Sun of May

The Sun of May is one of the national emblems of Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, and it is featured on the countries' flags.

Features and specifics

The Sun of May is a representation of the Inca sun god Inti

Inti

According to the Inca mythology, Inti is the sun god, as well a patron deity of the Inca Empire. His exact origin is not known. The most common story says he is the son of Viracocha, the god of civilization.- Worship :...

. The sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

, called the Sun of May, is a replica of an engraving on the first Argentine coin

Argentine real

The real was the currency of Argentina until 1881. From 1822, it was subdivided into 10 decimos. The sol was also issued during this period and was equal to the real, whilst the peso was worth 8 reales and the escudo was worth 16 reales....

, approved in 1813 by the Constituent Assembly

Asamblea del Año XIII

The Assembly of Year XIII was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata on October 1812....

, whose value was eight escudos

Spanish escudo

-Gold escudo:The first escudo was a gold coin introduced in 1535/1537, with coins denominated in escudos issued until 1833. It was initially worth 16 reales...

(one Spanish dollar).

In form, it is similar to — and may be partially derived from — the sun in splendour

Sun in splendour

The Sun in Splendour is a heraldic device or charge. It consists of a round disc representing the sun surrounded by numerous rays, usually wavy or alternating wavy and straight, and sometimes showing the features of a human face. It is alternately known as the Sun in his Glory.It is a common...

 common in European heraldry. This too is usually depicted with a face, and with alternating straight and wavy rays (representing light and heat respectively), though it normally has only sixteen rays.

In 1978 the sun colour was specified to be golden yellow (amarillo oro), to have an inner diameter of 10 cm, and an outer diameter of 25 cm (the diameter of the sun equals the height of the white stripe, and the sun's face is of its height). It features 32 rays, 16 undulated and 16 straight in alternation, and since 1978 it must be embroidered in the official ceremonial flag.

Name and origin

The specification "of May" is a reference to the May Revolution

May Revolution

The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...

 which took place in the week from 18 to 25 May 1810, which marked the beginning of the independence from the Spanish Empire

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

 for the countries that were part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...

 by then. There is a legend that as the new government

Primera Junta

The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...

 was proclaimed, the sun broke through the clouds, which was seen as a good omen.

Related symbology

The sun, like the Phrygian cap

Phrygian cap

The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...

 on Argentina's coat of arms and the triband flag, was already used as an emblem of the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

. It has been speculated that groups of deputies in the French revolution used a seal very similar to the current Argentine coat of arms, including a sun symbol. In France, the sun was used especially in relation to the Cult of the Supreme Being

Cult of the Supreme Being

The Cult of the Supreme Being was a form of deism established in France by Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. It was intended to become the state religion of the new French Republic.- Origins :...

. The sun in the French Revolution was adopted as a symbol from Freemasonic

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 representations of the all-seeing eye

Eye of Providence

The Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...

, in a triangle in a burst of sunrays. This representation was itself copied directly from a Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 symbol, the triangle representing the Trinity

Trinity

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...

(this symbol is still seen in some European churches and cathedrals, but its use was never widespread). The eye was possibly already a middle eastern representation of God before the time of Jesus, but placing an eye in a triangle and sun-burst seems to have been a purely Christian variant.