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A thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus, of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies, though this is not currently the case. As a divine manifestation the thunderbolt has been a powerful symbol throughout history, and has appeared in many mythologies. Drawing from this powerful association, the thunderbolt is often found in military symbolism and semiotic representations of electricity.
In mythology
Lightning plays a role in many mythologies, often as the weapon of a sky god and storm god. As such, it is an unsurpassed method of dramatic instantaneous retributive destruction: thunderbolts as divine weapons can be found in many mythologies.
Indo-European traditionsIn Hittite (and Hurrian) mythology, a triple thunderbolt was one symbol of Teshub (Tarhunt).Vedic religion (and laterHindu mythology) the god Indra is the god of lightning. His main weapon is the thunderbolt (Vajra).In Greek mythology, the thunderbolt is a weapon given to Zeus by the Cyclops. Based on this, in Roman mythology, the thunderbolt is a weapon given to Jupiter by the Cyclops.In Celtic mythology, Taranis is the god of thunder, in Irish, Tuireann.In Germanic mythology, Thor is specifically the god of thunder and lightning, wielding Mjolnir.In Turkish mythology, Bayülgen creates the thuderbolts.In Maya mythology, Huracan is sometimes represented as three lightning bolts.In Cherokee mythology, the Ani Hyuntikwalaski ("thunder beings") cause lightning fire in a hollow sycamore tree.In Ojibway mythology, thunder is created by the Thunderbirds (Nimkiig or Binesiiwag), which can be both benevolent and malevolent to human beings.In Igbo mythology, the thunderbolt is the weapon of Amadioha/Amadiora.In the modern world
The thunderbolt or lightning bolt continues into the modern world as a prominent symbol; it has entered modern heraldry and military iconography.
In iconographyThe lightning bolt is used as an electrical symbolIn fictionSymbol for DC Comics characters Captain Marvel and the FlashIn Harry Potter, the thunderbolt (or lightning bolt) is Harry's forehead scarIn the novel The Godfather, "being hit with the thunderbolt" is a Sicilian expression referring to a man being spellbound at the sight of a beautiful woman. The novel's emerging main character is affected in this fashion and eventually marries a woman whose appearance initially hit him like a thunderbolt.