Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Symbols of death
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== Religious symbols == [[File:VeveBrigitte.svg|thumb|[[Veve]] of [[Maman Brigitte]], the [[lwa|loa]] of death in [[Haitian Vodou]].]] Religious symbols of death and depictions of the afterlife will vary with the [[religion]] practiced by the people who use them. [[Tomb]]s, [[grave stone|tombstone]]s, and other items of [[funeral]] architecture are obvious candidates for symbols of death.<ref name=Foreboding /> In ancient [[Egypt]], the [[god]]s [[Osiris]] and [[Ptah]] were typically depicted as [[mummy|mummies]]; these gods governed the Egyptian [[afterlife]]. In [[Christianity]], the [[Christian cross]] is frequently used on [[Grave (burial)|graves]], and is meant to call to mind the [[crucifixion]] of [[Jesus]].<ref name=Foreboding /> Some Christians also erect temporary crosses along public [[highway]]s as memorials for those who died in accidents. In [[Buddhism]], the symbol of a [[wheel]] represents the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth that happens in samsara.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Buddhism – Definition, Founder & Origins |url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/buddhism|access-date=2020-10-13|website=www.history.com}}</ref> The symbol of a grave or tomb, especially one in a picturesque or unusual location, can be used to represent death, as in [[Nicolas Poussin]]'s famous painting ''[[Et in Arcadia ego (Poussin)|Et in Arcadia ego]]''. Images of life in the afterlife are also symbols of death. Here, again, the ancient Egyptians produced detailed pictorial representations of the life enjoyed by the dead. In Christian [[folk religion]], the spirits of the dead are often depicted as [[wing]]ed [[angel]]s or angel-like creatures, dwelling among the clouds; this imagery of the afterlife is frequently used in [[comedy|comic]] depictions of life after death.<ref name=Foreboding /> In the Islamic view of the Afterlife, death is [[Qiyamah#Personification in Qiyâmah|symbolised]] by a black and white [[sheep|ram]] which in turn will be slain to symbolise the ''Death of Death''. The [[Banshee]] also symbolizes the coming of death in Irish Mythology.<ref name=Foreboding /> This is typically represented by an older woman who is seen sobbing to symbolize the suffering of a person before their death.<ref name=Foreboding />
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)