Triskelion - Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age Use in Europe

Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age Use in Europe

The triskelion symbol appears in many early cultures, including west's earliest known first astronomical calendar in Ireland at the famous megalithic tomb of Newgrange built around 3200 BCE, Mycenaean vessels, on coinage in Lycia, and on staters of Pamphylia (at Aspendos, 370–333 BC) and Pisidia. It appears as a heraldic emblem on warriors' shields depicted on Greek pottery.

Familiar as an ancient symbol of Sicily, the symbol dates back to when Sicily was part of Magna Graecia, the colonial extension of Greece beyond the Aegean. Pliny the Elder attributes the origin of the triskelion of Sicily to the triangular form of the island, the ancient Trinacria (from the Greek tri- (three) and akra (end, limb)), which consists of three large capes equidistant from each other, pointing in their respective directions, the names of which were Pelorus, Pachynus, and Lilybæum.

The Celtic symbol of three conjoined spirals may have had triple significance similar to the imagery that lies behind the triskelion. The triple spiral motif is a Neolithic symbol in Western Europe. It is considered a Celtic symbol but is in fact a pre-Celtic symbol. It is carved into the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance of the prehistoric Newgrange monument in County Meath, Ireland. Newgrange which was built around 3200 BCE predating the Celtic arrival in Ireland but has long since been incorporated into Celtic culture.

  • Celtic triskele of three stylized bird heads with whorl in the center

  • A version of the Neolithic triple spiral symbol

  • Spiral triskele, found in Celtic artwork, used by Celtic Reconstructionists and occasionally as a Christian Trinity symbol

  • Triskele of church windows

  • Irish Air Corps roundel. A modern interpretation of the Celtic triskele

  • Solar emblem of Vainakh represents not only the sun and the universe but also awareness of the oneness of the spirit in the past, present and future.

  • Iron Age Castro culture triskele, reused in a barn. Airavella, Allariz, Galicia

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