Thunderbolt And Lightning: The Divine Spark That Shaped History
For millennia the phenomenon of lightning has been shrouded in mystery, inspiring much fascination by humans, who for the longest time lived outdoors in the shadows of these cosmic blasts of light. Modern humans have knowledge of lighting’s true nature and are able to balance its irregular flows that link water laden clouds with the earth. This powerful and threatening natural wonder, capable of exploding trees and setting crops alight, which has not yet been harnessed, scorched its legacy on world religion, mythology and folklore many thousands of years ago.
Statue of an anonymous male deity brought to Louis XIV, restored as Zeus by Pierre Granier (1686) (Public Domain)
Modern Symbol Of Power
Today the thunderbolt is a universal electrical symbol and used as a logo, by rock bands such as the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, to notorious fascist organizations such as the Schutzstaffel, the British Union of Fascists, and the Union of Bulgarian National Legions (SBNL). In pop culture the thunderbolt symbol is featured on the chests of the costumes worn by Captain Marvel, the Flash, Black Lightning, and Static and in the Marvel Universe the thunderbolt is the symbol seen on the torso of the costumes worn by Electro, Quicksilver, Black Bolt. Its association with power is the reason the thunderbolt is also a prominent symbol in modern heraldry and military iconography.
