Wikipedia sums up the function of religious symbols succinctly:

“Religious symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork, events, or natural phenomena, by a religion. Religions view religious texts, rituals, and works of art as symbols of compelling ideas or ideals. The usage of symbols helps create a resonant mythos that expresses the moral values of the society, the teachings of the religion, creates a sense of solidarity between religious adherents, or functions as a way to bring an adherent closer to God.”

I would like to examine this topic using the religious symbol we are all most familiar with, that of the Christian cross, and its other various forms in other religions.

As a prelude it is interesting to note the following:

1) The word “cross” is in fact from Old Norse and supplanted the Old English word “rood”. The Old Norse Odin’s Cross will be examined later on.

2) John Denham Parsons, in his 1896 essay “The Non-Christian Cross – an Enquiry into the Origin and History of the Symbol Eventually Adopted as that of our Religion”, tells us that the word for “cross” was a substitute for the Latin crux, which itself was a substitute for the Greek stauros. Parsons also tells us that Homer’s texts the Iliad and the Odyssey tell us of the true nature of the crucifixion style cross, this stauros: it was nothing more than a stake set into the ground to initiate different kinds of death. Referring to Parsons’ text itself:

“The stauros used as an instrument of execution was (1) a small pointed pole or stake used for thrusting through the body, so as to pin the latter to the earth, or otherwise render death inevitable; (2) a similar pole or stake fixed in the ground point upwards, upon which the condemned one was forced down till incapable of escaping; (3) a much longer and stouter pole or stake fixed point upwards, upon which the victim, with his hands tied behind him, was lodged in such a way that the point should enter his breast and the weight of the body cause every movement to hasten the end; and (4) a stout unpointed pole or stake set upright in the earth, from which the victim was suspended by a rope round his wrists, which were first tied behind him so that the position might become an agonising one; or to which the doomed one was bound, or, as in the case of Jesus, nailed.”

Adding to the strength of this argument are two passages within the Bible itself, (Acts 5:30, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree”; 1 Peter 2:24, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body in a tree that we, having died to sins, might live out righteously – by whose stripes you were healed.”), which declare that Jesus was nailed to a tree, not a cross as we know it.

The Christian cross symbol that we know today is referred to as the Latin cross. Without the figure of Christ attached, it is the symbol of the Protestant Christians, who prefer that the cross be a reminder of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and therefore the holy miracle of life. The Roman Catholic version (that is, with the figure of Jesus upon the cross) has the specific purpose of reminding followers of this faith of the death of Jesus Christ and therefore the sacrifice he made for humanity.

Yet given what the Iliad and Parsons tells us of the true nature of the execution cross, how did the Latin cross originate?

It is possible that the roots of the Latin cross stretch as far back as the ancient Assyrian empire. The symbol originates from about 3000 BC and slightly predates the Egyptian ankh. It was the symbol of the Assyrian god Asshur, who ruled the times and the seasons. Thus it was a symbol of life, as Asshur was also a sun god. The four gaps between the arms of the cross represent the four elements, fire, earth, wind and water – all regarded as essential to life. It was originally drawn without the circles attached to the end of it (refer to illustrations), but the circles where added by the Jews when the Assyrian Cross began to act as their religious icon for various amulets in about 5-3 BC.

So the cross started life as a symbol for life.

The life symbolism was further infused by the Egyptians with their ankh, also known in Latin as the Ansata cross. Symbolism in the ankh is twofold: the circle at the top is symbolic of the sun rising over the horizon – but it is also a fertility symbol, mixing the Egyptian symbol for woman (the circle) with that of the man (the “T” symbol) to create a union. So, the ankh continued the cross’ symbology for life in two respects.

Later we find the Greek cross, and this is verging on about 50 BC to 6 AD. The Greek cross is similar in form to the Assyrian cross but is thicker. Oddly, the Greek cross also hearkens back to the idea of the four elements. But a new symbolism arose with the Greek cross, that of the spread of the Gospel. Each of the four arms of the Greek cross point to different directions on the compass (north, south, east and west) and therefore indicates that the word of the Gospel is universal. It is a sharp change in symbolism from the nature and fertility based crosses we have seen before!

The Latin cross is believed to have originated as a modification of the Greek cross. In fact, the Latin cross was initially a phallic symbol. However, later Christianisation of the Latin cross identified it with Jesus. But it was looked upon, initially, as an ugly reminder of Jesus’ death, particularly the manner in which he died. It only started gaining popularity as a symbol of sacrifice when the Roman Catholic Church initiated the use of it in about 7 AD.

So we see how the Latin cross developed. But there other crosses were soon to form, too.

The Norse cross, known as the Odin cross or the Wotan cross, is unique in that, during a time when the Christian religion was starting to become widespread, appears to have been born independent of any superficial Christian symbolism. However, consider the nature of Odin’s death – Odin sacrificed himself in the branches of the great ash tree Yggdrassil (The World Tree) so that he could enter the realm of the dead, called Hel, and gain wisdom. It draws a direct parallel with the story of Jesus, and his own sacrifice – especially when you consider that, given the sources of Homer, Parsons and the Bible itself, Jesus was executed on a tree!

Yet the Norse cross, while symbolising Odin’s sacrifice, also deals with much greater topics. The circle around the arms of the cross represents cosmic union – that is, the union required to unite the nine worlds that the Norse believed made up our world. The cross within the circle is also representative of the sun (one of Odin’s roles was as a god of the sky). So, while the Norse cross is a symbol of sacrifice, it is also a symbol of life!

While the Norse cross and the Assyrian cross deal with life in a general sense (that is, nature), you could be forgiven for thinking that the ankh has the only reference for sexual fertility contained within it. Not so!

The Hindi also had a cross symbol. Rather than having a more subtle reference to fertility, like the ankh, the Hindi cross is unique in dealing specifically, and simply, with sex. In the Hindi culture, the cross, called a kiakra and shaped almost exactly like the Latin cross by the way, was a phallic symbol. There is, however, a circle around the cross, known as the yoni, which represents the female. When Gypsies travelled to the subcontinent they adopted the cross and took it with them back to the Celtic lands of Ireland and Scotland. This symbol was later to be used by Christians as a grave marker.

Celtic symbolism further identifies this particular cross with the Greek idea of universality, identifying the four arms of the cross with the four main directions. However, these directions were all defined further: North symbolised wisdom, silence, winter and death. South: vitality, vigour, summer and strength. East: rebirth, youth, spring and growth. West: knowledge, experience, autumn and guidance. This invokes many symbolic meanings, in a typical Celtic manner, for nature, virtues and key aspects of the ideal human personality.

There is one more cross to tell you about, the Coptic Cross. It originated when Mark, the disciple of Jesus, established a Church in Egypt. Using the design of the ankh and the Latin cross, this symbol depicts the inclusion of all people in the sacrifice that Jesus made. The four nail like symbols surrounding the circle depict in more graphic detail the sacrifice that Jesus made.

There are many more cross symbols in existence but one thing is certain: if it doesn’t deal with Jesus or the Church, you can be pretty much assured that it deals with fertility (unless you are looking at the Nazi swastika, of course). The cross is a good example of just how diverse and multi-functional one symbol can be.