Early history The
Egyptian hieroglyph representing "star" had five points (N14
N14), while the
"star" sign in Mesopotamian
cuneiform had eight.
Sopdet, the Egyptian personification of the star
Sirius, is always shown with the five-pointed star hieroglyph on her head. (d. 1263) as shown by
Matthew Paris (
c. 1250) The five-pointed star is the oldest symbol of
Italy.
Venus represented the
West and was, in
Classical mythology, the symbol of the
Italian peninsula, which was western to
Greece. The star (or
mullet) 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 the
Dering Roll, c. 1270), while the preferred number of points in German heraldry was six. The star in the coat of arms of the
De Vere family was in legend attributed to the
First Crusade, when "a white star [...] did light and arrest upon the standard of
Aubre de Vere". The de Vere star is notorious in English history, because in the
Battle of Barnet in 1471, the star badge of the
Earl of Oxford was mistaken for the
sun badge of
Edward IV by the
Earl of Warwick, so that he erroneously attacked his own ally, losing the battle, which probably changed the outcome of the entire
War of the Roses.
Modern flags and emblems from 1777 The five-pointed stars on the
flag of the United States were introduced in the
Flag Act of 1777. The Flag Act did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement. 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. 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-called
Betsy Ross flag. The American flag shown in the painting
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by
John 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. Five-pointed stars became more frequently used in the 19th century. The
coat of arms of Valais, adopted for the
Rhodanic Republic (1802), was designed with twelve five-pointed stars. The
flag of Chile, introduced in 1817, has a single five-pointed star known as
La Estrella Solitaria (The Lone Star). The similar
flag of Texas was introduced in 1839. The
star and crescent used by the
Ottoman Empire was shown with an eight-pointed stars in early forms (18th century), but was changed to a five-pointed star in the
official flag in 1844. Numerous other national or regional flags adopted five-pointed star designs in the later 19th to early 20th century, including
Venezuela (1859),
Honduras (1866),
Puerto Rico (1895),
Philippines (1898),
Cuba (1902),
Panama (1925),
Jordan (1928) and
Pakistan (1947). The
Flag of Minnesota and
1901 Maine Flag both utilized the 5-pointed design. In 19th century the five-pointed star, which has always represented
Italy, is on the copper cents
coins of
Vittorio Emanuele II king of Italy. Even today we find the five-pointed star in the emblem of the
Italian 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 of
XII Corps of the
Union Army in the
American Civil War, while
VII Corps used a five-pointed star
in a crescent. In 1916, a five-pointed red star was used by the
U.S. Army Signal Corps' aviation section. The U.S. tradition of
barnstars, decorative five-pointed stars attached to buildings, appears to have arisen in
Pennsylvania after the Civil War, and became widespread by the 1930s. The Swiss
1 and 2 francs coins introduced in 1874–5 showed the figure of
Helvetia surrounded by 22 stars, enumerating the
Swiss cantons (in 1983 changed to 23 stars to reflect the creation of the
canton of Jura). The green five-pointed star used as a
symbol of Esperanto was first proposed in 1890. The five-pointed
Red Star as a symbol of
communism was adopted during the
Russian Civil War of 1917–1922, but its exact origin is unclear. The red star was featured on the state emblem of the
Soviet Union since 1923 and has been in use in
North Korea since 1948. Another variant is a yellow (golden) star on red background, as on the state emblem of
Vietnam (1945) and the
People's Republic of China (1949), as well as on the flags of most Communist countries. In the 1930s, red luminescent
Kremlin stars were installed on five towers of the
Moscow Kremlin, replacing gilded eagles that had symbolized
Imperial Russia. Since then, it is customary to install similarly looking red stars atop
New Year trees in the Soviet Union, a tradition that continues to this day in Russia. In the
Emblem of Italy, adopted in 1947, the five-pointed star represents the "
Star of Italy". The
Flag of Europe, designed in 1955 on behalf of the
Council of Europe (CoE) and adopted by the
European Communities in 1985 (and thus inherited as the flag of the
European Union upon its creation in 1993) has a circle of twelve
yellow (gold) stars on a
blue (azure) field.
Other uses in modern culture The use of "star" for theatrical lead performers dates to 1824, giving rise to the concept of "stardom" in the film industry. The
Hollywood Walk of Fame, where famous entertainers are honored with pink
terrazzo five-pointed stars along
Hollywood Boulevard, was introduced in 1958. In
association football, there is a tradition of using
five-pointed stars in team badges to represent victories. The first team to adopt such a star was
Juventus, in 1958, to represent their tenth Italian Football Championship and
Serie A title. 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. 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.
Heraldry , with the central ''Stella d'Italia''. The emblem, shaped as a
Roman wreath, comprises a white five-pointed star, the (English: "Star of Italy"), which is the oldest
national symbol of Italy, since it dates back to the
Graeco-Roman tradition. The ''Stella d'Italia
("Star of Italy"), popularly known as Stellone d'Italia
("Great Star of Italy"), is a five-pointed white star, which has symbolized Italy for many centuries. It is the oldest national symbol of Italy, since it dates back to Graeco-Roman mythology when Venus, associated with the West as an evening star, was adopted to identify the Italian peninsula. From an allegorical point of view, the Stella d'Italia''
metaphorically represents the shining destiny of Italy. In the early 16th century it began to be frequently associated with
Italia turrita, the
national personification of the Italian peninsula. The ''Stella d'Italia
was adopted as part of the emblem of Italy in 1947, where it is superimposed on a steel cogwheel, all surrounded by an oak branch and an olive branch. From an allegorical point of view, the Star of Italy metaphorically represents the shining destiny of Italy. Its unifying value is equal to that of the flag of Italy. In 1947, the Stella d'Italia'' was inserted at the center of the
emblem of Italy, which was designed by Paolo Paschetto and which is the iconic symbol identifying the
Italian State. The Italian Star is also recalled by some honors. The Italian Star is recalled by the
Colonial Order of the Star of Italy, decoration of the
Kingdom of Italy which was intended to celebrate the
Italian Empire, as well as by the
Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, the first decoration established by
Republican Italy, which was replaced in 2011 by the Order of the Star of Italy, second civil honorary title in importance of the Italian State. The Star of Italy is also recalled by the stars worn on the collars of
Italian military uniforms and appears on the
figurehead of the
Italian Navy. In the civil sphere, the Italian Star is the central symbol of the emblem of the
Club Alpino Italiano. The symbolism of a star associated with Italy first appeared in the writings of the ancient Greek poet
Stesicoro, from whom it passed on to poets such as
Virgil. The oldest
national symbol of Italy, it originated from the combination of
Venus, as an evening star, with the West and therefore with the Italian peninsula, one of which was
Esperia, or "land of Hesperus, the star of the Evening consecrated to Venus". This symbolism was already attested in
archaic Greek literature, in 6th century BC by the poet
Stesichorus, in the poem
Iliupersis (Fall of Troy) that created the legend of
Aeneas which described his return to the land of his ancestors (Italy) after the defeat of
Troy, under the leadership of Venus. == Relation to the pentagram ==