Dictionary of Symbolism

by Hans Biedermann

Explains the meanings for more than two thousand symbols from mythology, fairy tales, religion, literature, history, and archaeology

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Mythology, History, Design, Research, Occult

Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[ɱιʅʅιҽ]

Another compendium of symbols, another cherished resource in my library! Less erudite than the Penguin edition, but great in other ways. The careful inclusion of visuals renders it perfect to flip through, enchanted, until something catches the eye. This serendipity is great for artist and writers block :D The bounds and heaps of knowledge encapsulated within this sweet little book makes me excited just thinking about it. Must have for dreamers, artists, and all people of the world -

[Gretchen]

Information rich, but picture poor, which is kind of a bummer in a book about symbols. I can't seem to find a great definitive book on symbolism; I use three books concurrently when I am doing research. But this one is the backbone.

[Randy Wilson]

I have become fascinated by the power of symbols and how flexible yet deeply meaningful they can be in our lives. This book contains nearly a thousand symbols and does a great job tracking their meanings and origins. Most symbols are explained by multiple belief systems which often assign them different even contradictory meanings. Mr. Biedermann typically provides one to three succinct paragraphs on a symbol though common or popular ones can take up two or three pages.

The book also includes lots of drawings often multiple representations of the same symbol to show their variety. It is often the visual cues that strike a cord and communicate an otherworldly resonance. Some belief systems such as Christianity or Islam are obvious but I didn’t realize how many symbols heraldry and freemasonry have generated.

[Isabel clare]

Not cover to cover but I’ve been using this a ref for symbolism in greek myths a lot lately and it’s v good

[Francesca]

Non credo si possano dare le "stelle" a una Garzantina, o, almeno, questa è una mia convinzione, "superstizione" forse?: è un testo specifico, rivolto a chi è appassionato, interessato a quell'argomento... è come un libro di testo... a me piacciono Le Garzantine, le trovo accurate e ben fatte, immediate, di semplice fruizione, riassuntive senza essere superficiali e approssimative. Prevedono una base di partenza, ovviamente, ma, certo, chi se le compra, come ho fatto io, è perché vuole approfondire il tema che trattano, perciò, più o meno, sa cosa l'aspetta. Ho usato molto questo testo, l'ho letto con curiosità e piacere e sono soddisfatta. Ecco tutto.

[Helene Harrison]

ISBN? - 9781853263910

General Subject/s? - English / Language / Symbolism / History

Title? - A breakdown of different common symbols and their meanings.

General Analysis? - Obviously there are countless symbols that could be included in a book like this, but the selection in here is wide-ranging and several suggestions are given for the meaning of each thing.

Recommend? – Yes, a great little reference book.

[Darren]

An enriching and entertaining reference book for anyone who has wondered what the cultural significances and symbolic meanings of animals, plants, colors, numbers, places, things.

[Steig]

as reference, used often

[Shannon]

I know; I'm weird. I'm reading this entire book.

[Jose Soto]

So far so good. Its been useful, writing a research paper on papal symbolism...... veri interesting II

[david]

very comprehensive, but incorrect or misleading in a few places. especially concerning their references to freemasonry.

[Yoru]

( it was not in German that i read it but the French Edition in Goodreads is missing ^^))

It was really well detailed and complete information , and it really help me for my memoir !

[Molly Vaughan]

Great reference book

[Kristina]

I still dip into this one occasionally though i finished it long ago (I just suck at updating GoodReads) some really interesting etymologies are within.