A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found on carvings in churches and other buildings (both secular and ecclesiastical). "The Green Man" is also a popular name for English public houses and various interpretations of the name appear on inn signs, which sometimes show a full figure rather than just the head.
The Green Man motif has many variations. Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or "renaissance", representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.
Read more about Green Man: Types of Green Men, Green Men in Churches, Later Variations On The Green Man Theme, Related Characters, Green Men Outside Europe, Gallery
Other articles related to "green man, green, man":
... from Rochester Cathedral, Kent (medieval) One of more than 110 Green Men carvings in Rosslyn Chapel, Scotland Foliate mask from Casa de Arizón near Cádiz, Spain (17th–18th century) Grotesque mascaron in ... David Austin Rose Garden, Albrighton (20th century) Dramatised combat between the Green Man and Jack Frost at a community festival in Yorkshire Costumed ...
... McNider, a broken man who lost both his wife and his eyesight, tells Bruce about a government conspiracy called "the Green Man", but warns Bruce that nothing good has come of fighting ... He helps free a man with super-speed named Barry Allen, and Bruce learns more about what the government is capable of ... Erdel has another of his agents, a man named Matthew with clay-like abilities, capture Bruce and bring him to see "Project Green Man" ...
... The Green Man (ISBN 978-0-89733-220-0) is a 1969 novel by British author Kingsley Amis ... A Times Literary Supplement reviewer described The Green Man as “three genres of novel in one” ghost story, moral fable, and comic novel ...
... The Green Man was a former coaching inn on the original A3 route from Guildford to London a public house had been on the site for more than 400 years ... The Green Man had been a 'Harvester' restaurant since 1984, but was sold for redevelopment early in 2006 ...
... A set of pedestrian traffic light containing a Red Man (Pender), and Green Man (Raskopoulos) ... The Green Man is continually annoying the Red Man by making the "time to walk" noise at inappropriate times ... For example on their second appearance Green Man asks Red Man to swap places ...
Famous quotes containing the words man and/or green:
“Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That in a spleen unfolds both heaven and earth,
And, ere a man hath power to say “Behold!”
The jaws of darkness do devour it up.
So quick bright things come to confusion.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“If you meet a cross-eyed person
you must plunge into the grass,
alongside the chilly ants,
fish through the green fingernails
and come up with the four-leaf clover....”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)