Would you rather wear a deity’s image or a subtle symbol associated with them?
Something else I’ve noticed while reading through the responses to my Greek mythology jewelry survey:
A lot of people seem to want symbolism that feels meaningful without necessarily being obvious.
One response described it like this:
“Subtle symbols on the jewellery itself from the myth or of the god that inspired it, like a little red pomegranate fruit on a bracelet to represent Persephone.”
And it made me wonder where everyone falls on this.
When wearing jewelry connected to a Greek deity, would you rather have:
A. A direct representation
A portrait, figure, name or immediately recognizable depiction of the deity.
B. A recognizable symbol
Athena’s owl, Poseidon’s trident, Zeus’ thunderbolt, Artemis’ bow…
C. Something more subtle
A plant, animal, stone, object or motif associated with the deity that might not be recognizable to everyone, but has meaning to you.
Personally, I find the third approach fascinating from a design perspective.
There’s something special about wearing a piece that doesn’t necessarily announce its meaning to everyone who sees it.
You know what it represents. And that can be enough.
It also opens up so many possibilities beyond the symbols we see repeatedly in mythology-inspired jewelry.
Which would you actually prefer to wear: A, B or C?
And if you choose C, tell me the deity + subtle symbol you’d pick. I’d love to see what associations people personally gravitate towards.
I’m exploring questions like this while developing APHRES, a contemporary jewelry project inspired by Greek mythology and Hellenic symbolism.
If you’re interested in Greek mythology, Hellenic Polytheism or related pagan traditions, I’m also still collecting responses to my anonymous 2-minute research survey:
🔗 https://form.typeform.com/to/oUF4UxXu
