Table of contents:
- Is American Liberty the Goddess Hecate?
- What other attributes mean
- Few know
- What gods do other statues look like?
The Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous statues in the world. She stands in New York and looks towards the ocean. Freedom is dressed in clothes of the times of antiquity, holding a torch in one hand, and in the other - a tablet with the mysterious inscription "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI". There are fragments of chains under her feet. Obviously, all this has its own meaning, but what?
Is American Liberty the Goddess Hecate?
On the Russian-language Internet, they have already noticed that the head of the Statue of Liberty is very similar to the head of the goddess Hecate on the bas-reliefs and sculptures of the ancient period: both on Svoboda and on Hecate there is the same crown of rays. Hecate is a very ancient and formidable goddess who came to the Greek pantheon from Asia Minor.She is one of the deities of death. Hecate also patronized witchcraft and night magic creatures, she headed the analogue of the Wild Hunt - chasing people with terrible dogs at night. At the same time, she bestowed wisdom in popular assemblies, happiness in war, rich booty in sea fishing; she was asked for protection and patronage at intersections.
As the goddess of darkness, she was able to disperse this darkness - this is what the rays around her head and the torch in her hands mean. Unsurprisingly, she was also considered the goddess of moonlight - apart from the moon goddess Selene. She both sent nightmares and protected from them. Most often, Hecate was depicted as three women in one figure, but she could also appear in one female body.
The Statue of Liberty was made for the United States and donated by the French. They were very fond of ancient mythology, and, perhaps, the Statue of Liberty was made to look like Hecate on purpose - then they most likely meant exactly the light that disperses the darkness, and good luck in the war. In France itself, the Phrygian cap was considered a symbol of freedom. This was worn in ancient Rome by slaves who received freedom. It is he who adorns the sculptural embodiment of Free France on Place de la République in Paris. The American statue did not get it.
True, there is not so much from Hecate in the Statue of Liberty: only rays from the head and a torch. The real Hecate was never depicted with chains or tablets. But, by the way, she sometimes wore a Phrygian cap, but the Statue of Liberty did not get it. It turns out that in France there is one face of Hecate, and in the USA - another?
What other attributes mean
It seems to many that there is a book in the left hand of the Statue of Liberty. Of course not - after all, she depicts an antique lady, and books were not used in antiquity. At least they did not have the kind to which we are accustomed. This is actually a stone tablet.Don't try to read JULY IV MDCCLXXVI with something like Yuli Yves Mdkklksvi. Of course, everything except the first word is Roman numerals. All together the inscription is the date of July 4, 1776, the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On this day, according to the French, America gained freedom from Great Britain. True, many inhabitants of the new state remained slaves or simply powerless creatures, but this did not bother the French at all. It is easy to guess that the chains under the feet of Liberty are her own broken chains. If you look closely, the statue seems to be taking a step forward, that is, it literally steps over its chains, leaving them in the past.
Few know
The Statue of Liberty stands on the ocean shore, facing Europe, for a reason. There, in Europe, facing America, there is … another Statue of Liberty! Only smaller in size. It is located, as you might guess, in France.Only not on the ocean coast, but in Paris.The Parisian Liberty is smaller, a little more than eleven meters in it (in the donated America - more than ninety). Also, these statues are mirror images of each other. The American one holds the torch in her right hand, the French one in her left; the tables are also mirrored. Of course, the Parisian statue has a completely different inscription on the plaque. There is the date of the French Revolution … to which the American date of liberation is added.
What gods do other statues look like?
In the famous Volgograd Motherland, lovers of antiquity see two goddesses at once. Firstly, the sculpture itself is similar to the famous statue of the goddess of victory Nike, only without the wings. She likewise takes an energetic step forward in flowing robes. This statue is a rare depiction of the goddess of victory, since she was usually depicted as a small figure in the hands of other gods, Athena or Zeus.But the real Nika rarely held a sword in her hands. She usually carried a palm branch or a wreath of olive or laurel branches to reward for an already accomplished victory. The weapon in her hands looked more like a trophy.
The sword raised by the Motherland-Mother reminds of another ancient goddess - Themis, the goddess of justice and justice. Most often, the sword in the hands of Themis is lowered, since she is depicted at the moment of her impartial judgment, weighing evidence on a scale in her hand. But Themis could also raise her sword to punish the criminals. In general, French lovers of antiquity in the nineteenth century could decipher the message of the statue of the Motherland in Volgograd as a story about a victory that became a punishment for the villains.
Similar to the ancient goddess and Catherine II at her monument in St. Petersburg. Her robe lies in "antique" folds, in her hand is a laurel wreath, like Nika's, her head is also decorated with a wreath (while the crown of Russia lies at her feet). During her lifetime, Catherine II was constantly compared with the goddess Minerva, in the end she was still embodied as the goddess of victory. The same attribute - a wreath in hand - is also at the monument to Catherine in Vyshny Volochyok. This is a very unusual detail for monuments to rulers.
The same attributes as the French statue of the Republic and the American Statue of Liberty were worn by the ancient god Mithra - he was often depicted in a Phrygian cap and with a torch. By the way, according to some hypotheses, he also had a female hypostasis. Mithra was the god of light and negotiation, so he is unlikely to have anything to do with the uprisings.
Not all statues were lucky to find a new home like the Statue of Liberty: Why was there no place for the 33-meter Savior from Tsereteli on the vast territory of Russia.
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