Symbols of Liberty
America's Statue of Liberty bears a torch and tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence. The satue was designed in the late nineteenth century by Frenchmen Edouard Rene de Laboulaye and Frederic Bartholdi, who were inspired by Libertas, the goddess of freedom, who was worshipped in ancient Rome. Liberty was not the only popular symbol of America at the same time: the figure of Columbia had already supplanted a Native American princess as a symbol.
The mythical Britannia is a man-made legend created to unify the English, Welsh, Scottish and the Irish in the seventeenth century. First mooted as a symbol under the reign of Elizabeth I, Britannia was revived under the leadership of Queen Victoria. Britain is depicted as a young woman holding Poseidon's three-pronged trident representing naval power.
Marianne (seen holding the French flag) is a symbol of liberty and reason in France. First mooted during the French revolution, she became a potent symbol of republicanism and breaking with traditions of king-led authority. In depictions of Marianne in the nineteenth century, she bore a remarkable resemblance to America's Statue of Liberty.
Anthropomorphic representations of Norway became increasingly popular in traditional poetry in the eighteenth century. Sentiment linking Norway's natural landscape to national identity through the mother figure became increasingly popular, such as this postcard made in 1905. Mor Norge, or Mother Norway, has blond hair and carries a coat of arms to signify a blood lineage to the country.
During India's independence struggle against Britain, patriots seeking symbols for Indian nationhood tried to elevate Bharat Mata into a pukka Hindu deity. The effort, despite influence from Western fabrications such as Britannia and America's Statue of Liberty, did not take off. Her iconography remained vague. Was she accompanied by a lion, or a map of India? Several temples were dedicated to the would-be goddess, including one opened in 1936 by Mahatma Gandi himself.
The mythical Britannia is a man-made legend created to unify the English, Welsh, Scottish and the Irish in the seventeenth century. First mooted as a symbol under the reign of Elizabeth I, Britannia was revived under the leadership of Queen Victoria. Britain is depicted as a young woman holding Poseidon's three-pronged trident representing naval power.
Marianne (seen holding the French flag) is a symbol of liberty and reason in France. First mooted during the French revolution, she became a potent symbol of republicanism and breaking with traditions of king-led authority. In depictions of Marianne in the nineteenth century, she bore a remarkable resemblance to America's Statue of Liberty.
Anthropomorphic representations of Norway became increasingly popular in traditional poetry in the eighteenth century. Sentiment linking Norway's natural landscape to national identity through the mother figure became increasingly popular, such as this postcard made in 1905. Mor Norge, or Mother Norway, has blond hair and carries a coat of arms to signify a blood lineage to the country.
During India's independence struggle against Britain, patriots seeking symbols for Indian nationhood tried to elevate Bharat Mata into a pukka Hindu deity. The effort, despite influence from Western fabrications such as Britannia and America's Statue of Liberty, did not take off. Her iconography remained vague. Was she accompanied by a lion, or a map of India? Several temples were dedicated to the would-be goddess, including one opened in 1936 by Mahatma Gandi himself.
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