Editing Gold (section)

=== Culture ===
{{anchor|Cultural history}}
[[File:Jewelry and clothing ornaments.jpg|thumb|[[Arts in the Philippines|Gold crafts from the Philippines]] prior to Western contact]]
In popular culture gold is a high standard of excellence, often used in awards.<ref name="Jansen-2008" /> Great achievements are frequently rewarded with gold, in the form of [[gold medal]]s, gold [[trophy|trophies]] and other decorations. Winners of athletic events and other graded competitions are usually awarded a gold medal. Many awards such as the [[Nobel Prize]] are made from gold as well. Other award statues and prizes are depicted in gold or are [[gold plated]] (such as the [[Academy Awards]], the [[Golden Globe Awards]], the [[Emmy Awards]], the [[Palme d'Or]], and the [[British Academy Film Awards]]).<ref>H. G. Bachmann, ''The lure of gold : an artistic and cultural history'' (2006).</ref>

[[Aristotle]] in his [[Aristotelian ethics|ethics]] used gold symbolism when referring to what is now known as the [[golden mean (philosophy)|golden mean]]. Similarly, gold is associated with perfect or divine principles, such as in the case of the [[golden ratio]] and the [[Golden Rule]]. Gold is further associated with the wisdom of aging and fruition. The fiftieth [[wedding anniversary]] is golden. A person's most valued or most successful latter years are sometimes considered "golden years" or "golden jubilee". The height of a civilization is referred to as a [[golden age (metaphor)|golden age]].<ref>Lubna Umar and Sarwet Rasul, "Critical Metaphor Analysis: Nawaz Sharif and the Myth of a Golden Time" ''NUML Journal of Critical Inquiry'' 15#2,  (Dec 2017): 78–102.</ref>

==== Religion ====
[[File:Filippine, provincia di agusan, immagine hindu, statuetta in oro massiccio, xiii secolo.jpg|thumb|The [[Agusan image]], depicting a deity from northeast [[Mindanao]]]]
The first known prehistoric human usages of gold were [[Prehistoric religion|religious]] in nature.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lioudis |first=Nick |date=30 April 2023 |title=What Is the Gold Standard? Advantages, Alternatives, and History |url=https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/gold-standard.asp |access-date=21 September 2023 |website=[[Investopedia]] |language=en}}</ref>

In some forms of Christianity and Judaism, gold has been associated both with the sacred and evil. In the [[Book of Exodus]], the [[Golden Calf]] is a symbol of [[idolatry]], while in the [[Book of Genesis]], [[Abraham]] was said to be rich in gold and silver, and Moses was instructed to cover the [[Mercy Seat]] of [[Ark of the Covenant|the Ark of the Covenant]] with pure gold. In [[Eastern Christianity|Byzantine]] [[icon]]ography the [[Halo (religious iconography)|halos]] of Christ, [[Virgin Mary]] and the saints are often golden.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Alborn | first1 = Timothy | year = 2017 | title = The Greatest Metaphor Ever Mixed: Gold in the British Bible, 1750–1850 | url = https://academicworks.cuny.edu/le_pubs/184| journal = Journal of the History of Ideas | volume = 78 | issue = 3| pages = 427–447 | doi = 10.1353/jhi.2017.0024 | pmid = 28757488 | s2cid = 27312741 }}</ref>

In [[Islam]],<ref name="Moors-2013">{{cite journal |last1=Moors |first1=Annelies |title=Wearing gold, owning gold: the multiple meanings of gold jewelry |journal=Etnofoor |date=2013 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=78–89 |oclc=858949147|issn=0921-5158}}</ref> gold (along with [[silk]])<ref name="Boulanouar-2011">{{cite thesis |last1=Boulanouar |first1=Aisha Wood |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10523/1748|title=Myths and Reality: Meaning in Moroccan Muslim Women's Dress |date=2011 |publisher=University of Otago |hdl=10523/1748 |type=Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy|citeseerx=10.1.1.832.2031 }}</ref><ref name="Poonai-2015">{{cite web |last1=Poonai |first1=Anand |title=Islamic Male Clothing |url=https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/whatwewear/men/ |website=Who We Are & What We Wear |access-date=17 June 2020 |date=2015}}</ref> is often cited as being forbidden for men to wear.<ref name="Aziz-2010">{{cite journal |last1=Aziz |first1=Rookhsana |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10500/4888 |title=Hijab – The Islamic Dress Code: Its historical development, evidence from sacred sources and views of selected Muslim scholars |date=November 2010 |publisher=University of South Africa|journal=UNISA EDT (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)|hdl=10500/4888 |type=Thesis, Master of Arts|citeseerx=10.1.1.873.8651 }}</ref> [[Abu Bakr al-Jazaeri]], quoting a [[hadith]], said that "[t]he wearing of silk and gold are forbidden on the males of my nation, and they are lawful to their women".<ref name="Toronto-2001">{{cite journal |last1=Toronto |first1=James A. |title=Many Voices, One ''Umma'': Sociopolitical Debate in the Muslim Community |journal=BYU Studies Quarterly |date=1 October 2001 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=29–50 |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss4/4}}</ref> This, however, has not been enforced consistently throughout history, e.g. in the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Jirousek-2004">{{cite web |last1=Jirousek |first1=Charlotte |title=Islamic Clothing |url=http://char.txa.cornell.edu/islamicclothes.htm |publisher=Encyclopedia of Islam |access-date=17 June 2020 |date=2004}}</ref> Further, small gold accents on clothing, such as in [[embroidery]], may be permitted.<ref name="Omar-2014">{{cite journal |last1=Omar |first1=Sara |title=Dress |journal=The Encyclopedia of Islam and Law, Oxford Islamic Studies Online |date=28 March 2014 |url=https://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t349/e0040 }} {{dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|mythology]], [[Theia]] was seen as the goddess of gold, silver and other [[gemstone]]s.<ref>{{cite book | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=c7cNB-JaZA8C&pg=PT153 153] | last1 = Daly | last2 = Rengel | title = Greek and Roman Mythology, A to Z | first1 = Kathleen N. | first2 = Marian | publisher = Chelsea House Publishers | date = 1992 | isbn = 978-1-60413-412-4}}</ref>

According to [[Christopher Columbus]], those who had something of gold were in possession of something of great value on Earth and a substance to even help souls to paradise.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bernstein |first=Peter L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dIYmHiYhDu8C |title=The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession |date=2004 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-43659-1 |page=1}}</ref>

[[Wedding ring]]s are typically made of gold. It is long lasting and unaffected by the passage of time and may aid in the ring symbolism of eternal vows before God and the perfection the marriage signifies. In [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] wedding ceremonies, the wedded couple is adorned with a golden crown (though some opt for wreaths, instead) during the ceremony, an amalgamation of symbolic rites.{{Explain|reason=Is it a single crown and where does the amalgamation come from?|date=September 2023}}

On 24 August 2020, [[Israel]]i archaeologists discovered a trove of early [[Islam]]ic gold coins near the central city of [[Yavne]]. Analysis of the extremely rare collection of 425 gold coins indicated that they were from the late 9th century. Dating to around 1,100 years back, the gold coins were from the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/5a35414a3fdcdf42c68a274b69595750|title=Israeli dig unearths large trove of early Islamic gold coins|access-date=24 August 2020|website=Associated Press|date=24 August 2020 }}</ref>