The origins of the symbol as a phenomenon of culture, which is one of its characteristic features, are investigated. The analysis of the symbol phenomenon is based on the data of a myth, which is considered not as fiction, but important ancient knowledge. The symbol, its origins, nature and transformations are also analyzed in correlation with the teachings of antiquity and eastern religious and philosophical systems. Three composite elements are distinguished in a multi-layer symbol structure. This core is a kind of "capsule" of eternal meaning; periphery - the zone of fragmentation, development and synthesis of semantic components and the "shell" - the sphere of interaction of the periphery with the World of finite forms, visible, accessible to the perception of a modern person.