Editing Fleur-de-lis (section)

===Ancient usages===
It has consistently been used as a royal emblem, though different cultures have interpreted its meaning in varying ways. [[Roman Gallia (Gaul)|Gaulish]] coins show the first Western designs which look similar to modern ''fleurs-de-lis''.<ref name="Michel Pastoureau p.99">Michel Pastoureau, ''Heraldry: its origins and meaning'' p. 99</ref> In the [[Eastern world|East]] it was found on the gold helmet of a [[Scythians|Scythian]] king uncovered at the Ak-Burun [[kurgan]] and conserved in [[Saint Petersburg]]'s [[Hermitage Museum]].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.anaharsis.ru/histori/Skif/R19.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328035055/http://www.anaharsis.ru/histori/Skif/R19.htm | url-status=dead |title= Золотой шлем скифского царя. Ак-Бурун, VI в. до н. э. – Сервис регистрации доменов и хостинга *.RU-TLD.RU |archive-date=28 March 2009|website=www.anaharsis.ru}}</ref>

See also the very similar lily symbol on [[Yehud coinage|coins from the Achemenid and Ptolemaic province of Yehud]] (c. 350-200 BCE) and [[Hasmonean dynasty#Numismatics|Hasmonean-ruled Judah]] (2nd and 1st century BCE).

Among the [[pre-Columbian]] [[Maya peoples|Maya]] of [[Central America]], the water lily represented the watery surface of the [[Xibalba|underworld]] and the Earth's regenerative power, being depicted as a fleur-de-lis in Maya art.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/126858/water-lily-vessel | title=Water-Lily Vessel }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/exploring-the-early-americas/interactives/reading-pre-columbian-artifacts/items/item-4.html | title=Fleur-de-lys Vase with Primary Standard Sequence Glyph Band - Reading Pre-Columbian Artifacts - Exploring the Early Americas &#124; Exhibitions - Library of Congress | website=[[Library of Congress]] }}</ref> The fleur-de-lis also appears alongside some depictions of the rain god [[Chaac]], the Maya counterpart of the [[Aztec]] [[Tlaloc]] or [[Zapotec peoples|Zapotec]] [[Cocijo]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bukowskis.com/sv/auctions/583/1512-a-mayan-polychrome-tripod-ceremonial-chocolate-bowl-late-classic-ca-550-950-a-d | title=A MAYAN POLYCHROME TRIPOD CEREMONIAL CHOCOLATE BOWL, late Classic, ca 550-950 A.D. }}</ref>