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Research of the Symbolic and Allegorical Composition of the "Eye of Providence" in the Cultural Heritage of the Trypillia Protocivilization and Religious Analysis Context

Received: 9 June 2022    Accepted: 22 June 2022    Published: 29 June 2022
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Abstract

Well known in religious culture, the symbol “Eye of Providence” or “All-seeing eye” is an emblem sign with deep foundations, which lies in the architectural and iconographic tradition of Christianity, Masonic societies, various esoteric circles. The Radiant Delta became a visual icon in the 15th century and was used in mystical philosophical teachings, and as a decoration on religious paintings and works of art. “The Eye”, as an emblem, was incorporated into the interiors and exteriors of both Orthodox and Catholic churches, often in the most visible way. The glow of the all-pervading “Eye” inside or above the triangle has become a metaphor meaning the One God with his essence of all-encompassing and all-seeing and is sometimes interpreted as a symbol beyond the reach of human imagination and objective cognition. However, referring to archaic religions and mythologies, the author reveals archetypal images and schemes, signs and their combinations, which are hiding concepts, notions and structural-semantic patterns, that are obvious precursors to the formation of the modern cult symbol of the “Eye of Providence”. The article examines the history of the “Eye of Providence” as a symbol, which in the biblical tradition undergoes its formation from a textual sign to an iconographic image and leads its common thread of “written history” from the ancient temple cult. From this the specificity of the semantic structure of the studied sign-symbol and certain historical and cultural contexts in which the above symbol is developing, is determined. The author proves that the metaphorical symbol of the “Eye” with its semantic specificity existed long before the emergence of the biblical expression and was specifically reproduced in different ancient peoples. Initially, it was associated with cult buildings. From the point of view of the archaic human cognition of the symbol under study, the regularities concerning natural phenomena and the visible Cosmos, by the “patronage” of which the original expression of the sacred “Eye” was born, are revealed. The work involves research on the temple of Trypillia culture, because the establishment of a universal „thread of history” of the „Eye” expression from the archaic temple cult and cult buildings gives rise to such an appeal. With this it is established that the „Heavenly Eye” expression originated from the astronomical situation and was associated with the stellar allegory of Taurus / Taurus constellation – a sacred image in many cultures of the Eneolithic era.

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.23
Page(s) 190-196
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

“Eye of Providence”, “All-Seeing Eye”, “Radiant Delta”, Taurus Constellation, Eneolithic, Trypillia Culture, Cosmology, Trypillia Religion

References
[1] Astrological age. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_age
[2] Charles Freeman (1997). The Legacy of Ancient Egypt, Facts on File. Facts On File, Inc., p. 91.
[3] Chmikhov M. O. (1994). Ancient culture. Kyiv, Lybid, p. 147.
[4] Dumezil G. (1986). Supreme Gods of the Indo-Europeans. Moscow, Nauka publishing house, p. 130.
[5] Eliade M. (1994). Sacred and profane. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://culture.wikireading.ru/44368
[6] Encyclopedia of signs and symbols. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from http://sigils.ru/symbols/glaz.html
[7] Encyclopedia of symbols. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from http://wiki.simbolarium.ru/index.php/Глаза.
[8] Encyclopedia of Trypillia Civilization. (2004), in 2 volumes - Vol. 2 / ed. count: S. M Lyashko (ed.) And others, Kyiv, Ukrpoligrafmedia, p. 379.
[9] Encyclopedia of Trypillia Civilization. (2004), in 2 volumes - Vol. 1 / ed. Col.: M. Yu. Videiko (ed.) and others, Kyiv, Ukrpoligrafmedia, p. 351.
[10] Erik Hornung. (2001). The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West. Cornell University Press, p. 17.
[11] Gimbutas M. (2006). Civilization of the Great Goddess: The World of Ancient Europe. Moscow, “Russian Political Encyclopedia” (ROSSPEN), p. 75, 182.
[12] Heliacal rising. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliacal_rising
[13] Kurtik G. E. (2002) Early history of the Mesopotamian constellations (On the problem of the origin of constellations). // Petersburg Oriental Studies. Issue 10. St. Petersburg, Center “Petersburg Oriental Studies”, p. 193.
[14] Michele Maramoraco. The temple is a reflection of the world. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from http://www.ji.lviv.ua/n83texts/Maramorako_Hram_vidobrazhennya_svitu.htm
[15] Myths of the peoples of the world. (2008). Encyclopedia. Moscow, Electronic edition, p. 168.
[16] Presentation of the model of the Nebelivka / Trypillya Temple in the Religious Center “Religion of Nature” (2019). Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HywXYID2he4
[17] Rig Veda. (1999). Mandalas I-IV. Moscow, “NAUKA”, p. 161.
[18] Robert Alter. (2009). The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary. W. W. Norton & Company.
[19] Shawn Eyer. (2015). The All-Seeing Eye Symbol of the Great Architect, Part One / Philalethes. The Journal of Masonic Research & Letters. Vol. 68, №3, p. 115-116.
[20] Surprisingly beautiful and unusual stars in space. Names of stars and constellations in the sky. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://koon.ru/uk/udivitelno-krasivye-i-neobychnye-zvezdy-v-kosmose-nazvaniya-zvezd-i/
[21] The all-seeing eye in the traditions of the peoples of the world. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from http://talismansveta.ru/blog/vsevidyawee_oko_v_tradiciyah_narodov_mira/
[22] The Bull of Heaven in Mesopotamian Sources. Culture and cosmos. (2001). A Journal of the History of Astrology and Cultural Astronomy. Vol. 5 no 2. Published by Culture and Cosmos and the Sophia Centre Press, p. 5-16.
[23] The Eye of Providence: A Journey into Masonic Symbolism. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://gwmemorial.org/blogs/news/the-eye-of-providence
[24] The Great Seal of the United States. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great Seal of the United States
[25] The heavenly temple in early Judaism and Christianity. (2018). Moscow, Institute of St. Foma, p. 3, 4.
[26] The truth of Christ's resurrection. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from http://www.archangel.kiev.ua/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2542:istinnist-voskresinnya-khristovogo&catid=25&Itemid=46
[27] Trypillia logographic symbols and their interpretation. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.ridivira.com/uk/istoriya/trypilski-lohohrafichni-symvoly-ta-ikhnie-tlumachennia
[28] Yarovoy E. V. (2013). Mysticism of ancient barrows. Moscow, Veche, p. 98.
[29] Zavalii O. (2021). Features of the construction of the nebelivka temple: monumental elements, structure and their ritual and religious meaning / O. Zavalii // SOFIA. Journal of Humanities and Religions. № 1 (17). DOI: 10.17721/sophia.2021.17.1, p. 8-9.
[30] Zavalii O. (2021). Nebelivka Disk. Sacred relic of the Trypillia church (4,000 BC). Kyiv, Spiritual Center of the Denomination “Religion of Nature”, Ruslan Khalikov Publishing House, p. 20.
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    Oleksandr Zavalii. (2022). Research of the Symbolic and Allegorical Composition of the "Eye of Providence" in the Cultural Heritage of the Trypillia Protocivilization and Religious Analysis Context. Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(3), 190-196. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.23

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    Oleksandr Zavalii. Research of the Symbolic and Allegorical Composition of the "Eye of Providence" in the Cultural Heritage of the Trypillia Protocivilization and Religious Analysis Context. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2022, 10(3), 190-196. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.23

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    Oleksandr Zavalii. Research of the Symbolic and Allegorical Composition of the "Eye of Providence" in the Cultural Heritage of the Trypillia Protocivilization and Religious Analysis Context. Humanit Soc Sci. 2022;10(3):190-196. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221003.23

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  • @article{10.11648/j.hss.20221003.23,
      author = {Oleksandr Zavalii},
      title = {Research of the Symbolic and Allegorical Composition of the "Eye of Providence" in the Cultural Heritage of the Trypillia Protocivilization and Religious Analysis Context},
      journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {190-196},
      doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20221003.23},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221003.23},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20221003.23},
      abstract = {Well known in religious culture, the symbol “Eye of Providence” or “All-seeing eye” is an emblem sign with deep foundations, which lies in the architectural and iconographic tradition of Christianity, Masonic societies, various esoteric circles. The Radiant Delta became a visual icon in the 15th century and was used in mystical philosophical teachings, and as a decoration on religious paintings and works of art. “The Eye”, as an emblem, was incorporated into the interiors and exteriors of both Orthodox and Catholic churches, often in the most visible way. The glow of the all-pervading “Eye” inside or above the triangle has become a metaphor meaning the One God with his essence of all-encompassing and all-seeing and is sometimes interpreted as a symbol beyond the reach of human imagination and objective cognition. However, referring to archaic religions and mythologies, the author reveals archetypal images and schemes, signs and their combinations, which are hiding concepts, notions and structural-semantic patterns, that are obvious precursors to the formation of the modern cult symbol of the “Eye of Providence”. The article examines the history of the “Eye of Providence” as a symbol, which in the biblical tradition undergoes its formation from a textual sign to an iconographic image and leads its common thread of “written history” from the ancient temple cult. From this the specificity of the semantic structure of the studied sign-symbol and certain historical and cultural contexts in which the above symbol is developing, is determined. The author proves that the metaphorical symbol of the “Eye” with its semantic specificity existed long before the emergence of the biblical expression and was specifically reproduced in different ancient peoples. Initially, it was associated with cult buildings. From the point of view of the archaic human cognition of the symbol under study, the regularities concerning natural phenomena and the visible Cosmos, by the “patronage” of which the original expression of the sacred “Eye” was born, are revealed. The work involves research on the temple of Trypillia culture, because the establishment of a universal „thread of history” of the „Eye” expression from the archaic temple cult and cult buildings gives rise to such an appeal. With this it is established that the „Heavenly Eye” expression originated from the astronomical situation and was associated with the stellar allegory of Taurus / Taurus constellation – a sacred image in many cultures of the Eneolithic era.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AB  - Well known in religious culture, the symbol “Eye of Providence” or “All-seeing eye” is an emblem sign with deep foundations, which lies in the architectural and iconographic tradition of Christianity, Masonic societies, various esoteric circles. The Radiant Delta became a visual icon in the 15th century and was used in mystical philosophical teachings, and as a decoration on religious paintings and works of art. “The Eye”, as an emblem, was incorporated into the interiors and exteriors of both Orthodox and Catholic churches, often in the most visible way. The glow of the all-pervading “Eye” inside or above the triangle has become a metaphor meaning the One God with his essence of all-encompassing and all-seeing and is sometimes interpreted as a symbol beyond the reach of human imagination and objective cognition. However, referring to archaic religions and mythologies, the author reveals archetypal images and schemes, signs and their combinations, which are hiding concepts, notions and structural-semantic patterns, that are obvious precursors to the formation of the modern cult symbol of the “Eye of Providence”. The article examines the history of the “Eye of Providence” as a symbol, which in the biblical tradition undergoes its formation from a textual sign to an iconographic image and leads its common thread of “written history” from the ancient temple cult. From this the specificity of the semantic structure of the studied sign-symbol and certain historical and cultural contexts in which the above symbol is developing, is determined. The author proves that the metaphorical symbol of the “Eye” with its semantic specificity existed long before the emergence of the biblical expression and was specifically reproduced in different ancient peoples. Initially, it was associated with cult buildings. From the point of view of the archaic human cognition of the symbol under study, the regularities concerning natural phenomena and the visible Cosmos, by the “patronage” of which the original expression of the sacred “Eye” was born, are revealed. The work involves research on the temple of Trypillia culture, because the establishment of a universal „thread of history” of the „Eye” expression from the archaic temple cult and cult buildings gives rise to such an appeal. With this it is established that the „Heavenly Eye” expression originated from the astronomical situation and was associated with the stellar allegory of Taurus / Taurus constellation – a sacred image in many cultures of the Eneolithic era.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Religious Studies of Hryhoriy Savych Scovoroda Philosophy, Institute of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

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