The Emblem of Andalusia ( es, Escudo de Andalucía) is the official symbol of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

, an

autonomous community of Spain eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

. It bears the

Pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules ( la, Columnae Herculis, grc, Ἡράκλειαι Στῆλαι, , ar, أعمدة هرقل, Aʿmidat Hiraql, es, Columnas de Hércules) was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank t ...

, the ancient name given to the

promontories A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...

that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. Although often referred to as a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

(or ''escudo'' in Spanish), it is technically an

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

as it was not designed to conform to traditional

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

rules.

Origin

The emblem sees its origin in an agreement made by the pro-autonomist Assembly of

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

in 1918, designed by

Blas Infante Blas Infante Pérez de Vargas (5 July 1885 – 11 August 1936) was a Spanish Andalusist politician, Georgist, writer, historian and musicologist, known as the father of Andalusian nationalism ''(Padre de la Patria Andaluza)''. Infante was a ...

, "Father of Andalusia". More than seventy years later, article 3 of the 1982 Statute of Autonomy for Andalusia stated:

Andalusia will have its own emblem, approved ''de jure'' by its Parliament, in which the following legend shall appear: "ANDALUCÍA POR SÍ, PARA ESPAÑA Y LA HUMANIDAD" (Andalusia by herself, for Spain and for Humankind), taking into account the agreement adopted by the Assembly of Ronda of 1918."

The figure of the mythical Greek hero

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

( la, Hercules), son of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

and the mortal Alcmena, appears between the columns. He is seen seizing and taming two lions, each representing the power of animal instinct, above the legend: "ANDALUCÍA POR SÍ, PARA ESPAÑA Y LA HUMANIDAD". An arc joins the two columns with the Latin inscription: "DOMINATOR HERCULES FUNDATOR". Many of these elements were adopted from the arms of the city of

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

. According to Blas Infante, the creation of the emblem can in no way be seen as a meaningless invention, but as that of a series of modifications of traditional Andalusian elements: "''We, Andalusian regionalists or nationalists, have not come to invent anything new. We had simply recognised, in our action, what the people created on its own, hence giving due value to its history'' ". In the original coat of arms, Infante included the words "BETICA- ANDALUS", as a reminder of two of the most important periods of the history of Andalusia.

References

{{Spanish coats of arms Andalusian culture

Pillars of Hercules

Origin

See also

References