DCML digest, Vol 1 #397 - 13 msgs

Kriton Kyrimis kyrimis at cti.gr
Sat Feb 3 20:08:13 CET 2001


STEVEN:

> Without looking at the particular Barks books, and assuming you are talking 
> about the swastika rather than the iron cross; the Nazis "borrowed" this 
> widely used symbol from other cultures.  Many native American cultures used 
> this in their artwork. Prior to WW2, it may not have any nazi meaning 
> (indeed, the ACE pulp magazine company used it as their cover emblem in the 
> 1930s).   


Translating from an article in a Greek encyclopaedia published in the
1920s, before the Nazi era:

"(Sanskrit word, swastika or svastica). Extremely ancient decorative design,
generally interpretted as a sun symbol, depicting a cross having four equal
arms that are bent at the edge so that they form right angles. The swastika
was widely distributed throughout the world. It is found on Egyptian reliefs,
Greek pottery of the archaic period and of the Aegean civilization period, and
in India as a religious symbol. It has many variations regarding its shape."

Givel its use in ancient Greece and India, I would assume that the Nazis
used the swastika as an Aryan sun symbol, even though its use was more
widespread.

Interpretting it as a Greek sun symbol, Heinrich Schliemann, the
archaeologist who discovered Troy, had swastikas used as a decorative
element on the railing outside his house in the center of Athens,
surprising modern passers-by who are only familiar with the Nazi use of
the symbol!

        Kriton  (e-mail: kyrimis at cti.gr)
                (WWW:    http://dias.cti.gr/~kyrimis)
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"The Malus is pure evil.  Given enough energy it will not only destroy him,
 but everything else... Cheer up!"
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