![]() ![]() We see art develop from the Geometric style to the Black-Figure and Red-Figure style. More importantly we see the development of a Greek Identity that is quite unique. With all this change and development, one often overlooks certain features. In this case it is the use of the swastika in material culture of this period and this is what this paper will be addressing. ![]() What will be specifically discussed is the meaning of the swastika in Archaic Greece, focussing particularly on the Geometric and Orientalising periods as it is in these periods where we find an abundance of this symbol. What this paper will be attempting to discover is what the swastika symbolises or represents in the Geometric and Orientalising eras. Is it a symbol of auspiciousness? Is it just another form of decoration? Is it a symbol of life? Or is it more than that? What this paper will not do is step outside the confines of Greece. There will be no intentional cross-cultural comparison of the use of the swastika. The reasoning behind this is simply because of the fact that swastika appears all around the world. ![]() If one does perform cross-cultural comparison then that implies that the swastika has an almost uniform meaning, but also it would lead one on a ‘wild goose chase’ of attempting to trace the swastika throughout the world and to see what extent external cultural influences had on Ancient Greece. “I do not like the use of the word svastika outside of India. It is a word of Indian origin and has its history and definite meaning in India. ![]()
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