Afive-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concavedecagon, is a commonideogram in modern culture.Comparatively rare in classicalheraldry, it was notably introduced for theflag of the United States in theFlag Act of 1777 and since has become widely used in flags.
It has also become a symbol of fame or "stardom" in Western culture, among other uses.
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Sopdet, the Egyptian personification of the starSirius, is always shown with the five-pointed star hieroglyph on her head.
The five-pointed star is the oldest symbol ofItaly.Venus (once considered astar instead of aplanet) represented theWest and was, inClassical mythology, the symbol of theItalian peninsula, which was western toGreece.
The star (ormullet) is comparatively rare in medieval heraldry, but from an early time, the five-pointed star was preferred in English and Scottish heraldry (e.g. in theDering Roll, c. 1270), while the preferred number of points in German heraldry was six.[1]
The star in the coat of arms of theDe Vere family was in legend attributed to theFirst Crusade, when "a white star [...] did light and arrest upon the standard ofAubre de Vere".The de Vere star is notorious in English history, because in theBattle of Barnet in 1471, the star badge of theEarl of Oxford was mistaken for thesun badge ofEdward IV by theEarl of Warwick, so that he erroneously attacked his own ally, losing the battle, which probably changed the outcome of the entireWar of the Roses.[2]
The five-pointed stars on theflag of the United States were introduced in theFlag Act of 1777. The Flag Act did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement.[3] Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star, in a circle or in rows and some replaced a state's star with its initial.[4] One arrangement features 13 five-pointed stars arranged in a circle, with the stars arranged pointing outwards from the circle (as opposed to up), the so-calledBetsy Ross flag. The American flag shown in the paintingSurrender of Lord Cornwallis byJohn Trumbull (c. 1820, depicting an event of 1781) shows twelve stars arranged along the outline of a rectangle with an additional star in the center.[5]
Five-pointed stars became more frequently used in the 19th century.Thecoat of arms of Valais, adopted for theRhodanic Republic (1802), was designed with twelve five-pointed stars.Theflag of Chile, introduced in 1817, has a single five-pointed star known asLa Estrella Solitaria (The Lone Star). The similarflag of Texas was introduced in 1839.Thestar and crescent used by theOttoman Empire was shown with an eight-pointed stars in early forms (18th century), but was changed to a five-pointed star in theofficial flag in 1844.Numerous other national or regional flags adopted five-pointed star designs in the later 19th to early 20th century, includingVenezuela (1859),Honduras (1866),Puerto Rico (1895),Philippines (1898),Cuba (1902),Panama (1925),Jordan (1928) andPakistan (1947). TheFlag of Minnesota and1901 Maine Flag both utilized the 5-pointed design.
In 19th century the five-pointed star, which has always representedItaly, is on the copper centscoins ofVittorio Emanuele IIking of Italy. Even today we find the five-pointed star in the emblem of theItalian Republic.
The five-pointed star also came to be widely used in military badges in the 19th century. A red star was used as the badge ofXII Corps of theUnion Army in theAmerican Civil War, whileVII Corps used a five-pointed starin a crescent. In 1916, a five-pointed red star was used by theU.S. Army Signal Corps' aviation section.[6]
The U.S. tradition ofbarnstars, decorative five-pointed stars attached to buildings, appears to have arisen inPennsylvania after the Civil War, and became widespread by the 1930s.[7]
The Swiss1 and 2 francs coins introduced in 1874–5 showed the figure ofHelvetia surrounded by 22 stars, enumerating theSwiss cantons (in 1983 changed to 23 stars to reflect the creation of thecanton of Jura).
The green five-pointed star used as asymbol of Esperanto was first proposed in 1890.
The five-pointedRed Star as a symbol ofcommunism was adopted during theRussian Civil War of 1917–1922, but its exact origin is unclear. The red star was featured on the state emblem of theSoviet Union since 1923 and has been in use inNorth Korea since 1948. Another variant is a yellow (golden) star on red background, as on the state emblem ofVietnam (1945) and thePeople's Republic of China (1949), as well as on the flags of most Communist countries. In the 1930s, red luminescentKremlin stars were installed on five towers of theMoscow Kremlin, replacing gilded eagles that had symbolizedImperial Russia. Since then, it is customary to install similarly looking red stars atopNew Year trees in the Soviet Union, a tradition that continues to this day in Russia.
In theEmblem of Italy, adopted in 1947, the five-pointed star represents the "Star of Italy".
TheFlag of Europe, designed in 1955 on behalf of theCouncil of Europe (CoE) and adopted by theEuropean Communities in 1985 (and thus inherited as the flag of theEuropean Union upon its creation in 1993) has a circle of twelveyellow (gold)stars on ablue (azure) field.[8]
The use of "star" for theatrical lead performers dates to 1824, giving rise to the concept of "stardom" in the film industry. TheHollywood Walk of Fame, where famous entertainers are honored with pinkterrazzo five-pointed stars alongHollywood Boulevard, was introduced in 1958.[9]
Inassociation football, there is a tradition of usingfive-pointed stars in team badges to represent victories. The first team to adopt such a star wasJuventus, in 1958, to represent their tenth Italian Football Championship andSerie A title.[10] The star was later formally adopted by some organisations as a symbol for ten titles, and the ratio of one star for ten titles has become the most common arrangement.[11]
Five-pointed stars may be used on elevators to indicate the ground level or lobby of a building.
They are also used on various police, fire, and paramedic badges.
TheStella d'Italia ("Star of Italy"), popularly known asStellone d'Italia ("Great Star of Italy"),[13] is a five-pointed white star, which has symbolizedItaly for many centuries. It is the oldestnational symbol of Italy, since it dates back toGraeco-Roman mythology[12] whenVenus, associated with the West as an evening star, was adopted to identify theItalian peninsula. From an allegorical point of view, theStella d'Italiametaphorically represents the shining destiny of Italy.[14]
In the early 16th century it began to be frequently associated withItalia turrita, thenational personification of the Italian peninsula. TheStella d'Italia was adopted as part of theemblem of Italy in 1947, where it is superimposed on a steelcogwheel, all surrounded by anoak branch and anolive branch. From anallegorical point of view, the Star of Italy metaphorically represents the shining destiny of Italy.[14] Its unifying value is equal to that of theflag of Italy.[12] In 1947, theStella d'Italia was inserted at the center of theemblem of Italy, which was designed by Paolo Paschetto and which is the iconic symbol identifying theItalian State.[15]
The Italian Star is also recalled by some honors. The Italian Star is recalled by theColonial Order of the Star of Italy, decoration of theKingdom of Italy which was intended to celebrate theItalian Empire, as well as by theOrder of the Star of Italian Solidarity, the first decoration established byRepublican Italy, which was replaced in 2011 by the Order of the Star of Italy, second civil honorary title in importance of the Italian State.[16] The Star of Italy is also recalled by the stars worn on the collars ofItalian military uniforms and appears on thefigurehead of theItalian Navy. In the civil sphere, the Italian Star is the central symbol of the emblem of theClub Alpino Italiano.[17]
The symbolism of a star associated with Italy first appeared in the writings of the ancient Greek poetStesicoro, from whom it passed on to poets such asVirgil. The oldestnational symbol of Italy,[12] it originated from the combination ofVenus, as an evening star, with the West[18] and therefore with the Italian peninsula, one of which wasEsperia, or "land of Hesperus, the star of the Evening consecrated to Venus".[18][19] This symbolism was already attested inarchaic Greek literature, in 6th century BC by the poetStesichorus, in the poemIliupersis (Fall of Troy) that created the legend ofAeneas which described his return to the land of his ancestors (Italy) after the defeat ofTroy, under the leadership of Venus.[12]
As a symbol or emblem, the five-pointed star, ormullet of five points, arises from classical heraldry, and it shares none of the esoteric or occult associations given to thepentagram, or "Seal of Solomon", since at least theRenaissance period.
The two emblems are frequently associated, or identified, in contemporaryconspiracy theories, especially referencing the use of five-pointed stars in the flags of theUnited States andEuropean Union.[20]
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Unicode provides various Five-pointed Star Symbol:[21][22]
| Symbol | Name | Code point |
|---|---|---|
| ٭ | Arabic five-pointed star[a] | U+066D |
| 🌟 | Glowing Star | U+1F31F |
| 🌠 | Shooting Star | U+1F320 |
| ⁎ | Low asterisk | U+204E |
| ≛ | Star Equals | U+225B |
| ⋆ | Star Operator | U+22C6 |
| ⍟ | APL functional Symbol Circle Star | U+235F |
| ⍣ | APL functional Symbol Star diaeresis | U+2363 |
| ★ | Black Star | U+2605 |
| ☆ | White Star | U+2606 |
| ☪ | star and crescent | U+262A |
| ⚝ | outlined white star | U+269D |
| ⛤ | Pentagram | U+26E4 |
| ⛥ | Right-Handed Interlaced Pentagram | U+26E5 |
| ⛦ | Left-Handed Interlaced Pentagram | U+26E6 |
| ⛧ | Inverted Pentagram | U+26E7 |
| ✩ | Stress Outlined White Star | U+2729 |
| ✪ | Circled White Star | U+272A |
| ✫ | Open Center Black Star | U+272B |
| ✬ | Black Center White Star | U+272C |
| ✭ | Outlined Black Star | U+272D |
| ✮ | Heavy Outlined Black Star | U+272E |
| ✯ | Pinwheel Star | U+272F |
| ✰ | Shadowed White Star | U+2730 |
| ⭐ | White Medium Star | U+2B50 |
| ⭑ | Black Small Star | U+2B51 |
| ⭒ | White Small Star | U+2B52 |
| ＊ | Full Width Asterisk | U+FF0A |
| 🟉 | Light Five Pointed Black Star | U+1F7C9 |
| 🟊 | Heavy Five Pointed Black Star | U+1F7CA |
Just one day after arriving, on March 16, 1916, the first reconnaissance flight was flown by Capt. Dodd with Capt. Foulois (as an observer) on the Curtiss JN-3 S.C. No. 43. As with all of the Army's aircraft in that era, the plane carried simple markings – ared star on the tail and the large number 43 painted on the sides of the fuselage.
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