The five medals of the Nobel prize all bear Alfred Nobel's image on one side. The symbolic imagery on the reverse side was influenced by long held ideals. The medals for Physics and Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature were designed by Erik Lindberg. Each bears an inscription from Virgil's Aeneid, a cornerstone masterpiece in the Western world for ages. The Latin phrase from book (or song) six of the Aeneid reads, "inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes." This is sometimes loosely translated as "And they who bettered life on earth by their new found mastery." A word-for-word translation is "inventions enhance life which is beatified through art."
For me, what is more intriguing is the context of the quote in the Aeneid. In book six, Aeneas, at his father's request, enters the underworld (the river Styx, the boatman, Cerebus, etc.) and views how one's deeds during life affect the afterlife. There were many who suffered torment. But the most blessed were described in this passage:
"Lo, they who in their country's fight sword-wounded bodies bore;
Lo, priests of holy life and chaste, while they in life had part,
Lo, God-loved poets, men who spake things worthy Phoebus' heart;
And they who bettered life on earth with new-found mastery;
And they whose good deeds left a tale for men to name them by"
Arts and sciences and new found mastery over the difficulties of life on earth were the inspirational subject matter for the medal designers.
The Peace Prize Medal was designed by Gustav Vigeland and includes the inscription "For the peace and brotherhood of men." The Economics Prize medal was designed by Gunvor Svensson-Lundqvist. It doesn't have an inscription, but the symbol of of the Sveriges Riksbank's horns of plenty is placed under Nobel's image and on the reverse side the North Star emblem of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
The imagery on the reverse sides of the medals follows the theme of the award. For Physics and Chemistry it shows a figure of Nature being unveiled by the Genius of Science. For Physiology or Medicine, it shows the figure of the Genius of Medicine with a book in her lap distilling from nature the water that will restore the young girl beside her. For Literature a young man kneels and is inspired by a Muse. And for the Peace Prize, three men clasp arms in a fraternal bond.
Our lives and work convey a symbolic meaning and these honored prize medals are emblematic in their design. It causes me to consider that leaders should be more mindful of the symbolic choices they make (or unfortunately often don't make) when rewarded constituents for their efforts and contributions that "enhance life on earth."
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