Perhaps the most common Pre-Christian symbol still in use today, is the round, whirling symbol of eternity. In Armenia it is found everywhere, in architecture; on doors, walls and on tombstones. It can also be found as part of various logotypes including the Dashnaktsutyun Party. Though it is said to mean eternity it also resembles the sun, and is probably connected to the ancient sun-worship, from which also the swastika and other sun-like symbols derive. Interestingly, the whirling symbol also bears some resemblance to cyclones or depictions of black holes in space. The earliest roots of round whirling sun-like symbols in the Armenian Highland are rock inscriptions from the Stone Age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The traditional Coat of Arms consisted of a shield or banner or varied forms, having the stylistic representation of a dragon Ñ a legendary and totemic animal of multiple symbolic significance. Also included on the Coat of Arms were the unicorn, tortoise and phoenix. Together, they make up the quartet of the traditional motifs and emblems of Viet Nam.

The Dragon. The Dragon ("Long") is a fabulous beast which the Vietnamese mythology represents with the head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a fish, ears of a buffalo, body and neck of a snake, scales of a carp, claws of an eagle, and feet of a tiger. A long barb hangs on each side of its mouth, and a precious stone shines brilliantly on its tongue. The summit of its head is decorated with a protuberance which is a sign of great intelligence. Finally, it has a crest of 81 scales running the entire length of its backbone. A dragon is said to breathe a kind of smoke which can be transformed at will into fire or water. It lives with equal ease in the sky, in the water, or underground. It is immortal and does not reproduce, because the number of dragons always increases with the metamorphosis of the ."Giao Long", which are fabulous reptilesÑhalf lizard and half snake Ñ that automatically become dragons after ten centuries of existence.

Despite its awesome appearance, the dragon does not incarnate the spirit of evil, and the Vietnamese have always considered the dragon as a symbol of power and nobility. That is why the dragon was chosen as the special symbol of the emperors. The emperor was considered to be the son of Heaven. The dragon having five claws was found on the official dress of the emperor, and the dragon having four claws decorated the official dress of high dignitaries of the Royal Court.