the all-seeing eye aka the eye of providence can be seen on the back of the dollar bill and on the great seal of the united states no not that side the reverse side featuring an eye surrounded by rays of light enclosed in a triangle the all-seeing eye is at the heart of a range of conspiracy theories but what does it really mean the all-seeing eye as we know it has its origins in a renaissance the first known depiction of the symbol appeared in a 1525 painting called the supper at a mouse by italian painter jacopo
pontormo in it the old seeing eye is depicted above christ the three sides of the triangle represented the holy trinity and the eye at the center symbolized the unity of these three aspects of god it also signified his omnipotence and providence eventually the symbol became a popular religious motive in art and architecture of the late renaissance period particularly on stained glass windows of churches religious paintings and in emblem books but this wasn't the first time that an eye was used as a symbol eyes have been a popular symbol since ancient times representing watchfulness protection and
omnipotence while there is something eerie and even sinister about a staring eye with no face eye symbols typically hold positive connotations in buddhism the buddha is referred to as the eye of the world while in hinduism shiva is defected with a third eye on his forehead in the middle east the nazarban kugu was used as a symbol of protection against the evil eye however it was the ancient egyptians who originated the concept of the detached eye motif the eye of horus and the eye of ra are two eye motives that emerged from ancient egypt as
powerful symbols so you get the idea i symbolism was all the rage in ancient times it's likely that renaissance artists were influenced by these symbols as well as this article from the bbc states during the renaissance scholars and artists had a fascination with egyptian writing the only problem was that they didn't fully understand it and attempted translations were normally riddled with inaccuracies one of the most famous inaccuracies appeared in a romance of 1499 titled the dream of polyphilo where the translation of an egyptian single eye symbol was god as the symbol of all seeing eye
became more mainstream it was chosen to be depicted on the great seal atop an unfinished pyramid in 1782 the 13 levels of the pyramid represented the original 13 states of america while the eye represented god's oversight the overall implication was that america was being watched over by god around the same time the french national assembly issued a declaration of the rights of man and the citizen defining the rights of individuals at the time of the french revolution the all-seeing eye was featured at the top of the document which implied divine guidance on the proclamation so
far all these associations seem normal and even benign so how did the symbol become embroiled in conspiracy theories in 1797 the symbol was adopted by the freemasons to represent watchfulness and the guidance of a higher force it was probably seen as a reminder that god was watching and that they had to live by strict standards but those who distrusted the group believed that the freemasons were using the eye to symbolize the protection of their power over all things conspiracy theorists claim that the all-seeing eye above the unfinished pyramid of the great seal hints at the
power and influence that the freemasons had in the founding of the united states however they don't seem to take into account that the masons began using the eye about 14 years after the creation of the great seal what's more of the members involved in designing the great seal benjamin franklin was the only mason and his ideas for the seal's design didn't make it into the final cut another popular conspiracy theory about the all-seeing eye is that it represents the government's watchful eye over its citizens a big brother if you will then there's the illuminati there
are many references to the illuminati and the all-seeing eye but not much is known about how this group used the symbol what we do know is that the illuminati drew inspiration from the ideas of freemasonry and this may have inspired their adoption of the eyes used as a symbol but what these conspiracy theories don't explain is why would anybody put out such blatant clues about their secret agendas into the public it just doesn't make sense and that's the problem with most conspiracy theories symbols can be very powerful and how they are viewed depends largely on
the cultural context while the eye of providence is considered somewhat controversial because of its connections to conspiracies it can be seen as a symbol that represents the omnipotence of god protection good luck spiritual guidance and divine blessings what do you see in the all-seeing eye let us know in the comments below if you'd like to watch similar videos about other symbols please consider subscribing and hitting the like button and don't forget to click the notification button so that we can let you know when new videos and updates become available thank you for watching you
