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The human skull is an obvious and frequent symbol of death, found in many cultures and religious traditions. [ 1] Human skeletons and sometimes non-human animal skeletons and skulls can also be used as blunt images of death; the traditional figures of the Grim Reaper – a black-hooded skeleton with a scythe – is one use of such symbolism. [ 2]
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus † is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. [ 1] The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). [ 2] It is one of the modern descendants of the obelus, a mark used historically by scholars as a critical or ...
A symbol invented by John Dee, alchemist and astrologer at the court of Elizabeth I of England. It represents (from top to bottom): the moon; the sun; the elements; and fire. Ouroboros: Ancient Egypt and Persia, Norse mythology: A serpent or dragon consuming its own tail, it is a symbol of infinity, unity, and the cycle of death and rebirth ...
In classical Athens, it was used as an abbreviation for the Greek θάνατος (Thanatos, "death") and as it vaguely resembles a human skull, [5] theta was used as a warning symbol of death, in the same way that skull and crossbones are used in modern times. [5] It survives on potsherds used by Athenians when voting for the death penalty. [5]
A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two long bones crossed together under or behind the skull. [ 1] The design originated in the Late Middle Ages as a symbol of death and especially as a memento mori on tombstones. In modern contexts, it is generally used as a hazard symbol, usually in regard to poisonous ...
A common term for the personification of death across Latin America is "la Parca" ("The Robe"), a figure similar to the Anglophone Grim Reaper, though usually depicted as female and without a scythe. In Aztec mythology, Mictecacihuatl is the " Queen of Mictlan " (the Aztec underworld ), ruling over the afterlife with her husband Mictlantecuhtli ...
Azrael (/ ˈ æ z r i. ə l,-r eɪ-/; Hebrew: עֲזַרְאֵל, romanized: ʿǍzarʾēl, 'God has helped'; [2] Arabic: عزرائيل, romanized: ʿAzrāʾīl or ʿIzrāʾīl) is the canonical angel of death in Islam, [3] and appears in the apocryphal text Apocalypse of Peter.
Totenkopf ( German: [ˈtoːtn̩ˌkɔpf], i.e. skull, literally "dead person's head") is the German word for skull. The word is often used to denote a figurative, graphic or sculptural symbol, common in Western culture, consisting of the representation of a human skull – usually frontal, more rarely in profile with or without the mandible.