Many cultures around the world have traditional symbols considered to bring good luck, prosperity and protection from negative energies.
In Greece one longstanding tradition holds that breaking a pomegranate inside a home at the beginning of the new year helps bring prosperity and fertility for the family. And heads of wheat have been symbols of bounty since antiquity.
The horn of Amalthea, the mythological goat that nursed the infant Zeus, is another symbol of eternal abundance, said to fill with whatever its bearer wishes (also known as the Cornucopia). Meanwhile giving a horseshoe to someone you love is thought to grant them good fortune and ward off the evil eye.
Whatever you wish for in 2018, you can give your and your loved ones’ luck a boost by picking up stylish charms (gouria) based on these and other symbols of good fortune. Below we’ve listed some of our favorites.
And even if you are circumspect as to their supernatural powers, what is certain is that they will always remind you of your trip Greece… and that’s as good a start as any to the year.
1. Sailing boat made from powder coated steel. Created by Ritsa Anastasiadou.
Available at the Benaki Museum Shop.
2. Hand-painted ceramic pomegranate. Created by Eleni Kanellopoulou and inspired by the painted decoration of a late 18th – early 19th century chest from the island of Lesvos.
Available at the Benaki Museum Shop.
3. The Acropolis Museum’s good luck charm for 2018 is inspired by a wreath of myrtle that is pictured on a marble plaque (ca 1st century AD) that is on display in the Gallery of the Slopes and which bears the inscription “Agathe Tyche” or “good fortune”.
4. Jewelry inspired by ancient coins depicting a pomegranate, a head of wheat and the horn of Amalthea (Cornucopia), made from platinum-plated and gold-plated metals.
Created by Maria Apostolopoulou and available at the Cycladic Museum Shop.
5. A ceramic pig meant to symbolize wealth. Created by Thomas Kotsigiannis and available at the Cycladic Museum Shop.
6. A gold plated necklace in the shape of a horseshoe. It is said that the ends must be pointing upward in order to ‘keep all the good luck in’.
By Athenart.
7. A gold-plated necklace in the shape of the horn of Amalthea, designed by Out of M.E.
Available at It’s All Oh So Souvenir to Me.
8. Bookmark made from stainless steel in the shape of a pomegranate. Created by Ioli Leivada.
Available at the Benaki Museum Shop
9. A silver owl, the symbol of knowledge and wisdom. Created by Sophia Mavrou, using material from the MENTIS centre for the preservation of traditional textile techniques, .
Available at the Benaki Museum Shop.
10. A silver necklace inspired by the Geometric period intended to represent balance and harmony. Created by Eirini Spyropoulou. Available at It’s All Oh So Souvenir to Me.
