# Trying to find mention of the use of the swastika in ancient Palestine/Israel **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 28, 2016, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262 "2016-11-28T07:54:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262/1 "2016-11-28T07:54:50Z")
Hi I know I read somewhere or saw it online but now come up with nothing reliable concerning the ancient use of the swastika in ancient Palestine/Israel. Was there any use of it in ancient synagogues? I look forward to your feedback. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262/2 "2016-11-28T08:05:32Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > Hi > I know I read somewhere or saw it online but now come up with nothing reliable concerning the ancient use of the swastika in ancient Palestine/Israel. Was there any use of it in ancient synagogues? I look forward to your feedback. Found it. > **[Ein Gedi](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ein-gedi)** > > Encyclopedia of Jewish and Israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from anti-Semitism to Zionism. The Synagogue The synagogue at Ein Gedi dates from the Roman-Byzantine period, but it underwent several changes in the course of its use. When first built at the beginning of the 3rd century, it was a modest, trapezoidal structure. In its northern wall, facing Jerusalem, were two openings. The floor was of simple white mosaic with a swastika pattern in black tesserae in the center. This pattern has been interpreted as a decorative motif or as a good luck symbol. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262/3 "2016-11-28T08:23:38Z")
Looks backwards. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262/4 "2016-11-28T09:39:37Z")
The swastika is an ancient Indian sacred symbol, in use from at least 1000BC. As far as I know there was not much use in the west before modern times, but some influence was always moving between India and the Middle East along with trade. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262/5 "2016-11-28T17:13:55Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > The swastika is an ancient Indian sacred symbol, in use from at least 1000BC. As far as I know there was not much use in the west before modern times, but some influence was always moving between India and the Middle East along with trade. In India, the swastika meant pretty much what the wheel means on the flag of India today: it’s a symbol of the “circle of life,” of the eternal cycles of the world. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, then a new Spring… Birth, growth, life, death, re-birth… ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262/6 "2016-11-28T18:13:01Z")
The Wikipedia article is a good place to trace this ancient symbol through [many](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika) cultures. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-mention-of-the-use-of-the-swastika-in-ancient-palestine-israel/773262/7 "2016-11-28T22:55:38Z")
For example, there’s a ancient swastika carved into the stairway up to the Potala palace in Lhasa, Tibet. I suspect you’ll see that more in India and surroundings than in the middle east. I also recall a native American design from the 1800’s using a swastika - Navajo or some such. its a fairly simple design. (And a building somewhere in the USA that was altered when Google Earth came along, since from above it looked like a swastika… Oops.)