Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting 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 letter X, is termed a saltire in heraldic terminology.
The cross has been widely recognized as a symbol of Christianity from an early period in that religion's history.[1][2][3] Before then, it was used as a religious or cultural symbol throughout Europe, in western and south Asia (the latter, in the form of the original Swastika); and in Egypt, where the Ankh was a hieroglyph that represented "life" and was used in the worship of the god Aten. The effigy of a man hanging on a cross was set up in the fields to protect the crops.[citation needed] It often appeared in conjunction with the female-genital circle or oval, to signify the sacred marriage, as in Egyptian amulet Nefer[4] with male cross and female orb, considered as an amulet of blessedness, a charm of sexual harmony.[5]
Name
The word
Latin crux referred to the
The field of etymology is of no help in any effort to trace a supposed original meaning of crux.[11] A crux 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 (the crux immissa), but also the T-shaped cross (the crux commissa or tau cross), which the descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross indicate as the normal form in use at that time, and the X-shaped cross (the crux decussata or saltire).
The Greek equivalent of Latin crux "stake, gibbet" is
History
Pre-Christian
Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; as petroglyphs in European cult caves, dating back to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, and throughout prehistory to the Iron Age.[16] Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including the crux gammata with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptian crux ansata with a loop.
Speculation has associated the cross symbol – even in the prehistoric period – with astronomical or cosmological
In the
The cross sign occurs trivially in
In the
Post-Christian
The shape of the cross (crux,
While early Christians used the T-shape to represent the cross in writing and gesture, the use of the
Marks and graphemes
The
Egyptian hieroglyphs involving cross shapes include ankh "life", ndj "protect" and nfr "good; pleasant, beautiful".
Phoenician tāw is still cross-shaped in
The letter
Other, unrelated cross-shaped letters include
.The multiplication sign (×), often attributed to William Oughtred (who first used it in an appendix to the 1618 edition of John Napier's Descriptio) apparently had been in occasional use since the mid 16th century.[29]
Other typographical symbols resembling crosses include the dagger or obelus (†), the Chinese (十, Kangxi radical 24) and Roman (X ten).
Unicode has a variety of cross symbols in the "Dingbat" block (U+2700–U+27BF):
- ✕ ✖ ✗ ✘ ✙ ✚ ✛ ✜ ✝ ✞ ✟ ✠ ✢ ✣ ✤ ✥
The
Emblems
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2016) |
The following is a list of cross symbols, except for variants of the Christian cross and Heraldic crosses, for which see the dedicated lists at Christian cross variants and Crosses in heraldry, respectively.
Picture | Cross name | Description |
---|---|---|
Ankh | The ankh or crux ansata, an Egyptian hieroglyph representing "life".
| |
Basque cross
|
The Basque cross or lauburu. | |
the Sun cross | The "sun cross" or "wheel cross" appears with some regularity in prehistoric European artefacts, usually interpreted as a Sun chariot .
| |
Swastika |
The swastika or crux gammata (in heraldry fylfot), historically used as a symbol in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, and widely popular in the early 20th century as a symbol of good luck or prosperity before adopted as a symbol of Nazism in the 1920s and 30s. |
- As a design element
Picture | Cross name | Description |
---|---|---|
Crossed keys | Symbol of the Papacy used in various emblems representing the keys to heaven. | |
Crossed swords | 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 | |
Four-leaf clover | Used as a symbol for luck as well as a stand in for a cross in various works. | |
Skull and crossbones | Traditionally used to mark Spanish cemeteries; the symbol evolved to represent death/danger, poison, and pirates. |
Physical gestures
Cross shapes are made by a variety of physical gestures. Crossing the fingers of one hand is a common invocation of the symbol. The sign of the cross associated with Christian genuflection 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 the Tau shape of the referee's "time out" hand signal.
In Chinese-speaking cultures, crossed index fingers represent the number 10.
Unicode
Unicode provides various cross symbol:[30]
Symbol | Name | Code Point |
---|---|---|
✚ | Heavy Greek Cross | U+271A |
✠ | Maltese Cross | U+2720 |
♱ | East Syriac Cross | U+2671 |
♰ | West Syriac Cross | U+2670 |
☩ | Jerusalem Cross | U+2629 |
☨ | Cross of Lorraine | U+2628 |
☩ | Cross of Jerusalem | U+2629 |
✟ | Latin Cross outline | U+271F |
✞ | Shadowed White Latin Cross | U+271E |
✟ | Outlined Cross | U+271F |
✝ | Latin Roman Cross | U+271D |
† | Cross | U+2020 |
✛ | Open Centre Cross | U+271B |
✙ | Outlined Greek Cross | U+2719 |
✘ | Heavy Ballot X | U+2718 |
✜ | Heavy Open Centre Cross | U+271C |
✖ | Heavy Multiplication X | U+2716 |
❌ | Cross Mark | U+274C |
✗ | Ballot X | U+2717 |
✢ | Four Teardrop-Spoked Asterisk | U+2722 |
✤ | Heavy Four Balloon-Spoked Asterisk | U+2724 |
References
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 1-4051-0901-7pages 321-323
- ^ George Willard Benson. The Cross: Its History and Symbolism. p. 11.
- ^ "Nefer".
- ^ Walker, Barbara G. (1983). The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers. p. 188.
- ^ Lewis and Short, A Latin Dictionary: crux
- ^ Lewis and Short, A Latin Dictionary: crucio
- ISBN 978-0-8122-0931-0.)" as one punishment for deserters and for betrayers of secrets (Hengel 1977:39; Bauman 1996:151)
The jurist Julius Paulus, for example, "gives crucifixion (furca = gallows, the word that replaced the 'holy' word cross in legal literature after Constantine
- Justinianto 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.
- ^ Gunnar Samuelsson, Crucifixion in Antiquity (Mohr Siebeck 2011), p. 203
- ^ "The Epistle of Barnabas, IX".
- ^ "Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, book VI, chapter 11".
- ^ "Adversus Marcionem, liber III, cap. XXII".
- ^ "Lucian, Trial in the Court of Vowels".
- OCLC 252740876.
- ^ 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
- ^ W. W. Blake, "The Cross, Ancient and Modern" New York, 1888
- ^ 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 from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- Jewish Encyclopaedia. Archivedfrom the original on 7 October 2011.
The cross as a Christian symbol or "seal" came into use at least as early as the second century (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
- ^ "Clement of Alexandria: Stromata, Book 6". Early Christian Writings. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ 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)
- ^ William Wood Seymour, "The Cross in Heraldry", The Cross in Tradition, History, and Art (1898).
- Unicodeat U+120AD (𒂭).
- ^ Florian Cajori, A History of Mathematical Notations. Dover Books on Mathematics (1929), 251f.
- ^ "Cross symbol".
- Chevalier, Jean (1997). The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-051254-3.
- Drury, Nevill (1985). Dictionary of Mysticism and the Occult. Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-062093-5.
- Koch, Rudolf (1955). The Book of Signs. Dover, NY. ISBN 0-486-20162-7.
- Webber, F. R. (1927, rev. 1938). Church Symbolism: An Explanation of the More Important Symbols of the Old and New Testament, the Primitive, the Mediaeval and the Modern Church (OCLC 236708.
External links
- Seiyaku.com, all Crosses—probably the largest collection on the Internet
- Variations of Crosses – Images and Meanings
- Cross & Crucifix—Glossary: Forms and Topics
- Nasrani.net, Indian Cross
- The Christian Cross of Jesus Christ: Symbols of Christianity, Images, Designs and representations of it as objects of devotion