Athunderbolt, orlightning bolt, is a symbolic representation oflightning. It appears variously in history, literature, and in contemporary warnings of (typicallyhigh-voltage) electricity. Thunderbolts may appear naturally among the estimated 8.6 million lightning strikes per day[1] or not:heat lightning is an electrical discharge in the atmosphere without an accompanying sound, and aTesla coil produces an artificial "lightning"-like electrical discharge with an accompanying clap. The term "thunderbolt" adds the notion of a loudthunderclap accompanying a lightning flash, while the term "lightning bolt" — which refers directly to the electrical discharge — does not.
In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the'Sky Father'; this association is also found in laterHellenic representations ofZeus andVedic descriptions of thevajra wielded by the godIndra. It may have been a symbol of cosmic order, as expressed in the fragment fromHeraclitus describing "the Thunderbolt that steers the course of all things".[2]
In its original usage the word may also have been a description of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies, asPlato suggested inTimaeus,[3] or, according toVictor Clube, meteors,[4] though this is not currently the case. As a divine manifestation the thunderbolt has been a powerful symbol throughout history, and has appeared in manymythologies. Drawing from this powerful association, the thunderbolt is often found in military symbolism andsemiotic representations of electricity.
Zeus' head and thunderbolt on a coin fromEpirus, 234 BC.The thunderbolt pattern with aneagle on a coin fromOlympia, Greece, 432-c.421 BC.Zeus' head and thunderbolt on a coin fromCapua,Campania, 216-211 BC.Ptolemaic coin showing theEagle of Zeus, holding a thunderboltNeo-Attic bas-relief sculpture ofJupiter, holding a thunderbolt in his right hand; detail from theMoncloaPuteal (Roman, 2nd century), National Archaeological Museum, Madrid
Depictions of lightning have appeared throughout history, and religions and mythologies. Often it is the weapon of asky god andweather god. As such, it is an unsurpassed method of dramatic instantaneous retributive destruction: thunderbolts as divine weapons can be found in many mythologies.
in theTorah, the word for 'arrow',khetsחֵץ, is used for the "arrows" ofYHWH/Elohim, which are represented as lightnings inHabakuk 3:11, but also as general calamities inflicted on men as divine punishment inDeuteronomy 32:42,Psalm 64:7,Job 6:4, etc.
InChristianity, One of its most significant verses is Deuteronomy 6:4, Verses 6:4–5 were also quoted byJesus in Mark 12:28–34 as theGreat Commandment. TheSecond Coming ofJesus is compared to lightning (Matthew 24: 27,Luke 17: 24). With the establishment of Christianity, it passed into popular belief that lightning is the fire that leaves behind the chariot of the ProphetElijah as it runs through the sky, while thunder is the rattle of the feet of the horses that drag his chariot. According to another tradition, lightning and thunder are more island-like[clarification needed], as the cannons fired by theArchangel Michael againstSatan.[5]
InHittite (andHurrian) mythology, a triple thunderbolt was one symbol ofTeshub (Tarhunt).
InGreek mythology, the thunderbolt is a weapon given toZeus by theCyclopes. Based on this, inRoman mythology, the thunderbolt is a weapon given toJupiter by the Cyclopes, and is thus one of the emblems of Jupiter, often depicted on Greek and Roman coins and elsewhere as an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt which resembles in form a bundle of crossed sticks.[6]
InPaleo-Balkan mythology, Zibelthiurdos (also "Zbelsurdos", "Zibelthurdos"): a god recognized as similar to the GreekZeus as a wielder of lightning and thunderbolts.
InNavajo mythology, the hero twins, Naʼídígishí and Naayééʼ Neizghání, have bows that shoot thunderbolts as arrows.
InChinese mythology,Lei Gong uses thunderbolts as a weapon and his wife,Dian Mu, creates the accompanying lightning flashes with her mirror.
The name "thunderbolt" or "thunderstone" has also been traditionally applied to the fossilisedrostra ofbelemnoids. The origin of these bullet-shaped stones was not understood, and thus a mythological explanation of stones created where a lightning struck has arisen.[7]
The thunderbolt or lightning bolt continues into the modern world as a prominent symbol, and term; it has entered modernheraldry and military iconography.
The thunderbolt is used in the logo of thePower Rangers franchise.
In theHarry Potternovel andfilm series, both the scar onHarry's forehead and the stylized "P" in the logo are shaped like thunderbolts.
In the novelThe Godfather, "being hit with the thunderbolt" is an Italian expression (colpo di fulmine) referring to a man being spellbound at the sight of a beautiful woman (like the so-calledlove at first sight). The novel's emerging main character is affected in this fashion and eventually marries a woman whose appearance initially affects him in this way.
Thunderbolt - a British world land speed racer; powered by twoRolls-Royce RV-12aero engines, the 4,700 bhp (3,505 kW; 4,765 PS) one-off was the fastest thing on Earth in several durations during the 1930s.
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