What you see here is my flag of the Cyclades, Greece's central archipelago.
Actually, the Cyclades belong to the South Aegean region, alongside the Dodecanese islands. And this region is already represented by a fantastic and original flag depicting a circle and a dodecagon side by side in a simplistic manner. I can not surpass this by any means, not even with the flag you see now (though I admit having not understood the design at first).
Moving on, the flag I have created took some time and thinking. It is inspired by the flags of several other nations and, of course, the name of the island group. Cyclades mean 'round' or 'circle', and refers to the islands circling Delos. Delos is a small, barren island which was nonetheless significant as an ancient sanctuary where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis in Greek mythology, far from the prying eyes of vengeful Hera.
The central feature here is the circle which emphasises the name. It is made up of two semicircles: the top half is gold and depicts the sun rising, with rays stretching to the edges, while the bottom semicircle is in green, representing an island.
In the middle of the circle is a stylised head, representing the historical significance of the islands; the Cycladic Civilisation was the earliest Bronze Age civilisation of Greece and is well known for these stylized sculptures and figurines, which were remarkable for the fact that they in their purest form resemble modern abstract art.
The bottom half shows blue and white stripes, resembling the sea surrounding the islands, and also the national flag of Greece. In total there are nine stripes, representing the nine regional units of the Cyclades as of 2020: Andros, Kea-Kythnos, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini/Thyra, Syros and Tinos. Coincidentally there are nine stripes in the Greek national flag.
This flag is quite cluttered. I was also disappointed with the way I executed the work. Initially the circle was imperfect (the length was shorter than the height), so I went back to the drawing board to make it perfect again.
I also changed the colour of the shadow on the Cycladic face's nose from gold to grey in order to make it stand out- especially considering the sun was gold as well. This meant however that I had to include a fifth colour on my flag, and I am averse to more than four colours on a flag.
Have a look at the flag, drink it in and comment if you want. Any suggestions and improvements would be most welcome.
Actually, the Cyclades belong to the South Aegean region, alongside the Dodecanese islands. And this region is already represented by a fantastic and original flag depicting a circle and a dodecagon side by side in a simplistic manner. I can not surpass this by any means, not even with the flag you see now (though I admit having not understood the design at first).
Moving on, the flag I have created took some time and thinking. It is inspired by the flags of several other nations and, of course, the name of the island group. Cyclades mean 'round' or 'circle', and refers to the islands circling Delos. Delos is a small, barren island which was nonetheless significant as an ancient sanctuary where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis in Greek mythology, far from the prying eyes of vengeful Hera.
The central feature here is the circle which emphasises the name. It is made up of two semicircles: the top half is gold and depicts the sun rising, with rays stretching to the edges, while the bottom semicircle is in green, representing an island.
In the middle of the circle is a stylised head, representing the historical significance of the islands; the Cycladic Civilisation was the earliest Bronze Age civilisation of Greece and is well known for these stylized sculptures and figurines, which were remarkable for the fact that they in their purest form resemble modern abstract art.
The bottom half shows blue and white stripes, resembling the sea surrounding the islands, and also the national flag of Greece. In total there are nine stripes, representing the nine regional units of the Cyclades as of 2020: Andros, Kea-Kythnos, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini/Thyra, Syros and Tinos. Coincidentally there are nine stripes in the Greek national flag.
This flag is quite cluttered. I was also disappointed with the way I executed the work. Initially the circle was imperfect (the length was shorter than the height), so I went back to the drawing board to make it perfect again.
I also changed the colour of the shadow on the Cycladic face's nose from gold to grey in order to make it stand out- especially considering the sun was gold as well. This meant however that I had to include a fifth colour on my flag, and I am averse to more than four colours on a flag.
Have a look at the flag, drink it in and comment if you want. Any suggestions and improvements would be most welcome.
