Three Crosses with Different Origins
Solar worship produced many symbols; among them, three crosses stand out. Two carried astronomical meanings: the T-shaped cross, used when the spring equinox fell in Taurus, served as the pattern for ancient temple construction; the X-shaped cross, called St. Andrew’s Cross, recalled the 23½-degree angle where the ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect. The third cross, a + shape, had no astronomical meaning but arose in Egypt and was tied to the yearly flooding of the Nile. It would become the most significant of the three for the Christian religion.
The Nile Gauge and the Waters of Life
To measure the flood level needed for a good harvest, posts were set along the riverbanks with crossbeams attached, forming a +. When the water reached that mark, it was termed “the waters of life” or “river of life.” Over time, this cross shape came to stand for the life to come, or eternal life. Ancient astrologers had the symbol carved in stone with a hieroglyphic inscription to that effect; one such carving was found in the ruins of a temple at Alexandria dedicated to “our Lord and Saviour Serapis.”
When the Flood Failed: The Demon of Famine
If the river did not reach the required height, starvation loomed. In response, people would nail to these crosses symbolic representations of the Demon of Famine. To show the barrenness of his realm, he was depicted as a gaunt, haggard man wearing a crown of thorns, with a reed from the riverbank placed in his hands as a mock scepter. Viewing the people of Judea as the most servile and mean-spirited race they knew, the Egyptians attached a placard to this figure reading: “This is the King of the Jews.” For the ancient Egyptians, then, the cross was either blessed or cursed depending on whether this figure hung upon it.
From Hieroglyph to INRI and the Figure on the Cross
When the Roman, or modern, form of Christianity was established, the hieroglyphic inscription for eternal life was replaced by a placard nailed to the cross bearing the letters I. N. R. I., the initials of the Latin words with the same meaning. To understand how a human figure came to be suspended on this cross, one must turn to medieval history. In the year 680, during the pontificate of Agathon and the reign of Constantine Pogonat, the sixth council of the church—the third held at Constantinople—issued Canon 82: “Instead of a lamb, the figure of a man nailed to a cross should be the distinguishing symbol of the Christian religion.” Since this figure is shown as a gaunt, haggard man with a crown of thorns, does it not appear that the old Egyptian Demon of Famine served as its model?