Weapons
Weapons Of The Gods
This is how the fingers are named in palmistry. The earliest record of this is in the Greek Chiromantic Fragment, which is thought to date back to ancient Greece. (61) It is the only surviving reference to palmistry in ancient writings. Palmists in medieval Europe used the same system, using Romanised names. It was popularised in Britain around the turn of the 20th century (62) and is still in use in Indian Palmistry. Although mainly Greek names are used elsewhere, Romanised names are used in this section of the study.
The position of the bull character between Jupiter and the Mount of Venus first suggested that as well as being a way of foretelling the future, perhaps the finger gods were once used to tell stories about a mythological past. This page shows the most famous characteristics of the gods match markings of the hand in a surprising number of ways.
Illustration 52: Names of the fingers in ancient palmistry
When the characteristics of the gods were recorded by ancient poets these were their most famous features: Jupiter - Thunderbolt. Saturn - Crown and Scythe. Apollo - Silver Arrows. Mercury - Wings On His Head/Shoulders And Feet, Magic Wand, Cloak Of Invisibility
The following pictures shows how these famous characteristics have been represented in art. There are a lot of gods in mythology, with a lot of different powers. But these are the major gods and their major weapons. These are the ones mentioned in nearly every story.
Illustration 53: Jupiter with thunderbolt, a 1530 engraving
Illustration 54: Jupiter of Smyrna, circa 250 AD
Illustration 55: An engraving of a statue of Saturn by Jacques Jonghelinck (1530-1606)
Illustration 56: Saturn ruled a golden age and was the first to wear a crown. His golden hair is usually covered as in this 2nd century bas-relief.
Illustration 57: Apollo with his arrow, from a Roman copy of a Greek bronze
Illustration 58: Apollo Chasing Daphne, a 1630 oil painting by Flemish artist Cornelis de Vos. Even when naked, Apollo still has his quiver of arrows.
Illustration 59: Flying Mercury by Flemish-Italian sculptor Giambologna
Illustration 60: An 1862 sculpture of Mercury by Ludwig Hofer
Jupiter's Thunderbolt
When you make your hand into a fist as in the picture below, the markings at the base of the hand seem to reflect the weapon of each god.
It may be a coincidence that the tip of the Jupiter finger lines up with a number of creases that appear to show a thunderbolt. But it's a very convenient if you want to tell stories about Jupiter by hand. This video shows Jupiter being struck by his own thunderbolt as he is smitten by the maiden goddess.
Illustration 61: Video of Jupiter's thunderbolt
Saturn's Crown & Scythe
It may also just be coincidence that the area of the hand at the tip of the Saturn finger, is the shiniest part of the hand, ideal for creating a "crown".
Illustration 62: Saturn's crown
Look how easy it is to give Saturn his crown, even in daylight. To create this picture spit was dabbed on to this part of the hand. The hand is naturally curved here but if you press down with the middle finger - the Saturn finger - you can emphasise this curve. Saturn was the first god to wear a crown. (63). Saturn ruled a Golden Age and is depicted either with a crown or head covering or with golden curls.The crown is silver in daylight but by the light of a fire this part of the hand shines gold, especially if you add a little water or grease. There is a single line near the Saturn finger which could be Saturn's scythe. Another coincidence?
Apollo's Arrow
Is this another one? Look closely at your own hand and you will see a large arch much like an arrow tail. At the tip of the Apollo finger. An arrow is Apollo's trademark and you are unlikely to find a picture of him without one. Even when naked, as the painting of Apollo above illustrates.
Illustration 63: Look at Apollo's Arrow in your own palm
Swans were sacred to Apollo. He turned his son Cycnus into a swan and is pictured riding a swan in Classical art. (64 and 65) This vase dates to around 400BC.(66)
Illustration 63: Apollo on vase, British Museum
Look at the line that forms the upper curve of Apollo's arrow tail. This line goes around the base of the thumb and is the line that gives the swan its shape. (Illustration 3)
Mercury - Wings On His Head And Feet
Illustration 64: Wings of the boy god?
Just turn your fist to see the wings on Mercury's head and feet. It has been suggested in this study that the hand contains a format for story telling. What format could be tighter than this. Imagine telling a story to a child. You show the gods on Mount Olympus by holding out your fist.Then turn your wrist so your audience, a small child, can see the fingers.You then describe the gods in turn. You tell the child all about Jupiter and his mighty thunderbolt. Then move on to the next god, Saturn.
You show Saturn's deadly sycthe. And his golden crown. You tell how Saturn ruled a Golden Age. And here's the point. Because after the Golden Age, there was a Silver Age. And after the Silver Age a Copper Age. And after the Saturn finger, you have the Apollo finger, with Apollo's Silver Arrow.
Did every story start this way? Was that because, wonderful as these stories were, the main aim of them was to get the audience off to sleep.
We have already seen the incredible economy of storytelling. We've seen Poseidon turn into a ram with a slight movement of the thumb and Pan turn into a sea goat just by lifting a finger. But the gods lined up in heaven is even better. By dragging out the description of each god and his weapons, the storyteller - let's call her Mum - might get to the end of the story without lifting a finger.
Mercury's Magic Wand
Mercury is the little finger. And this is the most important finger for showing the characters. By moving the position of your Mercury finger, you can make lines in your palm appear and disappear. Transforming gods and people into animals. Is this finger Mercury's magic wand? This video shows Mercury waving his wand and turning a man into a seagoat. And Mercury had one more weapon. His cloak of invisibility. Could that have been Mum's cloak? Did Mum give herself control of light and darkness? Did she throw her cloak over the child's eyes at moments of high suspense? If so we have action heroes, mythical creatures, special effects and tricks of the light. This wasn't just animation. It was Stone Age cinema.
Illustration 65: Archer transformed with a wave of Mercury's wand
References
61. Pack, Roger A, 1972 On the Greek Chiromantic Fragment Roger A. Pack, University of Michigan Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association Vol. 103 (1972), pp. 367-380 (14 pages) https://www.jstor.org/stable/2935981
Establishes the system of planetary names for the fingers and parts of the hand. (Page 10). Supports ancient origins of the fragment (Page 1).
62. Cheiro, Palmistry For All, (1916), Herbert Jenkins Ltd, London
63. Theoi Project https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKronos.html
"Pherecydes [C6th or 5th B.C.] records that Saturnus [Kronos (Cronus)] was the first, before all others, to wear a crown."
64. Earth And Starry Heaven Mythology blog https://earthandstarryheaven.com/2015/04/22/apollo-swan/
Socrates argued that swans sang because, as Apollo’s birds, they could foresee the joys of the afterworld.
65. Cycnus, son of Apollo. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycnus_(son_of_Apollo)#:~:text=When%20Cycnus%20found%20that%2C%20he,he%20was%20buried%20near%20it.
When Cycnus found that, he felt disgraced and committed suicide by throwing himself into a lake called Conope; his mother Thyrie did the same. Apollo changed them both into swans. The lake became known as the Swan Lake because of that, and when Phylius died, he was buried near it.
66. Apollo Riding Swan on vase, attributed to Meleager, circa 400 -380 BC Theoi Project https://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K5.17.html