The lunula

The lunula is an ornament associated with the moon. Found in various cultures throughout Europe, it was a feminine symbol of fertility, protection, and happiness. By wearing a lunula necklace, women, and in particular young girls vulnerable to evil attacks, placed themselves under the protection of this symbol.

Necklace with "lunula" - 1st century AD - Walters Art Museum (Baltimore). Photo: Wikimedia Commons license.

Although no text describes the exact function of these lunulae, it is supposed that they probably placed the child under the protection of the goddess Artemis, in her capacity as protector of the birth and growth of humans and animals. This lunar symbolism seems very old. A stone vase from the New Kingdom (1500-1000 BC), preserved at the Brooklyn Museum, depicts a woman with a lunula-shaped pendant breastfeeding a baby ("Les amulettes d'enfants dans le monde gréco-romain" – V. Dasen - Latomus, T. 62, Fasc. 2, pp. 275-289, 2003).