Notes on the Symbolism of the Arrow

Eliade’s analysis of the symbolism of the arrow stands on its own as an example of his understanding of the operations of religious symbolism. However, it also contains some notable indications of Eliade’s broader understanding. Here he makes a clear rejection of any notion of a “prelogical mentality” that might distinguish archaic from modern humanity. He also makes the fascinating observation that every new pragmatic discovery, every “conquest of the material world,” brings about new symbolic possibilities and a “corresponding impact on human imagination.” The discovery of the bow and arrow, “the rapidity, the suddenness, and the invisibility of the arrow,” opened the human imagination to the possibility of action-at-a-distance and of the swift, effectively instantaneous, connection between physically separated entities. From Religions in Antiquity , edited by Jacob Neusner (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968 ), 463–75. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1968 by Brill Academic Publishers. Published by permission of Brill Academic Publishers.