Thunderbolt

A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hellenic representations of Zeus and Vedic descriptions of the vajra wielded by the god Indra. It may have been a symbol of cosmic order, as expressed in the fragment from Heraclitus describing "the Thunderbolt that steers the course of all things".[1]

In its original usage the word may also have been a description of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies, as Plato suggested in Timaeus,[2] or, according to Victor Clube, meteors,[3] though this is not currently the case. As a divine manifestation the thunderbolt has been a powerful symbol throughout history, and has appeared in many mythologies. Drawing from this powerful association, the thunderbolt is often found in military symbolism and semiotic representations of electricity.

Lightning plays a role in many mythologies, often as the weapon of a sky god and weather god. As such, it is an unsurpassed method of dramatic instantaneous retributive destruction: thunderbolts as divine weapons can be found in many mythologies.

The name "thunderbolt" or "thunderstone" has also been traditionally applied to the fossilised rostra of belemnoids. The origin of these bullet-shaped stones was not understood, and thus a mythological explanation of stones created where a lightning struck has arisen.[6]

The thunderbolt or lightning bolt continues into the modern world as a prominent symbol; it has entered modern heraldry and military iconography.

Cranston High School East in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Mica Mountain High School in Vail, Arizona.

It is also the mascot of Northmont High School, in Clayton Ohio.

Typical cartoon representations of thunderbolts (lightning bolts)

Thunderbolts represented on the Royal Engineers' Ensign

Modern renditions of the thunderbolt surrounding the classical design

Vulcan forging the thunderbolts of Jupiter (by Pieter Paul Rubens)

Thunderbolt through circle used as squatters' symbol

Thunderbolt through circle in the Union of Bulgarian National Legions (SBNL) emblem

Opel's logo represents thunderbolt