AGreek cross (all arms of equal length) above asaltire, a cross whose limbs are slanted
Thecross is a geometrical figure consisting of twointersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letterX, is also termed asaltire inheraldic terminology. Throughout centuries the cross in its various shapes and forms was a symbol of various beliefs.
The cross has been widely taken as an official symbol of theChristian faith exclusively from an early period inthat religion's history to present.[1][2][3] In pre-Christian times, it was used as a religious or cultural symbol throughoutEurope, inwest andsouth Asia (the latter, in the form of the originalswastika); and inAncient Egypt, where theAnkh was a hieroglyph that represented "life" and was used in the worship of the godAten. It often appeared in conjunction with the female-genital circle or oval to signify the sacred marriage, as in the Egyptian amuletNefer,[4] which features the male cross and female orb, considered an amulet of blessedness and a charm of sexual harmony.[5]
Latincrux referred to thegibbet where criminals were executed, a stake or pole, with or withouttransom, on which the condemned were impaled or hanged, but more particularly a cross or the pole of a carriage.[6] The derived verbcruciāre means "to put to death on the cross" or, more frequently, "to put to the rack, to torture, torment", especially in reference to mental troubles.[7] In the Roman world,furca replacedcrux as the name of some cross-like instruments for lethal and temporary punishment,[8][9] ranging from aforked cross to a gibbet orgallows.[10]
The field of etymology is of no help in any effort to trace a supposed original meaning ofcrux.[11] Acrux can be of various shapes: from a single beam used for impaling or suspending (crux simplex) to the various composite kinds of cross (crux compacta) made from more beams than one. The latter shapes include not only the traditional †-shaped cross (thecrux immissa), but also the T-shaped cross (thecrux commissa ortau cross), which thedescriptions in antiquity of the execution cross indicate as the normal form in use at that time, and the X-shaped cross (thecrux decussata orsaltire).
The Greek equivalent of Latincrux "stake, gibbet" isstauros, found in texts of four centuries or more before the gospels and always in the plural number to indicate a stake or pole. From the first century BC, it is used to indicate an instrument used in executions. The Greek word is used indescriptions in antiquity of the execution cross, which indicate that its normal shape was similar to the Greek lettertau (Τ).[12][13][14][15]
Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; aspetroglyphs in Europeancult caves, dating back to the beginning of theUpper Paleolithic, and throughout prehistory to theIron Age.[16]Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including thecrux gammata with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptiancrux ansata with a loop.
Speculation has associated the cross symbol – even in the prehistoric period – with astronomical or cosmologicalsymbology involving"four elements" (Chevalier, 1997) or thecardinal points, or the unity of a verticalaxis mundi or celestial pole with the horizontalworld (Koch, 1955). Speculation of this kind became especially popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context ofcomparative mythology seeking to tieChristian mythology to ancientcosmological myths. Influential works in this vein includedG. de Mortillet (1866),[17] L. Müller (1865),[18] W. W. Blake (1888),[19] Ansault (1891),[20] etc.
Archaic cuneiform character LAK-617 (𒔁): a cruciform arrangement of five boxes; scribes could use the central, larger box as container for other characters.
The shape of the cross (crux,stauros "stake,gibbet"), as represented by the Latin letterT, came to be used as a new symbol (seal) or emblem ofChristianity since the2nd century AD to succeedingIchthys in aftermaths of that new religion'sseparation fromJudaism.[23]Clement of Alexandria in the early 3rd century calls itτὸ κυριακὸν σημεῖον ("the Lord's sign") he repeats the idea, current as early as theEpistle of Barnabas, that the number 318 (inGreek numerals, ΤΙΗ) in Genesis 14:14 was a foreshadowing (a "type") of the cross (the letter Tau) and of Jesus (the lettersIota Eta).[24] Clement's contemporaryTertullian rejects the accusation that Christians arecrucis religiosi (i.e. "adorers of the gibbet"), and returns the accusation by likening the worship of pagan idols to the worship of poles or stakes.[25]In his bookDe Corona, written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads thesign of the cross.[26]
While early Christians used the T-shape to represent the cross in writing and gesture, the use of theGreek cross andLatin cross, i.e. crosses with intersecting beams, appears in Christian art towards the end ofLate Antiquity. An early example of thecruciform halo, used to identify Christ in paintings, is found in theMiracles of the Loaves and Fishes mosaic ofSant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (6th century). ThePatriarchal cross, a Latin cross with an additional horizontal bar, first appears in the 10th century. A wide variation of cross symbols is introduced for the purposes ofheraldry beginning in the age of theCrusades.[27]
Sumerian cuneiform had a simple cross-shaped character, consisting of a horizontal and a vertical wedge (𒈦), read asmaš "tax, yield, interest"; the superposition of two diagonal wedges results in a decussate cross (𒉽), read aspap "first, pre-eminent" (the superposition of these two types of crosses results in the eight-pointed star used as the sign for "sky" or "deity" (𒀭),DINGIR). The cuneiform script has other, more complex, cruciform characters, consisting of an arrangement of boxes or the fourfold arrangement of other characters, including thearchaic cuneiform charactersLAK-210, LAK-276, LAK-278, LAK-617 and the classical sign EZEN (𒂡).[28]
Themultiplication sign (×), often attributed toWilliam Oughtred (who first used it in an appendix to the 1618 edition of John Napier'sDescriptio) apparently had been in occasional use since the mid 16th century.[29]
The "sun cross" or "wheel cross" appears with some regularity in prehistoric European artefacts, usually interpreted as asolar symbol, perhaps representing the spoked wheel of theSun chariot.
The crossed swords symbol (⚔ at Unicode U+2694) is used to represent battlegrounds on maps. It is also used to show that person died in battle or that a war machine was lost in action. Two crossed swords also look like a Christian cross and the mixed symbolism has been used in military decorations. It is also a popular way to display swords on a wall often with a shield in the center
Cross shapes are made by a variety of physicalgestures.Crossing the fingers of one hand is a common invocation of the symbol. Thesign of the cross associated with Christiangenuflection is made with one hand: in Eastern Orthodox tradition the sequence is head-heart-right shoulder-left shoulder, while in Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican tradition the sequence is head-heart-left-right.
Crossing the index fingers of both hands represents and a charm against evil in European folklore. Other gestures involving more than one hand include the "cross my heart" movement associated with making a promise and theTau shape of thereferee's "time out" hand signal.
^Rebecca Stein, Philip L. Stein.The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft.Taylor & Francis. p. 62.The cross is a symbol most clearly associated with Christianity.
^Jensen, Steffen; Rønsbo, Henrik (2014).Histories of Victimhood. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 32.ISBN978-0-8122-0931-0.The jurist Julius Paulus, for example, "gives crucifixion (furca = gallows, the word that replaced the 'holy' word cross in legal literature afterConstantine)" as one punishment for deserters and for betrayers of secrets (Hengel 1977:39; Bauman 1996:151)
^Pickering, F. P. (1980).Essays on Medieval German Literature and Iconography. Cambridge University Press. p. 73.ISBN978-0-521-22627-1.According to the article "crux" inPauly-Wissowa, the old termfurca may have been revived underJustinian to shield the sacred term from misuse; its shape, the conventional 'gallows', may have been evolved in such a way as to avoid any association with the Christian cross.
^Rees, Abraham (1824).The Cyclopædia. Samuel F. Bradford. p. 148.
^Bailey, Douglass W. (2005).Prehistoric figurines : representation and corporeality in the Neolithic. London: Routledge.ISBN0-203-39245-0.OCLC252740876.
^G. de Mortillet, "Le signe de la croix avant le christianisme", Paris, 1866
^L. Müller, "Ueber Sterne, Kreuze und Kränze als religiöse Symbole der alten Kulturvölker", Copenhagen, 1865
^Ansault, "Mémoire sur le culte de la croix avant Jésus-Christ", Paris, 1891.
^"In the bronze age we meet in different parts of Europe a more accurate representation of the cross, as conceived in Christian art, and in this shape it was soon widely diffused. This more precise characterization coincides with a corresponding general change in customs and beliefs. The cross is now met with, in various forms, on many objects: fibulas, cinctures, earthenware fragments, and on the bottom of drinking vessels. De Mortillet is of opinion that such use of the sign was not merely ornamental, but rather a symbol of consecration, especially in the case of objects pertaining to burial. In the proto-Etruscan cemetery of Golasecca every tomb has a vase with a cross engraved on it. True crosses of more or less artistic design have been found in Tiryns, at Mycenæ, in Crete, and on a fibula from Vulci." O. Marucchi, "Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix",Catholic Encyclopedia (1908).
^Benner, Jeff A."Taw (Tav)".The Ancient Hebrew Letters. Ancient Hebrew Research Center. Archived fromthe original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved17 June 2015.
^Kohler, Kaufmann."Cross".Jewish Encyclopaedia.Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.The cross as a Christian symbol or "seal" came into use at least as early since the 2nd century AD (see "Apost. Const." iii. 17; Epistle of Barnabas, xi.-xii.; Justin, "Apologia," i. 55-60; "Dial. cum Tryph." 85-97); and the marking of a cross upon the forehead and the chest was regarded as a talisman against the powers of demons (Tertullian, "De Corona," iii.; Cyprian, "Testimonies," xi. 21-22; Lactantius, "Divinæ Institutiones," iv. 27, and elsewhere). Accordingly the Christian Fathers had to defend themselves, as early as the second century, against the charge of being worshipers of the cross, as may be learned from Tertullian, "Apologia," xii., xvii., and Minucius Felix, "Octavius," xxix. Christians used to swear by the power of the cross
^Roberts, Alexander; Donaldson, James; Coxe, A. Cleveland; Knight, Kevin, eds. (1885)."Church Fathers: Apology (Tertullian) - Chapter 16".New Advent. Translated by Thelwall, S.Archived from the original on 12 March 2024.Then, if any of you think we render superstitious adoration to the cross, in that adoration he is sharer with us. If you offer homage to a piece of wood at all, it matters little what it is like when the substance is the same: it is of no consequence the form, if you have the very body of the god. And yet how far does the Athenian Pallas differ from the stock of the cross, or the Pharian Ceres as she is put up uncarved to sale, a mere rough stake and piece of shapeless wood? Every stake fixed in an upright position is a portion of the cross; we render our adoration, if you will have it so, to a god entire and complete. We have shown before that your deities are derived from shapes modelled from the cross.Sed et qui crucis nos religiosos putat, consecraneus noster erit. Cum lignum aliquod propitiatur, viderit habitus, dum materiae qualitas eadem sit; viderit forma, dum id ipsum dei corpus sit. Et tamen quanto distinguitur a crucis stipite Pallas Attica, et Ceres Pharia, quae sine effigie rudi palo et informi ligno prostat? Pars crucis est omne robur, quod erecta statione defigitur; nos, si forte, integrum et totum deum colimus. Diximus originem deorum vestrorum a plastis de cruce induci.
^"At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign" (De Corona, chapter 3)
^An example of a cruciform arrangement of a character that is itself cruciform is the ligature "EZEN x KASKAL squared", encoded byUnicode at U+120AD (𒂭).
^Florian Cajori,A History of Mathematical Notations. Dover Books on Mathematics (1929),251f.
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