In this article, I would like to briefly summarise the content of the research written by the German linguist and historian Dr. Harald Haarmann, now available in English translation and entitled The Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate – Revelations on the covert symbolism of a political icon of peace. The symbol of “peace” expressed by the Quadriga has changed in history and goes back to the Old-European ideal of peace represented by Eirene within the meaning of a peaceful existence, which was then replaced by the idea of peace as the result of military engagements.
By Milena Rampoldi.
The Brandenburg Gate is THE landmark of the city of Berlin and has iconic value for Berlin as well as the Eiffel Tower for Paris or the Tower Bridge for London. The Brandenburg Gate belongs to the most famous political icons of modern times. Since 1990, this monument has also been regarded as a symbol of the peaceful unification of the two German States, the Federal Republic (BRD) and the German Democratic Republic (DDR). Since the Brandenburg Gate stands exactly on the old political borderline between the two states of Germany and on the line which separated the Socialist from the Western world in the past.
In a broader sense, this landmark additionally symbolises peace and political balance in Europe. As a consequence, the image ties in with the original function attributed to the gate monument in its characteristic as a ‘gate of peace‘ during the late 18th century. In the meantime, however, the Brandenburg Gate was considered a political icon of the nation state of Prussia and as an expression of Prussian militarism from about 1800 to 1945.
The political history of this political icon has been extensively explored. A lot has also been written about the quadriga on the gate. Notwithstanding, some important aspects of the history of origin have left unexplored.
This inconsistency is especially evident in the changing equipment of the Quadriga, the four-horse cockpit made of copper, in appearance. The accessories of the equipment were in fact subject to changes in the early days, depending on a different orientation of the peace concept. The contradictory symbolism appearing in the works of the performing arts at the Brandenburg Gate has remained unexplained.
In this book, the author, Dr. Harald Haarmann, a famous linguist and historian of Old Europe, explores the story of the main motif of the chariot by tracing it back over about four millennia.
The chariot was invented around 2000 before our time as a fighting machine to be deployed in military operations. The last fights in which the chariot was used date back to the 1st century CE. Even after the chariot no longer had any importance for mobile warfare, it kept its main role in the civilian sector, namely in the Roman chariot races.
However, the model of the Quadriga changed during history. Originally, the chariot was not related to female deities, which came at a later stage. According to Haarmann, this is an innovation in cultural history which arose when the tradition of a warrior caste of Indo-European orientation merged with the goddess cult of the Old European character.
Indeed, the symbolic treasure of Greek mythology, belonging to the cultural heritage of our Western civilization, is made of various elements of a very different age. In the symbolism of the Quadriga with the changing figure of the chariot driver, two different basic currents of European cultural history can be found.
The purely Greek tradition of ancient mythology is familiar to us through the canon of our Western reception history. The other cultural current is much older and belongs to the pre-Greek cultural era of Old Europe, only documented by recent research. Indeed, in association with the Quadriga, you can find motifs which seem to be Greek but come from a non-Greek source.
On one hand, there is the peace mood symbolized by the Greek peace goddess Eirene, going back in its beginnings to the period of Old Europe and being consequently characterised by the pre-Greek cultural heritage.
Eirene embodies the idea of a state of peace in the sense of a peaceful existence. This concept differs significantly from the idea of peace resulting from previous acts of war. This different spirit of victory finds its allegorical expression in the figure of the Roman Victoria with its connection to the heroic cult of Indo-European influence, according to the motto: a hero is needed as the winner to achieve peace after a military victory.
There is a third mythological figure, which in turn underscores the mood of peace in a very unmistakable manner. This is the Roman goddess Minerva, in her symbolism the counterpart to the Greek Athena. Minerva represents the defensive aspect of militant activity, while Victoria’s sphere of activity includes quite intentional military actions.
The role of the goddess as patron saint of her hometown and her Inhabitants is an expression of peace and is very similar to the peace mood radiated by the goddess Eirene. The new insight gained by linguistics that both the cult and the name of the Athenians are of pre-Greek origin is not surprising, because the willingness to defend oneself as a safeguard of peace fits harmoniously into the mosaic of the pre-Greek cultural heritage.
The symbolism of peace of the Brandenburg Gate is not only reflected retroactively in the glorification of the pacification of the Netherlands and the subsequent alliance policy of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II. but also has an ideal, timeless character. At the time of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, there was political unrest, and the gate of “peace” soon became the symbol of a longing for a peace which no longer existed.
In the course of the history of Berlin, the significance of the Gate and the Quadriga as a triumphal monument has changed as well. In its original orientation, the monument glorified Friedrich Wilhelm II. as the Creator of Peace. After the return of the Quadriga from Paris in 1814 and the restoration of the Brandenburg Gate, the monument served as a means for the glorification of Friedrich Wilhelm III. as a Prussian National hero, and the symbolism of Prussian nationalism and militarism maintained its dominating position until the 20th century. Only with the political upheaval of 1989-91 did the ensemble of the symbols of peace, the Gate monument and the Quadriga, experience an unimagined afterglow, with the climax of the unification of the two German states in 1990.
It is worth examining in detail the integration of this political icon into the two main currents of European cultural history. Accordingly, the present study is thematically concerned with comparative analyses and interpretations of cultural history to provide an overall perspective on the role of the monument as well as of the Quadriga itself.
