Holy Cow! Animal Icon Meanings in World Religions Quiz

Answer: icons

Icons (or sometimes ikons) were religious symbols that could represent either good or evil concepts that were too complex for regular Catholic Christians to comprehend. Instead, they would learn what certain symbols or pictograms meant and associate them with people, creatures, angels, abstract ideas, and stories from the Gospels.

A manuscript is a hand-written work.

A fresco is an art technique especially used to paint murals into walls and ceilings by mixing paint into the building material, or any painting created using this method.

Although it could be argued that iconography sometimes attributes human traits to visual objects, it also ascribes whole people, abstract concepts, and stories to objects. One could argue the religious symbolic icons portray could be called similes or metaphors, personification has to add life-like qualities to an inanimate object or human traits to an animal. If you said the snake danced you would using personification. If you say the snake often represents the devil and the ultimate temptations in life, then you are analyzing an icon.

Thank you to the free dictionary website for allowing me to make sure my definitions were accurate, and the website NATURE, Holy Cow.Hinduism's Sacred Animal.PBS for maintaining accuracy on the reason cows are living icons and revered in India.

Answer: Jesus

Fish were an important resource for the Jewish people, especially those living next to the Mediterranean Sea, as a profession that was permitted by emperors who were non-Christian and wished to prevent the Chistianity's followers from growing too large in number; on top of this, fish provided sustenance for the poorer classes that slowly converted from Judaism to Christianity.

Fearing an upset in the status quo, the rulers of Rome heavily persecuted the new Christians, and forbade them to organize formal meeting. Thus, the fish symbol was worn as a tattoo to let fellow Christians, who knew its true meaning, identify each other. A location marked with the symbol was a secret sign that allowed Christians the knowledge that it was a relatively safe place to meet away from regular guard patrols. In this way, the symbol had a strong practical use as a way to find out who was a fellow Christian and where they could congregate for worship services. The fish would not aroused suspicion from authorities, since fish were so big a part the oppressed Hebrews' lives.

Finally, the symbol also had religious significance through its name, "Ichthus", which literally means fish. However, it also was a clever acronym by spelling out words with a clever acronym as the word is only five letters long using the Greek alphabet, which had no equivalent letter to "j" so typically anglicised versions of ancient words often have a "J" where an "I" would have been used in ancient Greece and other Hellenistic cultures. By the alphabet of the day one could spell out the first letters of IChThUS so that it said, "Jesus. Christ. God's Son. Savior." It is not hard to imagine that Christians of the day viewing the Ichthus icon and seeing it as a symbol for both physical and spiritual nourishment and a source of livelihood. It is one of the most prolific Catholic Christian symbols, and is still used seriously and spoofed even today.

I would like to thank the "Catholic Symbols" website for additional information on this interesting symbol.

Answer: Lamb of God

The most concrete references came from John the Evangelist. Perhaps the most blatant of John's use of the term in, John 1:29. Typically, in Christian iconography, sheep represent the masses in general, lions can represent multiple things depending on context, and cats usually represent fecundity or temptation.

Agnus comes from the Latin root for lamb, and I did ask what baby animal was often used, so the sheep answer is not quite valid.

Generally, most scholars in this area consider the analogy apt, as lambs were used as sacrificial animals in exchange for favour from God. John saw Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as God giving up his one true son as a sacrifice to absolve humanity's sins.

Thanks to the website "Catholic Symbols" in particular for additional information regarding the meaning of "Agnus Dei" as well as data regarding the other three, incorrect, answers.

Answer: Egyptians

Of the choices provided only the Egyptian culture would worshiped to more than one deity, and the Aztecs and Celtics would not know what a hippo or scarab was, as those species are native to Africa, where the Egyptian culture resides and had many different sects and faiths dedicated to one specific deity or had several names for the same religious groups.

Catholics believe only in the "one true god", so they are a monotheistic faith.

The Bangles hit I am referring to is "Walk like an Egyptian" (1986).

Answer: Asp

Asps were thought to be the chief serpentine servants of Apep, the ultimate god of Darkness in Egyptian mythology. They often represented death of not just one's body but poison that killed the soul. Asps are highly feared by Egyptians even today, but whether this is because they are associated with Apep and symbols of evil, poison, and death is debatable.

Thanks to both the websites "Cleopatra's Death" and www.mythencyclopedia.com for additional information on asps and other types of serpents and their iconography by multiple world religions.

Answer: False

Really false, in fact, Apep was an evil god of darkness that fought Ra every night, and would eventually lose somehow so the sun rose again. However, Ra was often helped by the snake deity Helel to restore order and light from Apep's (a.k.a. Apopis's) darkness and chaos each night.

In Norse mythology, Thor is constantly battling with Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent, and eventually Thor does slay him, but is poisoned too severely and dies before he can be healed in Asgard. Conversely, Aztec mythology has Quetzalcoatl, which is seen as a sign of fertility and growth. Similarly, later religious iconography by religions such as Christianity, depict the snake as a sign of fertility due to it resembling phallic pares of the human man's anatomy used in reproduction. So, the iconography of snakes really depended on the context of the religious tale or myth being told.

Sometimes the snake as an icon can be neutral in nature. In many cultures, but first named Ouroboros by Greco-Romans and Egyptian mythos, the iconic image of a snake encircling something and biting its own tail represents eternity.

Thank you to both of the following sites for some of the different iconic symbolisms of snakes in various world mythologies and religions:
paula-i-nielson.suite101.com ) History ) Anthropology, and
www.mythencyclopedia.com ) Sa-Sp.

Answer: Impending death and disaster in the upcoming fight

Do not be surprised, a group of crows is called a murder. Her appearance to one side did not guarantee defeat, but victory would command a heavy cost of life. Cad was also known for her cleverness and trickery.

A big thank you to: http://www.fatheroak.com/Did_Druids_Worship_Animals.html and http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/animals.htm for their knowledge of a fairly obscure mythology's symbolism, as it is hard to find much information regarding Celtic mythology and religion.

Answer: Hinduism

Well, I certainly remember that he is not one of the main gods of the other three choices. Thus, I remember now that he was also the Hindu god of success and learning from: http://hinduism.about.com/od/lordganesha/a/ganesha.htm; my other source was a mythology course that I took in high school, but Ganesh - The Remover of Obstacles - must favour us, as he has granted us success and new-found wisdom to carry on.

Answer: thunderbird

Indeed, the mighty thunderbird has different powers depending on what tribe one speaks to. However, most agree that it one of the primary message carriers of the "Great Spirit", and is one of the most respected icons of the Native Peoples' original beliefs.

Stories about this potentially mythical creature state that it shoots lightning from its eyes, causes storms by flapping its wings, and insures victory to any tribe it visits before that tribe goes into battle. Thanks, to: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100517231144AAe4rek and www.whats-your-sign.com/thunderbird-native-american-symbol.html for their knowledge regarding this magnificent being.

Although there are no confirmed, documented sightings of these birds, they may have actually been an actual species that went extinct from possibly habitat loss, hunting, or the ice age. Another theory is that they were simply mistaken for large American and Bald Eagles, which do frequent the areas where tribes revere them. Sadly, they lack the superpowers ascribed to them by the local Aboriginal Peoples' tales.

Oh, and the other three incorrect choices are also all revered and highly regarded, but by different tribes or bands. I encourage you to hop in your classic T-bird and consult your local shaman, library, or Native Museum to learn more about the mystical history and cultures of your local First Nations' tribe(s).

Answer: owl

Although, the other three animals are clever, they do not symbolize wisdom in Greek culture as the owl did. Cartoons and other pop culture media often depict the owl as a smart creature from which the protagonist can gain wisdom granted by the owl, like, "How many licks does it take to get to the centre of that Tootsie Roll Pop?" I recall the answer was three. I would attribute this, but I am not sure how to credit a commercial tagline by this site's standards, just know that it from a tootsie pop commercial, and I did not come up the example by myself. You can probably seek down the accuracy of this knowledge at YouTube.

In Rome, Athena is known as Minerva instead and her familiar is called "the owl of Minerva," I never said that wisdom and creativity were part-and-parcel. You are indeed wise for answering so many questions about animal iconography. Both I and Athena hope you had some fun, and gained some new wisdom along the way!