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Do not fill this in! == History == ===Pre-Christian=== [[File:Radanhaenger-edited.jpg|thumb|Bronze Age "wheel pendants" in the shape of the "[[sun cross]]" ([[Urnfield culture]], 2nd millennium BC).]] Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; as [[petroglyph]]s in European [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] caves, dating back to the beginning of the [[Upper Paleolithic]], and throughout prehistory to the [[Iron Age]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bailey|first= Douglass W.|title=Prehistoric figurines : representation and corporeality in the Neolithic|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-203-39245-0|location=London|oclc=252740876}}</ref> Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including the ''[[swastika|crux gammata]]'' with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptian ''[[ankh|crux ansata]]'' with a loop. Speculation has associated the cross symbol – even in the prehistoric period – with astronomical or cosmological [[symbology]] involving "[[classical element|four elements]]" (Chevalier, 1997) or the [[cardinal directions|cardinal points]], or the unity of a vertical [[axis mundi]] or celestial pole with the horizontal [[world]] (Koch, 1955). Speculation of this kind became especially popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context of [[comparative mythology]] seeking to tie [[Christian mythology]] to ancient [[Religious cosmology|cosmological myths]]. Influential works in this vein included G. de Mortillet (1866),<ref>G. de Mortillet, "Le signe de la croix avant le christianisme", Paris, 1866</ref> L. Müller (1865),<ref>L. Müller, "Ueber Sterne, Kreuze und Kränze als religiöse Symbole der alten Kulturvölker", Copenhagen, 1865</ref> W. W. Blake (1888),<ref>W. W. Blake, [https://archive.org/details/crossancientmode00blak "The Cross, Ancient and Modern"] New York, 1888</ref> Ansault (1891),<ref>Ansault, "Mémoire sur le culte de la croix avant Jésus-Christ", Paris, 1891.</ref> etc. [[File:LAK-617.png|thumb|[[Archaic cuneiform]] character LAK-617 (𒔁): a cruciform arrangement of five boxes; scribes could use the central, larger box as container for other characters.]] In the [[European Bronze Age]] the cross symbol appeared to carry a [[Prehistoric religion|religious meaning]], perhaps as a symbol of consecration, especially pertaining to burial.<ref>"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).</ref> The cross sign occurs trivially in [[tally marks]], and develops into a [[number symbol]] independently in the [[Roman numerals]] (X "ten"), the Chinese [[Counting rods|rod numerals]] ([[:wikt:十|十]] "ten") and the [[Brahmi numerals]] ("four", whence the numeral [[4 (number)|4]]). In the [[Phoenician alphabet]] and [[Semitic abjad|derived scripts]], the cross symbol represented the phoneme /t/, i.e. the letter [[taw]], which is the historical predecessor of Latin [[T]]. The letter name ''taw'' means "mark", presumably continuing the [[Egyptian hieroglyph]] "two crossed sticks" ([[List of hieroglyphs/Z|Gardiner Z9]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/3_taw.html |title=Taw (Tav) |first1=Jeff A. |last1=Benner |publisher= Ancient Hebrew Research Center |work= The Ancient Hebrew Letters |access-date= 17 June 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150617143555/http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/3_taw.html |archive-date= 17 June 2015 }}</ref> ===Post-Christian=== {{Main|Christian cross|Crucifixion}} {{Further|Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion|Early Christian symbols|Christogram|Christian cross variants|Cross necklace}} [[File:Solidus-Leontinus-sb1330.jpg|thumb|Early use of a [[globus cruciger]] on a [[solidus (coin)|solidus]] minted by [[Leontios]] (r. 695–698); on the obverse, a stepped cross in the shape of an [[Iota Eta]] monogram.]] The shape of the cross (''crux'', ''[[stauros]]'' "stake, gibbet"), as represented by the letter [[Tau (letter)|T]], came to be used as a new symbol (seal) of the [[Early Christianity]] since the [[2nd century]].<ref>{{cite web |quote=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 |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=899&letter=C |title=Cross |website=[[Jewish Encyclopaedia]] |first1=Kaufmann |last1=Kohler |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007032024/http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=899&letter=C |archive-date= Oct 7, 2011 }}</ref> [[Clement of Alexandria]] in the early 3rd century calls it {{lang|grc|τὸ κυριακὸν σημεῖον}} ("the Lord's sign") he repeats the idea, current as early as the [[Epistle of Barnabas]], that the number 318 (in [[Greek numerals]], ΤΙΗ) in Genesis 14:14 was a foreshadowing (a "type") of the cross (the letter Tau) and of Jesus (the letters [[Iota Eta]]).<ref name="CA">{{cite web|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book6.html |title=Clement of Alexandria: Stromata, Book 6 |website=Early Christian Writings |access-date=2016-06-18}}</ref> Clement's contemporary [[Tertullian]] rejects the accusation that Christians are ''crucis 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0301.htm |title=Church Fathers: Apology (Tertullian) - Chapter 16 |quote=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. |website=New Advent |translator-first1=S. |translator-last1=Thelwall |date=1885 |editor-first1=Alexander |editor-last1=Roberts |editor-first2=James |editor-last2=Donaldson |editor-first3=A. Cleveland |editor-last3=Coxe |editor-first4=Kevin |editor-last4=Knight |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312152944/https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0301.htm |archive-date= Mar 12, 2024 }} ''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.''</ref> In his book ''De Corona'', written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the [[sign of the cross]].<ref>"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" ([http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.iv.vi.iii.html ''De Corona'', chapter 3])</ref> While early Christians used the T-shape to represent the cross in writing and gesture, the use of the [[Greek cross]] and [[Latin cross]], i.e. crosses with intersecting beams, appears in Christian art towards the end of [[Late Antiquity]]. An early example of the [[cruciform halo]], used to identify Christ in paintings, is found in the ''Miracles of the Loaves and Fishes'' mosaic of [[Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]], Ravenna (6th century). The [[Patriarchal 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 of [[Crosses in heraldry|heraldry]] beginning in the age of the [[Crusades]].<ref>William Wood Seymour, [https://archive.org/stream/crossintraditi00seym#page/360/mode/2up "The Cross in Heraldry"], ''The Cross in Tradition, History, and Art'' (1898).</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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