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Discover icons of kindness in different cultures and countries
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From Ancient Greece and Rome to the far reaches of Asia, Europe, and America, every age, region, and culture has created symbols that depict kindness. We’ve gathered them all here so you can find the ones that speak to you.

Things You Should Know

  • Icons such as the heart, feather, shepherd’s staff, endless knot, and lotus flower represent kindness.
  • Deities including Buddha, Guan Yin, and Lord Krishna are known for their kindness and compassion.
  • Animals like the dove, deer, pelican, and raven are gentle, kind animals.
  1. The heart icon represents the human heart and emotions and can be traced back to the Ice Age (10,000 B.C.E.), though the meaning wasn’t universal until the Middle Ages. Heart icons appear in cultures from Egyptian, Ancient Greek, and Roman to modern European and American. [1]
    • In 2019, a group of Florida kindergarteners petitioned Congress to name an icon of a heart surrounded by a circle of arrows as the national symbol for kindness. [2]
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