The white birds that are most commonly associated with peace are doves. Doves have been a symbol of peace and innocence for thousands of years across many different cultures and religions. In this article, we will explore why doves represent peace, their significance in religion and myth, and some of their other symbolic meanings.
Why Do Doves Represent Peace?
There are a few key reasons why doves are so strongly connected to peace:
- Their gentle nature. Doves are small, delicate birds that tend to be quite tame and docile. Their non-threatening appearance reinforces their association with gentleness and harmlessness.
- Their white color. The pure white feathers of doves evoke ideas like purity, innocence, and faith. White is also the color associated with surrender during war, making it a fitting symbol for peace.
- They are monogamous. Doves tend to mate for life, reinforcing ideas of loyalty and faithfulness. Their lifelong bonds with a single partner resonate with concepts of harmony and faith.
- Their sounds. Doves coo and make soft, musical sounds. Their calming vocalizations evoke tranquility.
- They don’t have weapons or defenses. Unlike birds of prey like hawks and eagles, doves lack sharp talons, hooked beaks, or other natural armaments. Their defenselessness echoes ideas of nonviolence.
Together, the dove’s gentle nature, purity, loyalty, musical sounds, and defenselessness reinforce why they have been seen as emblems of peace for millennia. Their soft, delicate, and harmless appearance serves as the perfect counterpoint to images of war, violence, and discord.
Doves in Religion and Mythology
The dove as a symbol of peace is found across numerous religious and mythological traditions:
- In the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark, a dove was released by Noah to find land after the flood. It came back carrying an olive leaf in its beak, signaling that the waters were receding and land was near. The dove is seen as a messenger of hope, peace, and renewal in this context.
- In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is depicted descending on Jesus like a dove during his baptism. The dove here represents the peace and purity of the Holy Spirit.
- In ancient Greek mythology, doves drew the chariot of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The dove was a sacred animal associated with Aphrodite and became a symbol of devotion and feminine purity.
- In ancient Mesopotamia, doves were associated with the goddess Ishtar, who was the deity of love and war. Doves represented her more peaceful, nurturing side.
- In Hinduism and Buddhism, Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music, art, and wisdom is associated with a white swan. However, the swan and dove are closely related and serve as symbols of wisdom, purity, and peace.
Across these faiths and myths, the dove encapsulates ideas like hope, renewal, purity, femininity, and peaceful attributes of the divine. Their representation as messengers between gods and humans also cement them as emblems of communication, harmony, and security.
Other Symbolic Meanings of Doves
Beyond peace, doves symbolize:
- Love. Similarly to how they were associated with goddesses of love like Aphrodite.
- Fidelity. Because they are monogamous and mate for life.
- Motherhood. Their unique way of producing “crop milk” links them to maternal nurturing.
- Sacrifice. In some traditions, doves were ritually sacrificed or offered as gifts to the gods.
- Resurrection. In Christianity, their release represents the ascent of the soul to heaven.
- New beginnings. In the story of Noah’s Ark, the dove signals the start of a new era after the flood.
- Messages. Historically used to carry written messages due to their strong homing ability.
- Beauty. The dove’s pleasant form and color has led to its association with beauty.
So while peace may be the most common symbolic meaning of the dove today, they have accrued a wide array of auspicious signification across history, religion, myth, and folklore.
Types of Doves
There are over 300 species in the dove family, which belongs to the order Columbiformes. Here are some of the most common varieties:
| Type | Description |
| Rock dove | The most common species, includes domesticated versions like homing pigeons. Typically blue-gray in color with two black bands on the wings. |
| Mourning dove | A slender, long-tailed species common across North America. Light grayish-brown color with black spots on the wings. |
| White dove | Often used ceremonial releases. Actually rock doves selectively bred to be pure white. |
| Ringneck dove | Small, exotic looking doves with a pale base color and dark collar at back of neck. Common pet species. |
| Laughing dove | Old World species with a distinct call that sounds like human laughter. Known for keeping pairs for life. |
| Eurasian collared dove | Pale grey-buff color with black collar and white tail tips. Named for the black half ring at nape of neck. |
| Diamond dove | Tiny, long-tailed Australian species. Iridescent pinkish-grey with white diamond-shaped markings. |
These are just a sample of the diverse Columbiformes order, which has a worldwide distribution. The great variety of dove species reflects their broad symbolic appeal.
Threats Facing Doves
While long revered as symbols of peace, modern times have introduced several threats to wild dove populations:
- Habitat loss from urbanization and agriculture. Native grasslands and forests have declined, impacting dove nesting and foraging.
- Climate change. Shifts in seasonal patterns and extreme weather disrupt migration and breeding.
- Poaching and unsustainable hunting. Doves are legal game species in many areas but can be over-hunted.
- Pesticides. Chemical use reduces available food resources and causes direct poisoning.
- Power lines. Collisions with transmission lines is a major source of mortality.
- Feral cats. Dove nests are vulnerable to cat predation in urban and suburban areas.
Several dove species now have declining populations, including the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in 1914 due to hunting. Protecting dove habitats and establishing hunting limits helps preserve these birds so symbolic of peace.
Use of Doves as Symbols of Peace
Given their traditional associations, doves remain widely used as emblems of peace and tranquility:
- White doves are released at weddings to represent the new couple’s love, fidelity, and hope for a peaceful future.
- Doves feature prominently in artistic depictions of biblical scenes, saints, and other Christian themes involving peace.
- Picasso’s lithograph La Colombe is a ubiquitous modern image of a dove representing peace.
- The Nobel Peace Prize features a medal bearing the image of a dove.
- Doves were symbols of pacifist movements opposing war and violence in the 1960s.
- Dove emojis and clip art are used to represent ideas like love, hope, and peaceful thoughts.
- Rainstick wind chimes with dove silhouettes create soothing, peaceful sounds.
In an era still beset by violence and conflict, the dove remains a powerful artistic and symbolic emblem of the human ideals of peace, love, harmony, and innocence. Their continued relevance is a testament to how deeply ingrained the dove’s image is within the collective human consciousness.
Conclusion
The dove’s universal recognition as a symbol of peace arises from its gentle, pure, loyal, and harmless nature. Its connections to peace outdate recorded history, threading through religious texts, myths, folklore, art, and literature across cultures. More than merely a visual image of peace, the dove embodies timeless human aspirations for love, fidelity, spiritual transcendence, and an end to violence. This potent symbolism continues to inspire people across the world in the perpetual quest for grace, harmony, and hope. Though doves face mounting habitat pressures in the modern world, protecting these ancient messengers of peace honors both the birds and the ideals they represent.
