It just so happened that the cross is inextricably associated with Christianity. However, before becoming a sacred symbol of the followers of Jesus Christ, it was associated with a host of other, more ancient religions. And the Christians themselves have more than a dozen varieties of it …
The first civilization to use the cross was the civilization of Ancient Egypt. Its appearance on the banks of the Nile differed from the modern one and copied the hieroglyph ☥ (ankh), symbolizing life, immortality, wisdom. Ankh was depicted on walls, monuments, utensils and even sandals, and also placed in the tombs of the pharaohs so that their souls continued life in the afterlife.
Before Jesus appeared
Along with the Egyptians, the ancient Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia, in the Babylonian kingdom, had a cross. Here he symbolized the main god of heaven - Anu. In the former colony of the Sumerians of Assyria, a cross enclosed in a circle was a symbol of their main deity - the god of war and the sun, Ashur.
In ancient India, the cross was depicted over a mythical creature that killed children, and also in the hands of Krishna. Representatives of the South American civilization of the Chibcha believed that the cross expelled evil spirits, and put babies under it. Among the ancient Turks, who were the progenitors of many Asian peoples, in their original religion - Tengrianism - the sign "aji", expressing submission, also had the shape of a cross. In part, it resembled a Christian cross, which gave rise to the Soviet publicist Murad Anzhi to assert that Christians simply borrowed the symbol "aji" from the Turks in the 4th century.
However, by that time, the cross was already in the symbolism of Christianity. Here is what the Byzantine historian Socrates Scholastic, who lived at the beginning of the 5th century, writes: “During the destruction and purification of the Serapis-owl temple (Serapis is an Egyptian god, - author's note), so-called hieroglyphic letters were found in it carved on stones, between which there were signs shaped like crosses. Seeing such signs, Christians and pagans alike adopted their own religion. Christians argued that they belong to the Christian faith, because they considered the cross to be a sign of Christ's saving suffering, and the pagans argued that such cross-shaped signs are common to both Christ and Serapis, although they have a different meaning among Christians and a different meaning among pagans."
The historian writes that Christians managed to convince pagans that the discovery of such signs is proof that Serapis is giving way to Christ. So they convinced the worshipers of Serapis to be baptized into a new faith for them. This religion, young at that time, was not yet established and was considered newfangled. Its spread in the ancient world occurred after the accession to the Roman throne of Emperor Constantine in 306. It was he who not only adopted Christianity himself and moved the capital to Constantinople, but also made faith in Christ the official religion of the entire empire.
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Execution by crucifixion
In Christianity, the cross is seen as a symbol indicating the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, the Son of God allowed himself to be given over to martyrdom, so that those who believe in Him could be saved.
To a painful and cruel execution - crucifixion - the Romans sentenced only especially dangerous criminals: murderers, gang leaders, traitors. It is known that after the defeat of Spartacus, the remnants of his army - 6 thousand soldiers - were sentenced to crucifixion. Their bodies hung on crosses for miles along the Appian Way, from Capua to Rome. The conqueror of Spartacus, Mark Licinius Krasa, ordered to leave the corpses on the crosses until they decay, for the edification of others who thought of revolt.
The Romans borrowed the cruel method of execution from their sworn enemies - the inhabitants of Carthage. And those - from their ancestors, the Phoenicians. At the time of Nero, the first Christians were sentenced to crucifixion, whom the Romans considered dangerous sectarians.
It is known that apart from Jesus Christ, the Apostle Peter was also crucified. According to legend, he begged the judges to be crucified head down, as he believed that, having betrayed Jesus, he was not worthy of the same penalty as the teacher. Another apostle, Andrew the First-Called, was martyred on an oblique cross, which later became a symbol of the Russian navy.
It should be noted that the Romans used crosses for executions that were not quite the same shape that is revered in Christianity. Their crucifixion cross was T-shaped (Crux Commissa), less often other forms were used: Crux Simplex (regular pillar) and Crux Decussata (X-shaped cross). At the T-shaped cross, the vertical post was called the staticulum, and the removable horizontal part was called the patibulum. It was the latter (and not the whole cross) that the condemned carried to the place of execution. However, he was not easy (30-50 kilograms), and for a man who was exhausted in prison it was a difficult test.
For a bribe, the executioner could nail a small ledge on a vertical stand, on which the executed man leaned with his feet. In the worst case, the legs were nailed to a post. Before the crucifixion, the poor fellow was undressed and, having laid him on the horizontal part, stretched his arms and nailed them with nails (less often with wooden stakes). If nails were hammered into the palms, then the wrists were additionally tied with ropes to the beam so that the prisoner would not jump down, tearing the muscles. After the crucifixion, the beam with the prisoner was erected on a vertical post and fastened.
In some cases, in order to prolong the suffering of the prisoner, the horizontal beam was removed with him at night, and in the morning it was again put on a vertical post. It is not surprising that crucifixion in the ancient world was considered the most painful execution, and absolutely everyone was afraid of it.
Everyone has their own
For the first time, "legalized" images of the cross as a Christian symbol appeared on gold coins - solidi, issued by Emperor Tiberius II (VI century). There is a cross on the obverse of the coin.
Cross worship did not stop even during the era of Byzantine iconoclasm. In 726 and 730, the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian, under the onslaught of theologians, who referred to the Old Testament, which indicated "Do not make yourself an idol …", prohibited the veneration of icons. Thousands of icons, frescoes and mosaics were destroyed, but the crosses were not touched. Moreover, the cross became the main decoration of Christian churches of that time. Already the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787, based on worship of the cross, returned the veneration of icons to the church.
In Russian Orthodoxy, which inherited the traditions of the Byzantine Church, an eight-pointed cross with upper and lower crossbars is widespread. The ancient icons depict a seven-pointed cross, where the pillar does not exceed the upper crossbar. Often on the uppermost horizontal crossbar there is an inscription INRI (1НЦ1, "1isus Nazarya-nin, King of the 1udeans"). It is interesting that in Orthodoxy there is the concept of "bearing one's cross", that is, the uncomplaining fulfillment of Christian commandments throughout one's life. This concept is based on the phrase of Christ: "Whoever does not take up his cross … he is not worthy of Me." Also, in the Russian language, the phrase "put a cross" is popular, meaning "to bury any business or idea." Probably the combination comes from the tradition of putting an end to the grave of Christians.
In Catholicism, the cross has an ascetic four-pointed shape with an elongation of the lower part. Unlike the Orthodox cross, Jesus' feet are crossed here and nailed down with one nail. In the Middle Ages, thousands of knights took as their symbol, forming orders and bringing death to the inhabitants of the Middle East in their "crusades." The wearing of a pectoral cross occurs in most Christian rites.
At the same time, a number of Christian sects, including large ones (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons), deny worship of the cross. The reasons are different. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the instrument of Jesus' execution was not a cross, but a vertical post. Therefore, the veneration of the cross is considered idolatry among them. However, most Christian theologians disagree with this interpretation, insisting that the sectarians failed to accurately translate the ancient Greek texts of the Bible.
Magazine: Mysteries of History №23. Author: Lev Kaplin