# National personification

A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symbolizing wisdom were used (for example the goddess Athena in ancient Greece), to indicate the strength and power of the nation. Some personifications in the Western world often took the Latin name of the ancient Roman province. Examples of this type include Britannia, Germania, Hibernia, Hispania, Helvetia and Polonia.
Examples of personifications of the Goddess of Liberty include Marianne, the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), and many examples of United States coinage. Another ancient model was Roma, a female deity who personified the city of Rome and her dominion over the territories of the Roman Empire. Roma was probably favoured by Rome's high-status Imperial representatives abroad, rather than the Roman populace at large. In Rome, the Emperor Hadrian built and dedicated a gigantic temple to her as Roma Aeterna ("Eternal Rome"), and to Venus Felix, ("Venus the Bringer of Good Fortune"), emphasising the sacred, universal and eternal nature of the empire. Examples of representations of the everyman or citizenry in addition to the nation itself are Deutscher Michel, John Bull and Uncle Sam.
Italia turrita (lit. 'Turreted Italy'), the allegorical personification of Italy, appears as of a young woman with her head surrounded by a mural crown completed by towers (hence turrita or "with towers" in Italian). It is often accompanied by the Stella d'Italia ('Star of Italy'), which is the oldest national symbol of Italy, since it dates back to the Graeco-Roman tradition, from which the so-called Italia turrita e stellata ('turreted and starry Italy'), and by other additional attributes, the most common of which is the cornucopia. The allegorical representation with the towers, which draws its origins from ancient Rome, is typical of Italian civic heraldry, so much so that the mural crown is also the symbol of the cities of Italy. The origin of the turreted woman is linked to the figure of Cybele, a deity of fertility of Anatolian origin, in whose representations she wears a wall crown. Its most classic aspect derives from the primordial myth of the Great Mediterranean Mother.

## Gallery

* Iudaea Capta, "Judaea Taken", commemorative coin issued by the Roman emperor Vespasian (left) after the Jewish War
* An early example of national personification in a gospel book dated 990: Sclavinia, Germania, Gallia, and Roma, bringing offerings to Emperor Otto III.
* Britannia arm-in-arm with Uncle Sam symbolizes the British-American alliance in World War I. The two animals, the Bald eagle and the Barbary lion, are also national personifications of the two countries.
* In this Allegory depicting the 1576 Pacification of Ghent by Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, the seated women represent a short-lived unity among the embattled provinces of what would become the present-day Belgium and Netherlands.
* 1909 cartoon in Puck shows (clockwise) US, Germany, Britain, France and Japan engaged in naval race in a "no limit" game.
* Columbia depicted in an American Committee for Relief in the Near East poster defending an Armenian woman beneath her flag
* The Liberty of Oudiné in memory of the Argentine centenary of the May Revolution (1810-1910)
* Tomb of the Italian Unknown Soldier, under the statue of goddess Roma, at Altare della Patria, Rome. Above it can be seen the equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, the first king of a unified Italy
* The winged Lion of Saint Mark at the Scuola Grande di San Marco, Venice. The open book holds the legend PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEVS (lit. 'Peace unto you, Mark, my Evangelist')
* The Capitoline Wolf is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.
* Saint Michael at right, gesturing to, from left: an unspecified figure, Brittania, Italia, Austria, Mother Russia, Germania, and Marianne of France

## Personifications by country or territory

| Location | Personification | Animal used for the same purpose |
| Albania | Mother Albania | Double-headed eagle |
| Americas | Personification of the Americas | American alligator |
| Argentina | Allegory of the Republic, Gaucho | |
| Armenia | Mother Armenia We Are Our Mountains (Artsakh) | |
| Australia | Miss Australia, Little Boy from Manly | Boxing kangaroo |
| Austria | Austria Tyrolia (Tyrol) | Double-headed eagle |
| Bangladesh | Bangamata | Bengal tiger |
| Belgium | La Belgique, Manneken Pis | Brabantic Lion, Leo Belgicus |
| Bhutan | | Thunder Dragon |
| Bolivia | Pachamama | Llama |
| Brazil | Native Brazilian (used by the Empire of Brazil, Kingdom of Brazil and Colonial Brazil) Efígie da República (Current) the Bandeirante (São Paulo State and Minas Gerais) the "Tropeiro" (Minas Gerais) the Candango (Brasília) the Gaúcho (Rio Grande do Sul) the Cangaceiro (Northeastern Brazil) | Wyvern (used by the Empire of Brazil) Rufous-bellied Thrush (Official Current) Jaguar (Unofficial current) Jabiru (Pantanal) Harpy Eagle (Parana State) |
| Brunei | Awang Budiman | |
| Bulgaria | Mother Bulgaria | Double-headed eagle |
| Cambodia | Preah Thong and Neang Neak | |
| Canada | Mountie, Johnny Canuck, Canada Bereft (Vimy Memorial). Le Vieux de '37 (Quebec) Inuit (Nunavut) Canada was often personified as a young woman in 19th and early 20th century editorial cartoons, called simply "Canada", "Miss Canada", or sometimes "Mother Canada". | Canadian beaver Snowy owl (Quebec) Qimmiq (Nunavut) |
| Chile | Huaso, Roto, Señora Juanita, Angel of Liberty Machi (Araucanía) Moai (Rapa Nui) | Condorito |
| China | | Chinese dragon, Panda, hare Snow lion (Tibet) |
| Colombia | Juan Valdez | |
| Croatia | Mother Croatia | Dalmatian |
| Cuba | La República | Tocororo |
| Cyprus | Liberty | Cypriot Mouflon |
| Czechia | Čechie, Czech Vašek, Honza, Svejk | Czech lion |
| Denmark | Holger Danske, Mother Denmark | Mute swan |
| Dominican Republic | Conchoprimo | |
| Egypt | Mother of the World | Sphinx |
| El Salvador | Salvador del Mundo | Torogoz |
| Estonia | Kalevipoeg | |
| Europe | Europa or Europa regina | |
| Finland | Finnish Maiden | Finnish lion |
| France | Marianne | Gallic rooster |
| Georgia | Mother of Kartvel | |
| Germany | Germania, Deutscher Michel Bavaria (Bavaria) Berolina (Berlin) Brema (Bremen) Brunonia (Brunswick Land) Franconia (Franconia) Francofurtia (Frankfurt) Hammonia (Hamburg) Lubeca (Lübeck) Borussia (Prussia) Palatia (Rhineland-Palatinate) Saxonia (Saxony) Vimaria (Weimar) Württembergia (Württemberg) | Reichsadler, Bundesadler, Berliner Bär (Berlin), Bavarian Lion (Bavaria), Marcher Eagle (Brandenburg), Prussian Eagle (Prussia) |
| Greece | Hellas Athena (Athens) | |
| Greenland | | Polar bear |
| Haiti | Ezili Dantor, Le Marron Inconnu, Katrin | |
| Haudenosaunee | Hiawatha | |
| Hungary | The Lady of Hungaria Prince Csaba (Székely Land) | Turul |
| Iceland | The Lady of the Mountains | Gyrfalcon |
| India | Bharat Mata Kangleipak Ima (Manipur) | Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, Indian Elephant, Indian peafowl Pākhangbā (Manipur) |
| Indonesia | Ibu Pertiwi | Garuda Pancasila |
| Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan | Rostam | Lion and sun |
| Ireland | Ériu, Banba, Fódla, Kathleen Ni Houlihan, Hibernia, The Old Woman of Beare | Irish Hare |
| Israel | Srulik | Lion of Judah |
| Italy | Italia turrita Roma (Rome) | Italian wolf Aquila, Capitoline Wolf (Rome) Lion of Saint Mark (Venice) |
| Japan | Yamato-hime, Samurai | Green Pheasant |
| Kazakhstan | Altin Adam | Tulpar |
| Korea ( North Korea and South Korea - despite mutual enmity, both states lay claim to the same historical heritage) | | Korean Tiger, Chollima |
| Kyrgyzstan | Manas | Siberian ibex |
| Latvia | Latvian Maiden, Liberty | |
| Lebanon | The Cedrus | |
| Lithuania | Vytis | White Stallion |
| Low Lands or Benelux | | Leo Belgicus |
| Malaysia | Hang Tuah | Malayan tiger |
| Malta | Melita | Dolphin |
| Mexico | Mexican Motherland, La China Poblana, Eagle warrior, Jaguar warrior | Golden eagle, Jaguar, Chihuahueño |
| Mongolia | Genghis Khan | Saker falcon, Mongolian horse |
| Montenegro | Fairy of Lovćen, Mother Montenegro | Double-headed eagle |
| Morocco | | Barbary lion |
| Netherlands | Dutch Maiden Dutch sailor (Holland) | Dutch Republic Lion, Leo Belgicus |
| Nepal | Gurkha, Sherpa | Yeti |
| New Zealand | Zealandia Southern man (South Island) | Kiwi |
| Nicaragua | El Güegüense | Motmot |
| North Macedonia | Mother Macedonia | Lioness |
| Norway | Mother Norway, Ola & Kari Nordmann, Nór | |
| Palestine | Handala | |
| Panama | Mother of Panama | Jaguar |
| Peru | Peruvian Motherland, El Perú Libre Sapa Inca (Inca Empire) | Vicuña |
| Philippines | La Madre Filipinas, Juan dela Cruz | Philippine Carabao |
| Poland | Polonia | White eagle |
| Portugal | Zé Povinho, Efígie da República, Guardian Angel of Portugal | Rooster of Barcelos |
| Rhodesia | Cecil Rhodes | Sable antelope, Zimbabwe Bird |
| Romania | România | Lynx |
| Russia | Mother Russia, General Winter Mother Buryatia (Buryatia) | Russian bear |
| San Marino | Liberty | |
| Serbia | Mother Serbia, Kosovo Maiden | Serbian eagle |
| Singapore | | Merlion |
| Slovakia | Jánošík | |
| Slovenia | Kralj Matjaž | |
| South Africa | The Lady of Good Hope (Die Dame van Goeie Hoop) Adamastor (Cape of Good Hope) Boer Woman (Orange Free State, obsolete) Oom Paul (Transvaal, obsolete) Shaka (Zululand, obsolete) | Springbok Lion (Transvaal, obsolete) |
| Spain | Hispania Breogán (Galicia) Matrona Foral (Navarre) | Hispanic Lion, Spanish Fighting Bull |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Matha (Mother Sri Lanka) | Lion |
| Suriname | Mama Sranan (Mother Suriname), a 1965 sculpture by Jozeph Klas in the center of Paramaribo, of a mother figure holding five children representing Suriname's ethnic groups in her arms. | |
| Sweden | Mother Svea (Moder Svea) | |
| Switzerland | Helvetia Basilea (Basel) Berna (Bern) Geneva (Geneva) Tigurina Virgo (Zürich) Lucerna (Lucerne) | Cow |
| Taiwan | | Formosan black bear |
| Thailand | Siam Devadhiraj | White elephant |
| Transnistria | Grieving Mother of Pridnestrovia | Greater noctule bat |
| Turkey | Turkish Motherland Sick man of Europe (Ottoman Empire) | Wolf |
| Turkmenistan | Oghuz Khagan | Akhal-Teke |
| Ukraine | Cossack Mamay, Mother Ukraine, Berehynia | Ruthenian Lion |
| United Kingdom | Britannia John Bull (England) Scota (Scotland) Dame Wales (Wales) | Bulldog The Lion and the Unicorn (England and Scotland) Welsh dragon (Wales) Manx cat (Mann) |
| United States | Columbia, Lady Liberty The Minuteman (American Revolution) Uncle Sam (federal government) Brother Jonathan (New England) Kamehameha (Hawaii) The Guardian (Oklahoma) The Lady of the Alamo (Texas, obsolete) Billy Yank (The North, obsolete) Johnny Reb (The South, obsolete) | Bald Eagle, American Buffalo, Timber rattlesnake (American Revolution) |
| Uruguay | Efigie de la República | |
| Uzbekistan | Timur | Snow leopard |
| Venezuela | Juan Bimba (obsolete) | |
| Vietnam | Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ | Vietnamese Dragon, Lạc Bird |