FROM THE NEAR EAST CIVILIZATIONS TO CONTEMPORARY ART: THE SYMBOLS OF HORN, MOON AND SUN

Vildan IŞIK ŞEN¹*, Pınar PINARCIK², Güzin BİLİR^3
1Asst. Prof. Dr. Duzce University, TURKEY, vildansen@duzce.edu.tr
²Asst. Prof. Dr. Duzce University, TURKEY, pinarpinarcik@duzce.edu.tr
³PhD Candidate, Uludag University, TURKEY, guzinbilir@hotmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract

In this study, gods and goddesses, which is defined and visualized by horn, moon and sun symbols frequently encountered in many different cultures from Near East civilizations to today period and their reflection on the contemporary art are examined. The research consists of two main parts: The first part; Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Greek, Roman and Byzantine of important gods and goddess figures are chosen. These examples are especially limited to Inanna-Dumuzzi, Astarte-Marduk, Isis-Osiris, Helios-Selene, Apollon-Artemis, Aphrodite-Adonis and Mary-Child Jesus, which are linked to concepts of abundance, fertility, power, fertility and rebirth. In the second part, it is emphasized how and why horn, moon and sun symbols take place in contemporary art. In this context, samples from the works of Damien Hirst from England and Ahmet Güneştekin from Turkey, which use the mentioned symbols, are chosen. In addition to this, the similarities and differences between the beliefs mentioned above and the works of these artists have been tried to be noted. This interdisciplinary study based on written and visual source research shows that; god and goddess have maintained their existence for thousands of years in various cultures, with different names and forms. It is also possible to say that these are basically the same god and goddess, which is the origin of each other. The contemporary art samples of horn, moon and sun symbols are artistic displays of how beliefs of thousands of years the past have been conveyed to today.

Keywords: God and goddess, symbols of horn moon and sun, Damien Hirst, Ahmet Güneştekin