Heptadecaphobia

Heptadecaphobia (Greek: δεκαεπτά "seventeen" and φόβος, phobos, "fear") or heptadekaphobia is the fear of the number 17. It is considered to be ill-fated in Italy and other countries of Greek and Latin origins, while the date Friday the 17th is considered especially unfortunate in Italy. The number is feared due to superstition, and is similar in nature to the fear of the number 13 in Anglo-Saxon countries.

Heptadecaphobia
Row 17 is omitted on this Alitalia plane
SpecialtyPsychology

History

In Ancient Greece, the number 17 was despised by followers of Pythagoras, as the number was between 16 and 18, which were perfect representations of 4×4 and 3×6 quadrilaterals, respectively.[1]

In the Old Testament, it is written that the universal flood began on the 17th of the second month (Genesis, 7–11).[2]

In Ancient Rome, the term "VIXI" (Latin for "I lived", signifying that the person is now dead) was commonly inscribed on tombs of the deceased. This is an anagram of "XVII", the number 17 in Roman numerals.[3]

It is possible that the fear of the number 17 was influenced by the Battle of Teutoburg in 9 AD fought between the Romans and the Germans of Arminius and the destruction of legions 17, 18 and 19: after that date these numbers, considered inauspicious, were no longer attributed to any legion.

In La smorfia napoletana, a "dictionary" that associated certain vocabulary words to numbers to be played in the lottery, the number 17 is associated to "misfortune".[4]

Friday the 17th

Indigenous to Italy, Friday the 17th is a date of misfortune, as it is a date of two negatives: Friday (from Good Friday, the day of Jesus' death) and the number 17.[5]

Friday the 17th is similar to other unfortunate dates: for example, in Anglo-Saxon countries, this date is Friday the 13th, while in Spain, Greece, and South America, this date is Tuesday the 13th.

In mass media, the theme is portrayed in movies, such as The Virtuous Bigamist (Italian: "Era di venerdì 17") and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (Italian: "Shriek - Hai impegni per venerdì 17? ", where in English, the title refers to the number 13.)

References
  1. "CICAP Piemonte". www.cicap.org. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  2. "Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 7:11 - King James Version". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  3. "Venerdì 17". Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  4. "Numero 17 nella smorfia napoletana - 'a Disgrazzia ( La sfortuna)". Smorfia.org. 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  5. "Venerdì 17, una giornata temuta". TGCOM. October 16, 2008. Archived from the original on October 17, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
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