Alpha (Α, α) and omega (Ω, ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and a title of Christ or God in the Book of Revelation. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the Cross, Chi Rho or other Christian symbols.
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👉 Alpha and omega in the context of Tragic Prelude
Tragic Prelude is a mural painted by the American artist John Steuart Curry for the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka, Kansas. It is located on the east side of the second floor rotunda. On the north wall it depicts the abolitionist John Brown with a Bible in one hand, on which the Greek letters alpha and omega of Revelation 1:8 can be seen. In his other hand he holds a rifle, referred to as the "Beecher's Bibles". He is in front of Union and Confederate soldiers, living and dead, with a tornado and a prairie fire approaching. Emigrants with covered wagons travel from east to west.
The "tragic prelude" is the Bleeding Kansas period of 1854–1860, seen as a prelude to or dress rehearsal for the Civil War, a period of which John Brown was at the center, fighting to prevent Kansas from being made a slave state. The term "tragic prelude" for this period of Kansas history is attributed by Curry to his patron, the newspaper editor William Allen White.
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Alpha and omega in the context of Pendilia
Pendilia (singular pendilium; from Latin pendulus, hanging) or pendoulia (the Greek equivalent), are pendants or dangling ornaments hanging from a piece of metalwork such as a crown, votive crown, crux gemmata, or kamelaukion, and are a feature of Early Medieval goldsmith work. On crosses the pendilia may include the letters alpha and omega, and on votive offerings, which were often designed to be hung over altars and where pendilia are at their largest and most spectacular, they may spell out whole words (see illustration).
The term is commonly used in coin collecting. Pendilia are depicted on coins as jewels or pearls hanging from the sides of the crown, and occur frequently on coins of Byzantine emperors. The pendilia which hung from the Emperors' crowns began with Marcian. Although the years saw the styles of crown change, the pendilia remained, at least through Manuel II Palaiologos. Surviving crowns with pendilia include the Holy Crown of Hungary and many votive crowns of the Treasure of Guarrazar from Visigothic Spain.