palm branch

File:CONSTANTINUS I RIC VII 100-80000773.jpg (335–336 AD) of Constantine I, the first Christian emperor, with Victory holding a palm and a military trophy next to a christogram]]

In Assyrian religion, the palm is one of the trees identified as the Sacred Tree{{cite book | first = Mariana | last = Giovino | title = The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History of Interpretations | publisher = Academic Press Fribourg Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht Göttingen | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-3525530283 | quote = 'passim'}} connecting heaven, represented by the crown of the tree, and earth, the base of the trunk. Reliefs from the 9th century BC show winged genii holding palm fronds in the presence of the Sacred Tree.{{sfn|Chase|1990|p=65}} It is associated with the goddess Ishtar and is found on the Ishtar Gate. In ancient Mesopotamia, the date palm may have represented fertility in humans. The Mesopotamian goddess Inanna, who had a part in the sacred marriage ritual, was believed to make the dates abundant.{{cite web | url = http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/research/Exp_Rese_Disc/NearEast/datesex.shtml | title = Sex Life of the Date | publisher = University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology}} Palm stems represented long life to the Ancient Egyptians, and the god Huh was often shown holding a palm stem in one or both hands. The palm was carried in Egyptian funeral processions to represent eternal life.{{cite book | first1 = Fernando | last1 = Lanzi | first2 = Gioia | last2 = Lanzi | translator = Matthew J. O'Connell| title = Saints and Their Symbols: Recognizing Saints in Art and in Popular Images | publisher = Liturgical Press | year = 2004 | isbn =978-0814629703 | page = 25}} The Kingdom of Nri (Igbo) used the omu, a tender palm frond, to sacralize and restrain.{{cite book | first1 = Sulayman | last1 = Nyang | first2 = Jacob K. | last2 = Olupona | title = Religious Plurality in Africa: Essays in Honour of John S. Mbiti | publisher= Mouton de Gruyter | year = 1995 | page = 130 | asin = B07G4R2J49}} Some argue the palm in the Parthian poem Drakht-e Asurig serves as a reference to the Babylonian faith.{{cite encyclopedia | author = Ahmad Tafazzoli | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/draxti-asurig | title = Draxt ī āsūrīg |language = en | trans-title= The Babylonian tree | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica | access-date = 2011-04-29| author-link = Ahmad Tafazzoli }}

The palm was a symbol of Phoenicia and appeared on Punic coins. In ancient Greek, the word for palm, phoinix, was thought to be related to the ethnonym.

In Archaic Greece, the palm tree was a sacred sign of Apollo, who had been born under a palm on the island of Delos.Apollo's birth is described in the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo. The palm thus became an icon of the Delian League. In recognition of the alliance, Cimon of Athens erected a bronze statue of a palm tree at Delphi as part of a victory monument commemorating the Battle of the Eurymedon (469/466 BC).{{cite book| first = Evelyn B.| last = Harrison | chapter = Pheidias| title = Personal Styles in Greek Sculpture| publisher = Cambridge University Press| year = 1996 | page = 27}} In addition to representing the victorious League, the bronze palm (phoinix) was a visual pun on the defeated Phoenician fleet.{{cite book| first = Kathleen| last = Kuiper | title = Ancient Greece: From the Archaic Period to the Death of Alexander the Great| publisher = Britannica Educational Publishing| year = 2011 | page = 89}} From 400 BC onward, a palm branch was awarded to the victor in athletic contests, and the practice was brought to Rome around 293 BC.{{sfn|Vioque|2002|p=411 }}

The palm became so closely associated with victory in ancient Roman culture that the Latin word palma could be used as a metonym for "victory", and was a sign of any kind of victory.{{sfn|Vioque|2002|p=61, 206, 411}} A lawyer who won his case in the forum would decorate his front door with palm leaves.{{sfn|Vioque|2002|p=205-206}} The palm branch or tree became a regular attribute of the goddess Victory, and when Julius Caesar secured his rise to sole power with a victory at Pharsalus, a palm tree was supposed to have sprung up miraculously at the Temple of Nike, the Greek counterpart of Victory, in Tralles, later known as Caesarea, in Asia Minor.{{cite book| editor= Jörg Rüpke | series= Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World | quote = Caesar, Bellum Civile 3.105 | first= Veit | last = Rosenberger | chapter= Republican Nobiles: Controlling the Res Publica | title = A Companion to Roman Religion | publisher = Wiley Blackwell | year = 2007 | pages=292–303 | quote-page = 302 | isbn = 978-1405129435}}{{cite book| first = Anna | last = Clark | title = Divine Qualities: Cult and Community in Republican Rome | url = https://archive.org/details/divinequalitiesc00clar | url-access = limited | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2007 | page = [https://archive.org/details/divinequalitiesc00clar/page/n176 162] | isbn = 978-0199226825}} The toga palmata was a toga ornamented with a palm motif; it was worn to celebrate a military triumph only by those who had a previous triumph. The toga itself was the garment of the civilian at peace, and was worn by the triumphator to mark his laying down of arms and the cessation of war. The use of the palm in this setting indicates how the original meaning of "victory" shaded into "peace" as the aftermath of victory.{{sfn|Vioque|2002|p=61}}

Coins issued under Constantine I, the first Christian emperor, and his successors continue to display the traditional iconography of Victory, but often combined with Christian symbolism such as christograms. The Roman senator Symmachus, who tried to preserve Rome's religious traditions under Christian domination, is pictured on an ivory diptych bearing a palm branch in an allegorical triumph over death.

File:Cylinder Seal, Achaemenid, modern impression 05.jpg|Palms on an Achaemenid seal impression, 5th century BC. The iconography of palm was commonly used by ancient Babylonians.

File:Apollo Artemis Delos MAN.jpg|Apollo holding a laurel branch and libation bowl, next to a palm that represents his birth on Delos (Comacchio Painter, {{circa|450 BC}})

File:Egyptian - Large Amuletic Bead - Walters 42382 - Top View C.jpg|Monkey next to a palm, symbolizing the sun god's daily rising, on an Egyptian amuletic bead (ca. 1300 BC)

File:Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin 125.jpg|Stylized palms on the Ishtar Gate, Babylon (ca. 575 BC)

File:Durand Stone.jpg|Palm branch inscribed over Durand Stone. The stone dates back to the Kassite period (1600 BC — 1155  BC).

File:Tetradrachm Antimakhos Theos reverse CdM Paris.jpg|Poseidon holding a palm branch on the reverse of a tetradrachm of Antimachus I Theos, king of Bactria (2nd century BC)

File:Winner of a Roman chariot race.jpg|Victorious charioteer holding a palm branch on a Roman mosaic

File:Symmacho detalio in basso, British Museum.jpg|Symmachus bearing the palm of triumph over death (4th century)

File:Fourspecies.jpg of Montreal, Canada waving the Four Species during Hallel]]

In Judaism, the date palm (Lulav) is one of the Four Species used in the daily prayers on the feast of Sukkot. It is bound together with the hadass (myrtle), and aravah (willow). The MidrashVayikra Rabbah 30:2 explains that the lulav symbolises the victory of the Jewish people when they came before God in judgement on Rosh Hashanah. Additionally, the MidrashVayikra Rabbah 30:12 notes that the binding of the Four Species symbolizes the desire to unite the four "types" of Jews in service of God.

During the Roman Empire, the date palm represented Judaea and its fecundity to both Romans and Jews. Roman sources praise the date as the produce of the province. The date palm was a frequent image for Judaea on Imperial coinage, most notably on the Iudaea Capta series, when the typical military trophy is replaced by the palm. The palm appears also on at least one Hasmonean coin and on coinage issued in 38–39 AD by Herod Antipas. Palm ornaments are found also on Jewish ossuaries.{{cite book| first = Steven | last = Fine | chapter = Between Rome and Jerusalem: The Date Palm as 'Jewish Symbol' | title = Art And Judaism in the Greco-Roman World: Toward A New Jewish Archaeology | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2005 | pages= 140–145 | isbn = 978-0521145671}}

In 1965, Judean date palm seeds dated at around 2000 years old were recovered during excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada in Israel. In 2005, some of the seeds were planted. One grew and has been nicknamed "Methuselah".{{cite book| first = Deborah Bird | last = Rose | chapter = On the Spot: In the Red Center | title = The Face of the Earth: Natural Landscapes, Science, and Culture | publisher = University of California Press | year = 2011 | page= 209 | isbn = 978-0520269262 | editor= SueEllen Campbell}}

File:Meister der Palastkapelle in Palermo 002.jpg on a mosaic from Palermo, ca. 1150]]

File:05394 Palm Sunday in Sanok.JPG, Poland]]

File:900-101 Eberhard im Bart.jpg (1492). The Duke chose a palm as his personal symbol in commemoration of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1468 when he became a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.]]

In Christianity, the palm branches distributed during Palm Sunday services originate in the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul, as in the Palm Sunday festival celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Many churches of mainstream Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, Moravian and Reformed traditions, distribute palm branches to their congregations during their Palm Sunday services. Christians take these palms, which are often blessed by clergy, to their homes where they hang them alongside Christian art (especially crosses and crucifixes) or keep them in their Bibles or devotionals.{{cite web |last1=Kirk |first1=Lisa |title=Ideas for Displaying Palm Sunday Palms Around Your Home |url=https://blessedisshe.net/blog/palm-sunday-palms/ |publisher=Blessed Is She |access-date=4 April 2020 |language=en |date=25 March 2018}} In the period preceding next year's Lent, known as Shrovetide, churches often place a basket in their narthex to collect these palms, which are then ritually burned on Shrove Tuesday to make the ashes to be used on the following day, Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.{{cite web |title=This Sunday at Grace: February 4, 2018 |url=https://www.gracealex.org/news/sunday-grace-february-4-2018/ |publisher=Grace Episcopal Church |access-date=4 April 2020 |language=en |date=3 February 2018}}{{cite web |title=Shrove Tuesday |url=https://www.timesreporter.com/news/20200218/good-day |publisher=The Times-Reporter |access-date=4 April 2020 |language=en |date=18 February 2020}}

In Western Christian art, martyrs were often shown holding a palm frond as an attribute, representing the victory of spirit over flesh, and it was widely believed that a picture of a palm on a tomb meant that a martyr was buried there.{{cite encyclopedia | url= http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11432a.htm |date=1911|last =Hassett | first = M.|title=Palm in Christian Symbolism|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia}}

Origen calls the palm (In Joan, XXXI) the symbol of victory in that war waged by the spirit against the flesh. In this sense it was especially applicable to martyrs, the victors par excellence over the spiritual foes of mankind; hence the frequent occurrence in the Acts of the Martyrs of such expressions as "he received the palm of martyrdom." On 10 April 1688 it was decided by the Congregation of Rites that the palm when found depicted on catacomb tombs was to be regarded as a proof that a martyr had been interred there. Subsequently, this opinion was acknowledged by Mabillon, Muratori, Benedict XIV and others to be untenable; further investigation showed that the palm was represented not only on tombs of the post-persecution era, but even on tombs of those who did not practice Christianity.

The general significance of the palm on early Christian monuments is slightly modified according to its association with other symbols (e.g., with the monogram of Christ, the Ichthus (Fish), or the Good Shepherd). On some later monuments the palm was represented merely as an ornament separating two scenes. Palms also represented heaven, evidenced by ancient art often depicting Jesus in heaven among palms.

In the Middle Ages, pilgrims to the Holy Land would bring back palms for deposit at their home churches.{{cite web | url = http://www.gatewaytotheclassics.com/browse/display.php?author=tappan&book=bold&story=crusades | title= When Knights Were Bold | author = Eva March Tappan | publisher = gatewaytotheclassics.com | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041016033054/http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=tappan&book=bold&story=crusades | archive-date = 16 October 2004}} Crusaders would carry or wear an image of one, seen today in the Catholic Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which still awards a Palm of Jerusalem decoration. In addition, the Custody of the Holy Land, courtesy of the Catholic Church, bestows the Jerusalem Pilgrim's Cross on Catholic pilgrims to the city.

File:St. Stephen the Martyr (Omaha), chapel window 4, St Lawrence, detail.jpg|Saint Lawrence, holding a martyr's palm

File:Meister von San Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna 002.jpg|Procession of virgin martyrs bearing wreaths, with palms behind them (Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, before 526 AD)

File:Andrea del Sarto (da) - San Sebastiano che tiene due frecce e la palma del martirio.jpg|Saint Sebastian Holding Two Arrows and a Martyr's Palm by Andrea del Sarto (early 16th century)

File:Marten Pepijn - Madonna and Child adored by St Lawrence and St Martha.jpg|Saint Lawrence hands the Christ Child a palm branch (Maarten Pepyn, 1668)

File:OrdazPedroMartit.jpg|San Pedro Mártir, in the church of Santo Domingo Díaz Ordaz, Oaxaca, Mexico

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{{see also|Easter palm}}

File:Muhammad ibn Muhammad Shakir Ruzmah-'i Nathani - A Palm Tree - Walters W659219B - Full Page.jpg illustrator Muhammad ibn Muhammad Shakir Ruzmah-'i Nathani]]

The palm is richly significant in Islamic culture, and the palm symbolizes rest and hospitality in many cultures of the Middle East. The presence of palm trees around an oasis showed that water was the gift of Allah.{{sfn|Chase|1990|p=64}} In the Quran, the palm appears in the paradisical imagery of the Garden (Jannah).{{sfn|Rustomji|2009|p=43, 67}} In one prophetic tradition, the Dome of the Rock will stand on a palm tree issuing from one of the rivers of Paradise.{{sfn|Rustomji|2009|p=132}} Muhammad is said to have built his home out of palm,{{cite book | last = Gauding | first = Madonna | title= The Signs and Symbols Bible: The Definitive Guide to Mysterious Markings | year =2009 | publisher= Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. | page=289 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SImTll3uupIC&q=Muhammad+is+said+to+have+built+his+home+out+of+palm&pg=PA289| isbn = 9781402770043 }} to have leaned against a palm while speaking,{{cite book | first = Michael | last = Ipgrave | title = Bearing the Word: Prophecy in Biblical and Qur'ānic Perspective | publisher =Church House Publishing | year = 2005 | page = 103 | isbn = 978-0898694949}} and to have raised the first mosque as a roofed place with palm trees.{{cite book | first = Afif | last = Bahnassi | chapter =Art and Aesthetic Creativity | title =Culture and Learning in Islam | publisher = UNESCO Publishing | year = 2003 | pages = 549–568 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5naHA3N3tXoC&q=Art+and+Aesthetic+Creativity.+Culture+and+Learning+in+Islam&pg=PA549| isbn = 9789231039096 | editor= Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu }}{{rp|566}}

The first muezzin climbed palm trees to call the faithful to prayer, from which the minaret developed.{{sfn|Rustomji|2009|p=132}} In the Quran, Mary is said to have given birth to Jesus under a date palm.{{qref|19|16-34|b=y}}{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The New Encyclopedia of Islam | editor-first = Cyril | editor-last = Glassé | publisher = Stacey International | year = 2001 | edition = 2 | page = 297 | title = Sûrah XIX: 23, 25, 26, as cited by Chase, "The Date Palm"; entry on "Mary | isbn = 978-0742562967}}

In northern Sudan, the doum palm is the symbol of endurance (doum), particularly of the Muslim saint who gave his name to Wad Hamid.{{cite book | first = Johann Christoph | last = Bürgel | chapter = Islam Reflected in the Contemporary Literature of Muslim Peoples | title = Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society | publisher =Cornell University Press | year = 2010 | pages = 800–829 | editor1= Werner Ende | editor2= Udo Steinbach | isbn = 9780801464898}}{{rp|825}} The palm also appears on several coins from Islamic states, for example the 1 Tunisian dinar issue honoring the Food and Agriculture Organization from 1970,{{cite web |title=1 Dinar FAO |url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces1203.html |website=Numista |access-date=2020-03-03}} and several Iraqi coins of the 1970s like the 5 fils.{{cite web |title=5 Fils|url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces4180.html |website=Numista |access-date=2020-03-03}}

The Latin motto of Lord Nelson is Palmam qui meruit ferat, "Let him bear the palm who has deserved it".{{cite web |title=Viscount Lord Nelson's Arms |url=https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/6533.html |access-date=2020-03-26}} The motto has been adopted by numerous other organizations, including the University of Southern California.{{cite web |title=Motto |url=https://about.usc.edu/traditions/motto/ |website=USC |access-date=2020-02-23}}

Today, the palm, especially the coconut palm, is a symbol of a tropical island paradise.{{cite encyclopedia | url = http://www.plantapalm.com/vpe/introduction/vpe_introduction.htm | encyclopedia = Virtual Palm Encyclopedia | title = Introduction}} Palms appear on the flags and seals of several places where they are native, including those of Malta, Haiti, Paraguay, Guam, Florida, Poland, Australia and South Carolina.

The palm branch symbol is included in MUFI: ⸙ (2E19, 'Palm Branch' in Unicode).

In Arabic, the term Fog al-Nakhal ({{lang|ar|فوق النخل}}), which literally translates to "above the palm trees", is an idiom used to indicate euphoria, satisfaction or strong happiness.{{cite web |title=Arabic Song Lyrics and Translations |url=http://www.arabicmusictranslation.com/2009/09/above-palm-treesive-got-friend-above.html |access-date=2010-11-04 |date=2013-03-22}}

File:USF-I Logo.png|Combat patch for United States Forces – Iraq: the palm fronds are intended to represent peace and prosperity, below the Lamassu embodying Mesopotamian cultural heritage

File:Coat of arms of Malta.svg|Maltese coat of arms

File:Drnovice VY CZ flag.gif|Village flag of Drnovice, Czech Republic

File:Blason ville fr SaintEtienne (Loire).png|Coat of arms of Saint-Étienne, France

File:Coa_Slovakia_Town_Fülek.svg|Coat of arms of Fiľakovo, Slovakia

File:Matthias Alessandro Abondio rv.JPG|Medal of Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (early 1620s), with armed Victory holding a palm and embracing Prudence{{cite book | quote = Created by Alessandro Abondio. The motto in Latin is from Catullus 62.16, and reads Amat Victoria Curam, "Victory loves Prudence" | first = Karl | last = Domanig | title = Porträtmedaillen des Erzhauses Österreich von Kaiser Friedrich III. bis Kaiser Franz II | location = Vienna | year = 1896 | page = xix}}{{cite journal | first = Stuart | last = Atkins | title = Renaissance and Baroque Elements in Goethe's Faust: Illustrative Analogues | journal = Goethe Yearbook | publisher = Goethe Society of North America | year = 2002 | quote-page = 7 | quote = on the translation of cura as "prudence" rather than the more usual "care, concern" | pages= 1–26 | doi = 10.1353/gyr.2011.0014 | volume= 11| s2cid = 170265105 }}

File:Le Nain, Mathieu - Allégorie de la Victoire - c.1635.jpg|Allegory of Victory (ca. 1635), by Mathieu Le Nain: the "strangely grave and chastely immodest" Victory{{cite book| first1 = Keith | last1 = Christiansen | first2 = Judith W. | last2 = Mann | url = http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/13424 | title = Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi | publisher = Yale University Press | year = 2002 | page = 211}} holds a palm branch and tramples a figure variously identified as Deceit, Intrigue or Rebellion{{cite web | url = http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/allegory-victory | title = Allegory of Victory | work = Louvre| year = 1635 }}

File:Relief Traité Presbourg arc Carrousel Paris.jpg|Allegory of the Peace of Pressburg (1805), with the figure on the right holding a palm, on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

File:Army of India Medal rev.jpg|Army of India Medal (reverse), with palm tree in background, created 1851

File:War memorial, Lurgan - geograph.org.uk - 597941.jpg|Victorious Peace holding a palm branch, World War I memorial, Lurgan, Northern Ireland

{{Wide image|Flickr - USCapitol - Fame and Peace Crowning George Washington.jpg|700px|Bust of George Washington flanked by allegories of Peace holding a palm branch and Fame blowing a trumpet, marble relief (1959–60) by G. Gianetti, based on the 1827 sandstone original by Antonio Capellano, at the U.S. Capitol|box width|center|alt= }}

• {{cite conference | first = Holly | last = Chase | title = The Date Palm: Pillar of Society | work = Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1989: Staples | publisher = Prospect Books | year= 1990 | pages= 61–69 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=I15eJt6U3gMC&q=the+Date+Palm%3A+Pillar+of+Society.&pg=PA64| isbn = 9780907325444 | editor=Harlan Walker }}
• {{cite book | first = Nerina | last = Rustomji | title = The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture | publisher = Columbia University Press | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0231140850}}
• {{cite book| first = Guillermo Galán | last = Vioque | title = Martial, Book VII: A Commentary | translator = J.J. Zoltowski | publisher = Brill | year = 2002 | isbn =978-90-04-12338-0 | quote = Livy 10.47.3 }}

{{Reflist}}

• {{commonscat-inline|Palm fronds}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palm Branch (Symbol)}}

Category:Peace symbols

Category:Religious symbols

Category:Symbols of Abrahamic religions

Category:Palm trees in culture

Category:Iconography

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