On The Triskelion in Iron Age Celtic Culture

And it is well known that Plato is found perpetually celebrating the barbarians, remembering that both himself and Pythagoras learned the most and the noblest of their

dogmas among the barbarians.

(Clement of Alexandria: The Stromata. Book 1:XV)

Common to many Indo-European cultures, the triskelion/triskele is one of the most

distinctive and common motifs in Iron Age Celtic art, both as a symbol in itself, and

forming the geometric basis for numerous artistic compositions.

Silver Celtic phalerae from Manerbio sul Mella, Italy (1 c. BC)

(Believed to have been produced in an eastern Celtic (Boii or Taurisci) workshop)

Celtic (Carpetani) belt plaque (bronze with silver and gold inlay) with triskele motif from

Toledo, Spain (3/2 c. BC)

In Iron Age Europe the triskele remains a core symbol in Celtic artistic compositions for

over a millennium, recorded throughout the La Tne period across the continent, and a central element in later Insular Celtic art of the early Christian period.

Celtic ritual/ceremonial axe decorated with triskele motif, from Horn Oreany, Slovakia (late 5

th c. BC)

( see: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/god-in-the-axe-celtic-ceremonial-axes-from-

horne-oresany-slovakia/ )

Horse-bit ornament with central coral cabochon engraved with triskele, from a Celtic

chariot burial at Cond-sur-Marne, France (mid 4th c. BC)

Silver Triskele Appliqus from the Celtic Chariot Burial at Mezek, Bulgaria (3rd c. BC)

Triskele compositions comprised of fish and ducks in a vortex around a central solar

symbol. (Lingones potin / Gaul, 1 c. BC)

Bronze Celtic brooch from Brough (Cumbria), England. The composition comprises a

triskele of (sleeping) swans. (2nd c. AD)

Detail of decoration on a Celtic bronze dress fastener from Ireland (6th c. AD). Executed in

the Ultimate La Tne style, the arms of the triskele decoration are spirally coiled and end in birds heads.

THE GOLDEN RATIO

Described by Celtic art experts as three arms or a whirligig (Megaw J.V.S., Megaw R. Celtic Art From Its Beginnings to the Book of Kells. London 2001. P. 19), at first glance the

triskele indeed appears to be simply three curved segments emanating from a central

point, possibly representing harmony and unification between the three kingdoms in

Celtic mythology.

Bronze mount from a Celtic shield, discovered in a hoard at Tal-y-llyn (Gwynedd), Wales

(1 c. AD)

However, the triskele is a symbol of harmony and unification, not only in mythology,

but also in geometry, its form and method of construction being a perfect example of the

Golden Ratio (also called the golden section (Latin: sectio aurea), so central to the

mathematical and religious movement called Pythagoreanism, with which the Celts were

familiar:

And the Celtic Druids investigated to the very highest point the Pythagorean philosophy, after Zamolxis, by birth a Thracian, a servant of Pythagoras, became to them the originator

of this discipline. Now after the death of Pythagoras, Zamolxis, repairing thither, became to

them the originator of this philosophy. The Celts esteem these as prophets and seers, on

account of their foretelling to them certain (events), from calculations and numbers by the

Pythagorean art.

(Hippolytus. Philosophumena XXII)

In fact, from a geometric perspective the basic construction of the triskele derives from a

regular hexagram, a form which plays an important role in the compositional structure

of Celtic images during the Iron Age, and which had a particularly important religious

significance for them. The hexagram itself is composed of two equilateral triangles,

representing harmony between male and female elements (see: Mac Congail B., Krusseva

B. 2010 - , - . Plovdiv 2010.).

Bronze Celtic Triskele Chainmail Appliqus from Trgu Mure, Romania

(See https://www.academia.edu/3891226/Celtic_Chainmail )

STATIC MOTION

The triskele is also a popular symbol on Celtic coinage across Europe, again either as the

central symbol (fig. N/1), or as a core element in the overall composition (fig. N2/5). In

fig. N/1 the central axis of the triskele is the punched circle or RA symbol (Mac Congail, Krusseva 2010), an extremely frequent core element on Celtic coins and other

artifacts from this period, representing the sun from which all energy is derived:

Fig. N/1 Obverse of Celtic Rainbow Cup Gold Stater (2nd c. BC/ Hesse or the Rhineland)

Fig N/2 Scordisci silver drachm from Serbia (Kugelwangen type late 3rd/early 2nd c. BC)

Note the triskele on the cheek of the subject on the obverse, and the punched sun (RA symbol) above the horse on the reverse.

The religious significance of the triskele in Celtic culture is perhaps best illustrated on

the Celtic Paeonia model coinage, and the Puppetrider types, which are packed with religious symbolism, giving us a rare insight into the core religious values of the pan-

Celtic tribes.

In fig. N/3 the image on the obverse remains fairly classical in nature, with one

surprising twist the eye of the subject has been replaced by an arrowhead, which is in fact the key to the geometric structure of the composition (op cit). The reverse is even

more fascinating, with the inscription and the torso of the rider carefully arranged to

conform to the circular nature of the image. The triskele below the horse completes the

intrinsic balance of the composition which, although at first glance appears chaotic, is in

fact very precisely geometrically centered.

Fig. N/3 Celtic Puppetrider type tetradrachma with triskele (late 3rd c. BC)

(On these coins see: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/puppetriders/ )

In fig. N/4 the reverse is similarly packed with religious symbolism the beaked head of the Goddess/Badh Catha, accompanied by the raven/bird of prey schematically depicted

behind her left shoulder. In this case the triskele is positioned to the front of the image

and, along with the inscription, shifts the balance of the composition to the fore, thus

creating a sensation of forward motion.

Fig. N/4

Most fascinating of these triskele coins is fig. N/5a-b, in which the obverse depicts the

process of metamorphosis the human head being transformed into that of a bird.

Fig. N/5a

On the reverse the Goddess/ Badh Catha is the centre of the image, which is composed in such a fashion that the attention of the viewer is drawn simultaneously in conflicting

directions. The symbols/inscription before the horse again shifts the balance of the

composition and creates a sensation of forward motion, while the head/eye of the

goddess and the triskele symbol represent separate, yet balanced, centers of focus. Thus,

as with the obverse, the entire composition, although static, also simultaneously creates a

sense of constant change and motion.

Fig. N/5b (See: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/catubodua-queen-of-death/

Also:

https://www.academia.edu/5543801/On_Posthumous_and_Barbarian_Lysimachus_Staters )

An Thrbhs Mhr (the great triple spiral)

Of course, from a 21st century perspective, it is impossible for us to define with certainty

the exact significance that the triskele held for the Iron Age Celtic population. However,

based on the available archaeological evidence, a number of conclusions may be

reached.

The symbol, either individually or in compositions, is present on artifacts throughout

Celtic Europe, in both the continental and insular spheres, indicating that it represented

a core religious/cultural icon for all the pan-European Celtic tribes, irrespective of

regional variations in the material culture.

Triskele discs from chainmail in the Celtic chieftains burial at Ciumeti (Satu Mare),

Transylvania (3rd c. BC) (see: https://www.academia.edu/3891226/Celtic_Chainmail )

Detail of decoration on the Celtic Sava helmet from Croatia (1st c. BC).

The severed human head forms part of a triangular composition of which triskele symbols

constitute the other two points. This theme continues in the depiction of a long-necked bird

on the cheek-pieces of the helmet (below), the basic geometric composition of which also

constitutes a triskele:

(see: https://www.academia.edu/5463297/The_Power_of_3_-

_Some_Observations_On_Eastern_Celtic_Helmets )

Significant also is the fact that the triskele composition is often composed of animals of

various types, again indicating that the symbol was linked to / emanated from the

natural world. Furthermore, it is represented with remarkable frequency on Celtic

weapons, specifically defensive equipment such as helmets, sword scabbards, shields,

chainmail, etc. This fact logically indicates that the European Celtic population believed

the symbol to have intrinsic talismanic / protective properties.

Decorated scabbard from a Celtic warrior burial (#9) at Srednica, Slovenia (late 4th

/ early

3rd

c. BC)

(See: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/a-celtic-warrior-burial-from-srednica-

northeastern-slovenia/ )

Mac Congail