, and even its original language, is not positively known. The loanword labyrinth was used in Greek, but the designation "The house of the Double Axe" for the palace at Knossos is an imaginative modern innovation. Hercules and Cacus, by Baccio Bandinelli, 1525 - 1534. ... This article is about Hippolyte in Greek mythology. ... In Greek mythology, Omphale was a queen or princess of Lydia. ... See 110 Lydia for the asteroid. ... Gyges, was the founder of the third or Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and reigned from 687 to 652 BC (according to H Gelzer. ... Mylasa was a city in Asia Minor. ... Caria (Greek Καρία) was a region of Asia Minor, situated south of Ionia, and west of Phrygia and Lycia. ... In Antiquity, Labraunda in the mountains near the coast of Caria in Asia Minor was held sacred by Carians and Mysians alike. ... Classical labyrinth Medieval labyrinth Walking the famous labyrinth within the Chartres Cathedral. ... Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years. ...

Minoan civilization

The term, and the symbol, is most closely associated with the Minoan civilization, which reached its peak in the 2nd millennium BC. Some Minoan labrys have been found which are taller than a man and which might have been used during sacrifices. The sacrifices would likely have been of bulls. In feminist interpretations (particularly by Marija Gimbutas), it is also interpreted as a symbol of the Mother Goddess and compared to the shape of a butterfly rather than an axe. (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) // Events To grasp the spirit of the 2nd millenium BC, we must divide it in two parts, for there is a period of change around its middle so important that it creates two separate sub-millenia. First half The... Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... Marija Gimbutas (Vilnius, Lithuania January 23, 1921 – Los Angeles February 2, 1994) researched the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of Old Europe, a term she introduced, in works published between 1946 and 1971, that opened new views by combining traditional spadework, linguistics and mythology. ... It has been suggested that Great Mother be merged into this article or section. ... Families Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is a flying insect of the order Lepidoptera belonging to one of the superfamilies Hesperioidea (the skippers) and Papilionoidea (all other butterflies). ...

Ancient Greece

The word labyrinthos (Mycenaean daburintos) is probably connected with the word labrys. In the context of the myth of Theseus, the labyrinth of Greek mythology is frequently associated with the Minoan palace of Knossos. Classical labyrinth Medieval labyrinth Walking the famous labyrinth within the Chartres Cathedral. ... Mycenaean can have the following meanings: coming from or belonging to the ancient town of Mycenae in Pelloponese in Greece; belonging to the culture of the Mycenaean period of the eastern Mediterranean in the late Bronze Age; the Mycenaean language, an ancient form of Greek, known from inscriptions in Linear... Theseus (Greek Θησευς) was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aegeus (or of Poseidon) and of Aethra. ... Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ... Knossos Knossos (35°18′ N 25°10′ E; alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek Κνωσσός) is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan culture. ...

F1704 detail

On Greek vase paintings, a labrys sometimes appears in scenes of animal sacrifice, particularly as a weapon for the slaying of bulls. On the "Perseus Vase" in Berlin (F1704; ca 570–560 BC), Hephaestus ritually flees his act of slicing open the head of Zeus to free Athena: over his shoulder is the instrument he has used, the double-headed axe. (The more usual double-headed instrument of Hephaestus is the double-headed smith's hammer.) On Greek coins of the classical period (e.g. Pixodauros, etc.) a type of Zeus venerated at Labraunda in Caria that numismatists call Zeus Labraundeus stands with a tall lotus-tipped sceptre upright in his left hand and the double-headed axe over his right shoulder. The double-axe also appears in Thracian art. On the Aleksandrovo kurgan fresco, it is probably wielded by Zalmoxis. 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. ... 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. ... Sacrifice is the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people to the gods, as an act of propitiation or worship. ... Hephaestus, Greek god of forging, riding an ass; Greek drinking cup (skyphos) made in the 5th century B.C. Hephaestus (Greek: Ἡφαιστος Hêphaistos) is the Greek god whose approximate Roman equivalent is Vulcan; he is the god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. ... Statue of Zeus Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th-century engraving. ... Athena from the east pediment of the Afea temple in Aegina After a sculpture of Athena at the Louvre. ... In Antiquity, Labraunda in the mountains near the coast of Caria in Asia Minor was held sacred by Carians and Mysians alike. ... Thrace is a historical and geographic area in south-east Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, north-eastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... main chamber fresco The Aleksandrovo kurgan is a Thracian Bulgaria, dated to ca. ... Detail of the main fresco of the Aleksandrovo kurgan. ...

Popular culture

Today, probably influenced by traditions that link the Amazons with the battle-axe (see Sagaris), the labrys is sometimes used as a symbol of female empowerment, signifying lesbianism in particular, and appearing in Wiccan ritual. During the period of Greek Fascism (1936-1941), the Labrys was used as main symbol of the Greek Fascist Youth EON (Ethniki Organosi Neolaias), as the regime's leader, Ioannis Metaxas believed the symbol to be the first symbol of all Hellenic civilizations. In Greek mythology, the Amazons were either an ancient legendary nation of female warriors or a contemporary land of women at the outer edges of the world. ... A battle axe is an axe specifically designed as a weapon. ... Sagaris was the Greek name for a weapon used by Scythian tribes (Hdt. ... This article is about homosexual women, not inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos A lesbian (lowercase L) is a homosexual woman. ... For the book series Wicca see Sweep (book series) and Circle Of Three. ... From 1936 to 1941, Greece was ruled by a authoritarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas akin to that of Francos Spain. ... Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (Greek Ιωάννης Μεταξάς, April 12, 1871 - January 29, 1941) was a Greek General and the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death. ...

See also

• Sagaris
• Axe (tool)
• Battle-axe
• Francisca
• Fasces
• Bronze Age sword

Sagaris was the Greek name for a weapon used by Scythian tribes (Hdt. ... For other uses, see Axe (disambiguation). ... A battle axe is an axe specifically designed as a weapon. ... Different types of the Francisca The Francisca or Francesca (German: Franziska or Franciska ; French: Francisca; Latin: Bipennes / Bipennis or Secures / Securis) is a throwing-axe used by the Merovingians Franks during the 5th and 8th centuries. ... A statue of Cincinnatus resigning from dictatorship by returning the Roman fasces Fasces (the plural, almost a plurale tantum, of the Latin word fascis, bundle) symbolise summary power and jurisdiction. ... three Bronze Age swords (not to scale): from Hajdusamson, Hungary (ca. ...

External links

• Pagan Protection Center list of symbols, includes an article on Labrys.
• Flagspot: the (Greek fascist) National Youth Organization
• Metaxas Project: Inside Fascist Greece