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Symbols
Search researched meanings first, then narrow by tradition, era, object, practical use, style, or emotion.
Protection · reviewed meaning
Herakles Knot Ornament
An interlaced Hellenistic jewellery motif associated in antiquity with the power to cure wounds and protect the wearer.
Protection · reviewed meaning
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.
Protection · reviewed meaning
Isiac Sistrum
A Roman bronze sistrum used in Isiac worship, whose jingling ritual sound was understood to ward off evil.
Protection · reviewed meaning
Lar Familiaris Figure
A youthful Roman household guardian whose presence in the lararium invoked protection, health, and prosperity for the family.
Protection · reviewed meaning
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.
Protection · reviewed meaning
Priapus Garden Guardian
An explicitly phallic figure of Priapus, placed in the Greco-Roman imagination as a guardian of gardens, vines, bees, and flocks.
Protection · reviewed meaning
Protective Prayer Amulet
A Roman-period agate amulet whose protection was carried in an inscribed prayer rather than a single pictorial emblem.
Protection · reviewed meaning
Roman Bulla Pendant
A rounded Roman pendant worn especially by children as a personal safeguard against the evil eye.
