Why do Symbols Matter in New Acropolis?
If you have ever visited a museum about past and ancient cultures, you may have noticed something. Almost all of the artifacts - whether artistic, legal, or mundane - are decorated by symbols.
The image of the Babylonian Hammurabi code - a copy of which is presented at the Institute of Study of Ancient Cultures here in Chicago - comes to mind. Above the legal text written in cuneiform, there is a carving of the king standing before the seated god Shamash, who is holding a rod and a ring - traditional symbols of kingship. Shamash is also wearing a strange four layered crown and has what seems to be wings coming out of his back.
Clearly an image full of symbols.
But why would a collection of laws require such an image? Our legal documents rarely contain anything else than legalese - there is not much art in a rental agreement.
The image on Hammurabi’s stele is not merely decoration. The symbols on it communicate something that the laws alone cannot: justice is presented as more than the will of a powerful ruler. It belongs to a greater moral and cosmic order, and the king’s authority is legitimate only insofar as it serves that order.
The stele therefore speaks in two languages. The written laws explain what people must or must not do; the symbolic image expresses the source, purpose, and meaning of those laws.
In fact, it is not the Hammurabi code that is exceptional in its symbolic depictions, but rather our own objects which lack them. Throughout human history, symbols have been part of every aspect of life, symbols whose goal was to connect everyday reality with a metaphysical one; symbols meant to transmit images and ideas that cannot be simply put into words.
Human beings have always used symbols to connect visible realities with invisible meanings. A crown is more than an ornamental object; it represents an authority that comes from above. A road can represent the path of life with its meanderings and pitfalls. Light may signify knowledge, hope, or the presence of the sacred.
Unlike an ordinary sign, a symbol cannot be completely translated into a single definition. A stop sign communicates one clear instruction. A symbol, however, may contain several related meanings and invite us to reflect upon them. It speaks not only to the intellect but also to the imagination, memory, and emotions.
The German Jewish philosopher Ernst Cassirer therefore argued that the human being should not be defined only as animal rationale - the rational animal - but also as animal symbolicum: the symbolic animal. Human beings inhabit a world shaped by language, art, myth, religion, history, and science. All these rely upon symbols through which we interpret reality and give form to our experience.
The historian of religions Mircea Eliade, who taught for many years at the University of Chicago, later developed the idea of the homo symbolicus - the symbolic human being. He observed that, in traditional societies, symbols connected ordinary actions, places, and objects with a transcendent dimension of life. A mountain could become an image of spiritual ascent; a tree could unite heaven and earth; and the building of a home or temple could reflect the creation of the cosmos.
Symbols allowed the everyday world to become transparent to a deeper reality.
Modern Western societies sometimes regard symbols with suspicion. After World War 2 and the destructive use made of symbols by the National Socialists in Germany and the Fascists in Italy, symbols have gradually become associated with authoritarian tyrannies and mass manipulation. These political movements demonstrated that symbols could be used to manipulate emotions, create blind conformity, and divide humanity into “us” and “them.”
But the misuse of symbols does not make symbolic thought itself dangerous. Language, science, technology, and political ideals can also be misused; we do not therefore abandon them.
But despite its suspicion, modern society has not abandoned symbols completely, but rather relegated them out of the political sphere, to more acceptable spheres - marketing brands and tattoo drawings are some prominent examples. But they are still an essential aspect of our everyday lives.
Symbolic imagination perhaps finds its most powerful expression today on the cinema screen. Superman, for example, is not merely a powerful fictional being; he can represent hope, moral responsibility, and the ideal of using strength in the service of others. The Lord of the Rings is not only a fantasy adventure; it gives symbolic form to questions of temptation, friendship, sacrifice, corruption, and courage.
Why We Use Symbols at New Acropolis
At New Acropolis, we study philosophy not only as an intellectual subject but as a way of life. For that reason, rational explanation is essential - but it is not always sufficient.
Ideas such as justice, dignity, unity, sacrifice, wisdom, and inner transformation can be defined, but no definition can exhaust their meaning. Symbols allow us to contemplate these ideas from different perspectives and gradually relate them to our own experience.
We therefore use several symbols in connection with our philosophical studies. These include the general symbol of New Acropolis, our scholastic symbol - associated with our course of studies - and other traditional images drawn from the philosophical and cultural heritage of humanity. Their meanings are not intended to be secret, magical, or accepted through unquestioning belief. They are explained openly and studied as tools for reflection.
A symbol also does not replace reason. Properly used, it gives reason something deeper to contemplate. It brings together thought and imagination, allowing an idea to be not only understood intellectually but also remembered, experienced, and applied.
Symbols may no longer occupy the same public place that they held in many ancient societies, but they remain an essential dimension of human experience. They remind us that reality cannot always be reduced to what can be measured or expressed literally. They help us approach the intangible realities that give direction and meaning to life.
We use symbols because philosophy concerns the whole human being - and the human being is not only rational, but symbolic.
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