The Armenian eternity sign (⟨֎ ֍⟩, ) or Arevakhach (, "Sun Cross") is an ancient

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

national symbol A national symbol is a manifestation of a nation or community, serving as a representation of their National identity, identity and values. National symbols may be not only applied to sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of ...

and a symbol of the

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...

of the

Armenian people Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

. It is one of the most common symbols in

Armenian architecture Armenian architecture comprises architectural works with an aesthetic or historical connection to the Armenians, Armenian people. It is difficult to situate this architectural style within precise geographical or chronological limits, but many o ...

,Jacob G. Ghazarian (2006),
The Mediterranean legacy in early Celtic Christianity: a journey from Armenia to Ireland
', Bennett & Bloom, pp. 263, p. 171 "... Quite a different version of the Celtic triskelion, and perhaps the most common pre-Christian symbolism found throughout Armenian cultural tradition, is the round clockwise (occasionally counter-clockwise) whirling sun-like spiral fixed at a centre—the Armenian symbol of eternity."K. B. Mehr, M. Markow, ''Mormon Missionaries enter Eastern Europe'', Brigham Young University Press, 2002, pp. 399, p. 252 "... She viewed a tall building with spires and circular windows along the top of the walls. It was engraved with sun stones, a typical symbol of eternity in ancient Armenian architecture." carved on ''

khachkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...

s'' and on walls of

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

es.

Evolution and use

In medieval Armenian culture, the eternity sign symbolized the concept of everlasting, celestial life. From the 1st century BC, it appeared on Armenian

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

s; later it became part of ''

'' symbolism.N. Sahakyan/ Armenian Highland: / RAU Press. 2006, page 150(349) Around the 8th century the use of the Armenian symbol of eternity had become a long established national iconographical practice, and it has kept its meaning in modern times. Besides being one of the main components of ''khachkars'', it can be found on church walls, tomb stones and other architectural monuments.G. Karakhanyan
«Medieval domesstic reliefs of Armenia»
, The journal of social sciences, №8, Yerevan, 1975, pp. 31–47 Notable churches with the eternity sign include the Mashtots Hayrapet Church of Garni, Horomayr Monastery,

Nor Varagavank Nor Varagavank () is a 13th-century Armenian Apostolic Church monastic ensemble situated 3.5 km southwest of the village Varagavan in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The monastery is situated upon a high hill and is surrounded by forested m ...

Tsitsernavank Monastery Tsitsernavank () is a fifth-to-sixth century Armenian Apostolic monastery in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan. The monastery is within five kilometers of the border of Armenia's province of Syunik, in an area historically known as ''Kashataghk ...

. An identical symbol appears in the reliefs of the

Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital () was built in 1228–1229 by the local dynasty of the Mengujekids in the small Central Anatolia Region, Anatolian town of Divriği, now in Sivas Province, Turkey. The complex is in the upper town, below the cit ...

, and is likely a borrowing from earlier Armenian churches of the area. It can also be found on Armenian manuscripts. The eternity sign is used on the logos of government agencies and on

commemorative coin A commemorative coin is a coin issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Some coins of this category serve as collector's items only, while most commemora ...

s, as well as Armenian government agencies and non-government organizations and institutions in Armenia and the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

.National Council of Western Armenia
the flag of Western Armenia
2011 The symbol is also used by Armenian neopagan organizations and their followers. It is called by them "Arevakhach" (, "sun cross").

ArmSCII and Unicode

Right-Facing and Left Facing Armenian Eternity Sign

ArmSCII ArmSCII or ARMSCII is a set of obsolete single-byte character encodings for the Armenian alphabet defined by Armenian national standard 166–9. ArmSCII is an acronym for Armenian alphabet, Armenian Standard Code for Information Interchange, simil ...

, Armenian Standard Code for Information Interchange, an Armenian eternity sign has been encoded in 7-bit and 8-bit standard and ad hoc encodings since at least 1987. In 2010 the Armenian National Institute of Standards suggested encoding an Armenian Eternity sign in the

Unicode Unicode or ''The Unicode Standard'' or TUS is a character encoding standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium designed to support the use of text in all of the world's writing systems that can be digitized. Version 16.0 defines 154,998 Char ...

character set, and both left-facing ⟨֎⟩ and right-facing ⟨֍⟩ Armenian eternity signs were included in Unicode version 7.0 when it was released in June 2014.

Gallery

;Churches File:Jerevan - Armenië (2892533612).jpg,

Saint Hripsime Church Saint Hripsime Church is a seventh-century Armenian Apostolic church in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia. It was built in 618 by Catholicos Komitas over the tomb of Hripsime, a Roman virgin murdered by Tiridates III and a key ...

Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Armenia, 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border ...

(7th century) File:AH - Harichvank, 21, Armenia.jpg, 5-arched eternity sign on the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God,

Harichavank Monastery The Harichavank (; transliterated as ''Harijavank'' or ''Harichavank'') is a 7th century Armenian monastery located near the village of Harich (Armenian: Հառիճ) in the Shirak Province of Armenia. The village is 3 km southeast of the ...

, near

Artik Artik () is a town in the Artik Municipality of the Shirak Province of Armenia. As of the 2011 census, the town had a population of 19,534. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Artik was around 18,800. As of the 2022 census, the t ...

(13th-century) File:Arevakhach Makaravank.JPG, Makaravank, near Achajur (10th century) File:WhiteMonasteryEastDome.jpg, 18 eternity signs on Armenian fresco of the Coptic

White Monastery The Coptic White Monastery (), also The Monastery of Abba Shenouda () and The Athribian Monastery () is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Shenoute. It is located near the Upper Egyptian cities of Tahta and Sohag, and about south-ea ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, 12th century File:Gandzasar_Monastery_Nagorno_Karabakh_12_c_decoration.jpg, Gandzasar monastery, 13th century File:Գեղարդ վանական համալիր174.JPG,

Geghard Geghard (, meaning "spear") is a medieval monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with enhanced protection status. Wh ...

, 13th century File:AH - Teghenyats Monastery, Eternity sign, Armenia.jpg, Decor of Teghenyats Monastery File:Gospel by Stepanos, 1201, Ms. 10359, mtd-gr-03-l.jpg, Miniature in Gospel by Stepanos, 1201 File:Hovsian1316.jpg,

Illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

by Hovsian, 1316 File:The_marble_tombstone_of_grand_prince_Hasan_Jalal_Vahtangian_part.jpg, Grand prince Hasan Jalal Vahtangian, 1214–1261 File:Հրեաների գերեզման 13-րդ դար, Եղեգիս10.JPG,

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

cemetery in Yeghegis, 13th century File:Armenian_Tombstone_Aghout_Sisian_Armenia.jpg, Aghout cemetery in

Sisian Sisian ( ) is a town and the centre of the Sisian Municipality of the Syunik Province in southern Armenia. It is located on both banks of the Vorotan River, at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level, 6 km south of the Yerevan- Meghri highway, at ...

File:Saint Mesrop Mashtots Cathedral in Oshakan, part 30, VM.jpg, Saint

Mesrop Mashtots Mesrop Mashtots (; , ' 362February 17, 440 AD) was an Armenians, Armenian Linguistics, linguist, composer, Christian theology, theologian, Politician, statesman, and Hymnology, hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic C ...

Cathedral in Oshakan ;Modern statues and sculptures File:Խաչքար_Երեւանի_Բժշկական_Համալսարանի_մօտ.JPG, A modern ''

khatchkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and ...

'' in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

File:Mari.gevrogyan.JPG, A khachkar in memory of the victims of the

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake (), occurred on December 7 at with a surface-wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then ...

File:DziDzernagapert - eternal flame.jpg, Armenian Genocide memorial in

, 1965 File:Cascade_of_Yerevan,_Armenia_First_Christian_Country_Monument,_Head,_Armenia,_2013-09-01,_VM.jpg, A 1992 monument in the

Yerevan Cascade The Cascade (Armenian: Կասկադ) is a building complex in Yerevan, Armenia. It includes terraced gardens connected by extensive staircases, and includes the Cafesjian Museum of Art. Originally planned in the 1920s, some building was undertak ...

to Armenia becoming the first Christian state in the fourth century File:War cemetery in Sisian, Armenia, VM.jpg, A monument dedicated to the memory of the Armenian soldiers killed in the

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbai ...

File:Oshakan tower, Armenian Alphabet and Eternity sign, VM.jpg, A monument of

Armenian Alphabet The Armenian alphabet (, or , ) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasu ...

and Eternity sign on Oshakan tower File:Dsegh Tumanyan musuem plaque.jpg, A plaque at the entrance of

Hovhannes Tumanyan Hovhannes Tumanyan (, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, q ...

's museum in Dsegh File:Haghpat Sayat-Nova Square.jpg, A plaque indicating that the square at the entrance of the

Haghpat Monastery Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank (), is a medieval Armenian monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia, built between the 10th and 13th century. Location The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River ...

was named for

Sayat-Nova Sayat-Nova (Armenian: Սայեաթ-Նովայ ( сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա (reformed); ka, საიათნოვა; ; ; born Harutyun Sayatyan; 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian poet, musician and '' ashugh'', who ...

in 2010 File:Revived Armenia Monument Two of Four Eternity Signs on Base Cascade Yerevan Armenia 2013 09 01 VM.jpg, There are 9 eternity signs on the 1965 monument "Revived Armenia" at the top of

, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Soviet rule in Armenia. ;Logos , Logo of the

Republican Party of Armenia The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA, ; , ''HHK'') is a National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Armenia, political party in Armenia led by the third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan. It was the first polit ...

, File:Symbol of National Library of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia, VM.jpg, Symbol of

National Library of Armenia The National Library of Armenia () is a national library, national public library in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1832 as part of the state gymnasium-school of Yerevan. It is the official cultural repository for the entire republic. Histor ...

File:Armenian_Eternity_Sign_ACC_Stamp.jpg,

Rubber stamp A rubber stamp is an image or pattern that has been carved, molded, laser engraved, or vulcanized onto a sheet of rubber. Rubber stamping, also called stamping, is a craft in which some type of ink made of dye or pigment is applied to a rub ...

of the "Armenian Computer Center"

Ltd. A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Scotland, certain Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareho ...

, 1998 File:AM 100 dram Ag 2001 Council b.png, Commemorative coins of Armenia,

joining the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, January 25, 2001 File:Coat_of_аrms_of_Yerevan.svg,

Seal of Yerevan The Emblem of Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia, shows a winged Erebuni Fortress, Erebuni lion with a bronze shield having a blue circumference. The lion has the tree of life as a crown, holds a power staff, and has a shield encomp ...

, adopted in 2004 File:The emblem of the Hovhannes Sharambeyan Peoples Art Centre in Yerevan.jpg, The emblem of the Peoples Art Centre in Yerevan File:Japanese national sign Chrysanthemum and the Armenian eternity sign in one logo made in colours of national flags.jpg, The

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

national sign

Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

and the Armenian eternity sign in one logo made in colors of

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

s, 2011 File:All Armenian Fund. Water is life telethon logo. November 25, 2010. Desiner Edik Balayan.jpg, Water is life -

Armenia Fund Armenia Fund (full name Hayastan All Armenian Fund, ) was established in 1994 in Los Angeles, California. Armenia Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-governmental, non-political corporation, headquartered in Yerevan. Serving as the United S ...

telethon logo, 2010

References

External links

{{Commons category, Armenian eternity sign
Hayastan All Armenian Fund. Telethon 2010 – Water is Life.
"Water is Life indeed and as you can see in the design, the water turns into the Armenian eternity symbol as it flows out of the helping hands."

– "A single jet of water and the symbol of eternity mark its center, representing hope and rebirth."
Armenian Engineers & Scientists of America
"The Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America (AESA) logo is an ancient symbol used in Armenian architecture and carvings. The symbol signifies Eternal Life – in Armenian ''Haverjoutian Nshan'' or Sign of Eternity."
Armenian Monuments Awareness Project
Ancient Armenian religion Armenian mythology Infinity National symbols of Armenia Rotational symmetry Time in Armenia

Evolution and use

ArmSCII and Unicode

Gallery

See also

References

External links