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Symbols
Search researched meanings first, then narrow by tradition, era, object, practical use, style, or emotion.
Engraving · documented field
Attic Eye-Cup Device
The bold paired eyes of an Archaic Attic drinking cup, often read as an apotropaic gaze but still open to debate.
Engraving · documented field
Cave Canem Threshold Mosaic
A chained dog at a Pompeian doorway accompanied by CAVE CANEM—“Beware of the dog”—as a direct warning at the household threshold.
Engraving · documented field
Chnoubis Gem
A Roman-period gem of the lion-headed serpent Chnoubis, a protective figure whose gem type was especially associated with digestive healing.
Engraving · documented field
Crescent Lunula Amulet
A crescent-shaped amulet from Roman-period Egypt associated with divine lunar protection.
Engraving · documented field
Evil Eye Attack Charm
A Roman terracotta charm in which two phallus-headed figures attack the evil eye with a saw, turning protection into a vivid counter-assault.
Engraving · documented field
Herakles Knot Ornament
An interlaced Hellenistic jewellery motif associated in antiquity with the power to cure wounds and protect the wearer.
Engraving · documented field
Herm Boundary Marker
A pillar bearing the head of Hermes, set at roads, gates, and boundaries to mark space and invoke protection for travellers and communities.
Engraving · documented field
Isiac Sistrum
A Roman bronze sistrum used in Isiac worship, whose jingling ritual sound was understood to ward off evil.
Engraving · documented field
Lar Familiaris Figure
A youthful Roman household guardian whose presence in the lararium invoked protection, health, and prosperity for the family.
Engraving · documented field
Mano Fica Hand
A clenched hand with the thumb thrust between two fingers, used in Roman amulets as a provocative defence against the evil eye.
Engraving · documented field
Priapus Garden Guardian
An explicitly phallic figure of Priapus, placed in the Greco-Roman imagination as a guardian of gardens, vines, bees, and flocks.
Engraving · documented field
Protective Prayer Amulet
A Roman-period agate amulet whose protection was carried in an inscribed prayer rather than a single pictorial emblem.
Engraving · documented field
Roman Bulla Pendant
A rounded Roman pendant worn especially by children as a personal safeguard against the evil eye.