The meaning of the runic symbols of Titan

The meaning of the runic symbols of Titan

12 Monkeys calls on a variety of different mythologies and ancient historical references, many of which will not be fully understood until Season 4 is complete. We know that the Army have links to an ancient Syrian religious sect, and in season 4, we will be travelling back much further in time than we ever have before, possibly to reveal the earliest origination of the cult.

There are a few symbols we have some hints about though, that reinforce the close connection between the Army of the 12 Monkeys and time.

The cult amulet / medallion

Senior members of the Army of the 12 wear medallions, that some have theorised represents two people back to back walking up stairs, echoing ‘Climb the steps, ring the bell’. However the production team have dropped a few hints, so we can confirm the symbol is in fact the number ’12’ plus  mirror image in Syriac Serṭā, a dialect of Aramaic (a language of ancient Syria).

A guide to numerals in Syriac by Gareth Hughes shows how a 12 is formed from the Syriac symbols Yōḏ (10) and Bēṯ (2)

 

The symbols on the dais

This also gives us a clue to the symbols seen on the various circular dais seen in Titan, and Monkey Mansion.

On closer inspection the symbols appear to be 12 characters. In fact they appear to be a clock face of sorts.

The symbols closely resemble those used on clock faces using the Hebrew block text alphabet (which is derived from Aramaic).

Interestingly we see 4 different circular platforms in Titan and Monkey Mansion in Season 2 and 3, and two of them are clockwise, while the other two are counterclockwise.

There is a historical precedent for a counterclockwise Hebrew clock on the Jewish Town Hall in Prague.

With thanks to Reddit user taltos19 for discovering the meaning of the amulet symbol.