![]() ![]() It had not featured in any prior religion, and yet it became a fixed piece of religious iconography across Eurasia within a few centuries. Investigating the function of the original circular halo in religious art only takes us back as far as the 1st Century BC. One amusing proposal was that it derived from protective plates fixed to statues of gods to protect their heads from bird droppings. Perhaps it was a simple decorative embellishment. Alternatively, it may have been a symbol of a divine aura emanating from the mind of a deity. ![]() Why was this symbol invented? It has been conjectured that it could have originally been a type of crown motif. There are many variants, including rayed haloes (like that on the Statue of Liberty) and flaming haloes (which feature in some Islamic Ottoman, Mughal and Persian art), but the most distinctive and ubiquitous is the circular disc halo. This aura around a holy figure's head expresses their glory or divinity and can be seen in art across the world. The ancient symbol that spanned millennia But if you just look at them, you will see a symbol that connects them all – the halo. Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Greek mythology are usually regarded as utterly distinct religions, largely defined by their differences. ![]()
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