Armenian eternity sign

The Armenian eternity sign (Armenian: հավերժության նշան, haverzhut’yan nshan) or Arevakhach (Արևախաչ, "Sun Cross") is an ancient Armenian national symbol and a symbol of the national identity of the Armenian people.[1] It is one of the most common symbols in Armenian architecture,[2][3] carved on khachkars and on walls of churches.

Makaravank, near Achajur (10th century)

Evolution and use

In medieval Armenian culture, the eternity sign symbolized the concept of everlasting, celestial life.[4] Since the 5th century, it appeared on Armenian steles, later it becomes part of khachkar symbolism.[5] Around the 8th century the use of the Armenian symbol of eternity had become a long established national iconographical practice,[6] and it keeps its meaning until the modern times.[7] Besides being one of the main components of khachkars,[8] it can be found on church walls,[9][10][11] tomb stones and other architectural monuments.[12][13][14][15][16] Notable churches with the eternity sign include the Mashtots Hayrapet Church of Garni,[17] Horomayr Monastery,[18] Nor Varagavank,[19] Tsitsernavank Monastery.[20] An identical symbol appears in the reliefs of the Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital,[21] and is likely a borrowing from earlier Armenian churches of the area. It can also be found on Armenian manuscripts.

The eternity sign is used on the logos of government agencies and on commemorative coins,[22] as well as Armenian government agencies and non-government organizations and institutions in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.[23]

The symbol is also used by Armenian neopagan organizations and their followers. It is called by them "Arevakhach" (Արևախաչ, "sun cross").[24]

ArmSCII and UNICODE
The right- and left-facing Armeternity unicode font glyphs

In ArmSCII, Armenian Standard Code for Information Interchange, an Armenian eternity sign has been encoded in 7-bit and 8-bit standard and ad-hoc encodings since at least 1987. In 2010 the Armenian National Institute of Standards suggested encoding an Armenian Eternity sign in the Unicode character set,[25] and both right-facing and left-facing Armenian eternity signs were included in Unicode version 7.0 when it was released in June 2014.[26]

Font glyphs
Regular
Italic
Bold
Bold Italic
Churches
Modern statues and sculptures
Logos

See also

References
  1. Armenian Eternity Sign Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, IT Development Support Council of the Government Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Workgroup of Language & Culture, 2010 Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
    From page Prehistory of the Armenian Dram and Armenian eternity signs of National institute of Standards of Republic of Armenia.
  2. Jacob G. Ghazarian (2006), The Mediterranean legacy in early Celtic Christianity: a journey from Armenia to Ireland, Bennett & Bloom, pp. 263, p. 171 "... Quite a different version of the Celtic triskelion, and perhaps the most common pre-Christian symbolism found throughout Armenian cultural tradition, is the round clockwise (occasionally counter-clockwise) whirling sun-like spiral fixed at a centre—the Armenian symbol of eternity."
  3. K. B. Mehr, M. Markow, Mormon Missionaries enter Eastern Europe, Brigham Young University Press, 2002, pp. 399, p. 252 "... She viewed a tall building with spires and circular windows along the top of the walls. It was engraved with sun stones, a typical symbol of eternity in ancient Armenian architecture."
  4. Bauer-Manndorff, Elisabeth (1981). Armenia: Past and Present. Reich Verlag. p. 89. The circle, as a line returning upon itself, represented perfection. Having neither beginning, nor end, it was the symbol of eternity. The architects expressed the concept of everlasting, celestial life in the knowledge of the presence and effect of the divine power by sphere.
  5. N. Sahakyan/ Armenian Highland: / RAU Press. 2006, page 150(349)
  6. Jacob G. Ghazarian (2006), The Mediterranean legacy in early Celtic Christianity: a journey from Armenia to Ireland, Bennett & Bloom, pp. 263, p. 186 "The eighth, or ninth, century date of this two examples of Irish stone crosses places them chronologically well after the carving of stone crosses in Armenia and the use of the Armenian symbol of eternity had become a long established national iconographical practice."
  7. Zarian, A. K. (1989). "Խաչքարերի խորհրդանշաններին և միթրայականությանը վերաբերող պատկերագրական հարցեր [Iconographical Problems Concerning Symbols of Khatchkars and Cult of Mithra]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian National Academy of Sciences (1): 202–219. ISSN 0135-0536.
  8. The government of Armenia, The list of non-material cultural heritage of Armenia, 2010, p. 15
  9. R. Kartashyan, «Architectural complex of Khoranashat», The journal of social sciences №4, Yerevan, 1986, pp. 42–52
  10. Hayden Herrera (2005), Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work, Macmillan, pp. 784
  11. Károly Gink, Károly Gombos, Armenia: landscape and architecture, Corvina Press, 1974
  12. Nicolas Holding (2011), Armenia, Bradt Travel Guides, pp 312, p. 130, 148
  13. G. Sargsyan, U. Melkonyan, Litographical sketches – 2, Historico-phylological journal of Armenian Academy of sciences, № 3, 2012, p. 101
  14. R. L. Khachatryan, Russian academy of Art, Rudolg Khachatryan: high-dimensional objects, Galart, 2002, p. 13
  15. Armenia Today, vol. 5–6, Yerevan, 1982, p. 4
  16. G. Karakhanyan, «Medieval domesstic reliefs of Armenia», The journal of social sciences, №8, Yerevan, 1975, pp. 31–47
  17. see image of the dome
  18. Manoucharian, A. A. (1979). "The Upper Complex of the Horomayr Monument". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian National Academy of Sciences (4): 268. Երկու զարդեր են քանդակված կամարների ներսի կողմի վերնամասում։ Մեկը պատկերում Է հավերժության նշան, կազմված գնդաձև ուռուցիկ մակերեսին սփռված ելունդավոր գծերով։
  19. Kartashian, Hrach. "The architectural ensemble of Nor Varagavank". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian National Academy of Sciences (7): 65. ISSN 0320-8117. Պսակ-գոտու անմիջապես վերևով անցնում է եզան և կտցահարող թռչունների, նռնենու տեսքով կենաց ծառի, զամբյուղների, վարդյակի և հավերժության նշանի պատկերներով քանդակաշարք, որն ունի գաղափարական որոշակի իմաստ:
  20. Asratyan M., Tsitsernavank, Historico-phylological journal of Armenian Academy of sciences, № 2, 1980, p. 50
  21. The Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği, Genel Bilgi photo gallery
  23. National Council of Western Armenia, the flag of Western Armenia, 2011
  24. Հայկական արիական հիմնական նշանների (սիմվոլների) խորհուրդը եւ չափային շղթաները (in Armenian). Armenian Aryan Union. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  25. "Armenian Eternity Sign" (PDF). Unicode. 2010. pp. 10–12.
  26. "Unicode: Armenian" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-06-27.
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