Love and MythA website by Studio Esoterico CornelioSymbols of love
Every age has sought images able to speak of love without the need for words. Some come from nature, such as the rose, myrtle, the pomegranate, the dove and the swan; others are objects made by human hands, such as the ring, the key, the knot or the wedding torch. This section traces their history through the sources: the poems of Hesiod and Ovid, the songs of Catullus, the Song of Songs, the Romance of the Rose, medieval bestiaries, Roman mosaics and the paintings of Botticelli, Caravaggio and van Eyck. Alongside the best-known symbols, such as the stylised heart and Cupid's arrows, there is room for regional traditions such as the Irish Claddagh ring and the Welsh lovespoon, or refined fashions such as the Georgian lover's eye miniatures. For each symbol we distinguish what is documented from what belongs to legend, following the shifts in meaning from antiquity to the present day.
The stylised heart: how a shape became the symbol of love
From Aristotle to thirteenth-century miniatures, from playing cards to the Sacred Heart: the long history of the stylised heart as a symbol of love.
3 min read02The rose, flower of Venus: from Greek myth to the Romance of the Rose
From the blood of Aphrodite to the allegorical gardens of the 1200s and the Victorian language of flowers: the history of the rose as the lovers' flower.
3 min read03Myrtle, the plant sacred to Venus and the crown of brides
From the verses of Virgil and Ovid to Roman bridal wreaths and the bouquets of English royal brides: the history of myrtle as the plant of love.
2 min read04The dove: from Aphrodite's birds to the symbol of the couple
The doves of Ishtar, Paphos and Eryx, Venus's chariot in Apuleius and the “my dove” of the Song of Songs: the history of the dove as a symbol of love.
3 min read05Cupid's arrows: gold and lead in the bow of the child god
From Hesiod to Ovid and Caravaggio: how Eros became a child archer and why his arrows of gold and lead tell the story of falling in love.
3 min read06The love knot: from the Roman bride's girdle to English jewellery
The Hercules knot of Roman brides, the English true lover's knot and the Savoy love knots: the history of the knot as an image of the bond of love.
2 min read07The pomegranate: seeds of love from Persephone and Hera to the Song
From the myth of Persephone to Hera's statue at Argos, from the Song of Songs to Botticelli: the pomegranate as a symbol of love and fertility.
3 min read08The swans of Venus: elegance, fidelity and metamorphoses of love
Zeus and Leda, Venus's chariot in Ovid and Horace, the Swan Knight and Swan Lake: the history of the swan as a symbol of love in art and literature.
3 min read09The wedding ring: from the vena amoris to the diamonds of Burgundy
The ring finger according to Macrobius, the iron ring of the Romans, gimmel and posy rings, Maximilian's diamond: the history of the ring of love.
3 min read10The key to the heart: custody, trust and possession in love
The keys of the Roman matron, the heart locked by the God of Love in the Romance of the Rose, medieval caskets and modern padlocks: the key of love.
3 min read11The golden apple: fruit of rivalry, seduction and desire
The apple of discord and the Judgement of Paris, Atalanta's apples, apple-throwing in ancient Greece and Eve's fruit: the apple as a symbol of love.
3 min read12The shell of Venus: the goddess born from the foam of the sea
From Hesiod to the frescoes of Pompeii, from Apelles' Venus to Botticelli's Birth: why the shell became the emblem of the goddess of love in art.
3 min read13Solomon's knot: an ancient interlace of eternity and union
From the Roman mosaics of Aquileia to medieval sculpture and modern jewellery: the history of Solomon's knot and its reading as a symbol of union.
3 min read14The Claddagh ring: hands, heart and crown from the Galway coast
The fishing village near Galway, the legend of Richard Joyce and the ancient European fede rings: the origins and history of the Irish Claddagh ring.
3 min read15The torch of Hymen: the light that guided ancient weddings
The god Hymenaeus, Catullus's wedding songs, the Roman procession with its hawthorn torch and the inverted torch: the torch as a symbol of love.
3 min read16The faithful turtle dove: a bird symbolising the inseparable couple
The voice of the turtle dove in the Song, the chaste widow of the Physiologus and bestiaries, Shakespeare's Phoenix and Turtle: a symbol of fidelity.
3 min read17Joined hands: from the Roman dextrarum iunctio to “asking for her hand”
The Roman gesture of joined right hands, the goddess Concordia, wedding sarcophagi and the Arnolfini Portrait: the history of joined hands in marriage.
3 min read18The Welsh lovespoon: carvings in wood as a promise
From seventeenth-century rural Wales to St Fagans museum, with carved chains, hearts and keys and St Dwynwen's Day: the history of the Welsh lovespoon.
3 min read19Lover's eyes: secret miniatures of Georgian England
The Prince of Wales and Maria Fitzherbert, the miniatures attributed to Cosway and the fashion for lover's eyes between love and mourning: a secret jewel.
3 min read20Trees of lovers: mulberry, oak, linden and briar in legend
The mulberry of Pyramus and Thisbe, the oak and linden of Philemon and Baucis, the branches entwined over the tombs of Tristan and Iseult: trees of love.
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