Columba

The constellation Columba, the Dove, can be viewed as either sitting on the stern (Puppis) of the celestial Ship (Argo Navis) or flying before it [1]. In the Argonauta expedition a white dove was sent out of the Argo Navis by Jason. Aided by Athena/Minerva, it shot between the Clashing Rocks, the Symplegades, with such speed that the rocks crashed against each other without killing the bird, only depriving it of a few tail feathers. The constellation Columba is adjacent to Puppis, the Stern of the Ship Argo Navis. An aplustre is an ornamental appendage of wood at the ship's stern, usually spreading like a fan and curved like a bird's feather. An old coin shows a dove perched on an aplustre [2].

In Christian iconography, a dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit either personally or in his works, or the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit appeared as a dove at the baptism of Jesus. A columbethra, or colymbethra, columbeion, in a Greek church, is the room or font for administering baptism.

A dove was released by Noah after the flood in order to find land, it came back carrying an olive branch, telling Noah that somewhere there was land. A dove with an olive branch has since then come to symbolize peace.

The genus Columba, of the family Columbidae, comprises the pigeons and doves. The terms dove and pigeon are used interchangeably.

The word Columba comes from Latin for 'dove, pigeon', cognate with Greek kolumbos, kolumbis, 'diver' (name of a bird), Old Slavonic golobi, 'dove', literally 'the blue bird'. These words derive from Indo-European base *qel-, *qol-, 'of a dark color', whence also Greek kelainos, 'black'. Compare columbine. This base is related to base *qal-, whence Latin caligo, 'darkness'. See caliginous (dark, misty, and gloomy), and compare Celaeno (Klein). A less common English word for dove or pigeon is culver, diminutive of Columba, 'dove'.

A columbarium, is a dovecote, it also means a vault with niches for urns containing ashes of the dead which were placed in small arched holes in Roman villas. These urns were called columbarium, from colomba, a dove, from the fancied resemblance which these arched holes bore to the recesses in a dovecote [2, p.103]. "Greek funerary urns depict a dove 'drinking from a vase which symbolizes the fount of memory'" [3]. 

Amongst themselves doves or pigeons are far from peaceful despite doves being the symbols of peace (according to Klein the word 'fury' is from the same root as dove). They are constantly squabbling (although not with their mates it seems). The young doves and pigeons are called 'squabs'. Young pigeon meat is sold under the name squab.

Doves are notable for both their devotion to their mates, and also their fidelity in marriage. A pair of white doves is a popular love symbol as can be seen in the expression 'lovey dovey', and their cooing to their mates. In courtship each bird takes the other's beak in its own, much like lovers kissing. Pliny said: "Though most amorous, they have a great sense of modesty and do not know adultery. Fidelity even after death, because once its companion is gone, this bird never unites with another [6]." Eros (the word erotic comes from his name) is usually depicted as a young winged boy, with his bow and arrows at the ready, to either shoot into the hearts of gods or mortals which would rouse them to desire. His arrows came in two types: golden with dove feathers which aroused love, or leaden arrows which had owl feathers that caused indifference.

© Anne Wright 2008.