The pre-Christian history of the
fish symbol:
The fish
symbol has been used for millennia worldwide as a religious symbol associated
with the Pagan Great Mother Goddess. It is the outline of her genetalia. The fish symbol was often drawn by overlapping
two very thin crescent moons. One represented the crescent shortly before the
new moon; the other shortly after, when the moon is just visible. The Moon is
the heavenly body that has long been associated with the Goddess, just as the
sun is a symbol of the God.
The link
between the Goddess and fish was found in various areas of the ancient world:
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In China,
Great Mother Kwan-yin often portrayed in the shape of a fish
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In India,
the Goddess Kali was called the "fish-eyed one"
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In Egypt, Isis was called the Great Fish of Abyss
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In Greece
the Greek word "delphos" meant both fish
and womb. The word is derived from the location of the ancient Oracle at Delphi who worshipped the original fish goddess, Themis. The later fish Goddess, Aphrodite Salacia, was worshipped by her followers on her sacred
day, Friday. They ate fish and engaging in orgies. From her name comes the
English word "salacious" which means lustful or obscene. Also from
her name comes the name of our fourth month, April. In later centuries, the
Christian church adsorbed this tradition by requiring the faithful to eat
fish on Friday - a tradition that was only recently abandoned.
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In ancient Rome
Friday is called "dies veneris" or Day of Venus, the Pagan
Goddess of Love.
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Throughout the Mediterranean, mystery
religions used fish, wine and bread for their sacramental meal.
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In Scandinavia, the Great Goddess was
named Freya; fish were eaten in her honor. The 6th day of the week was named
"Friday" after her.
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In the Middle East, the Great Goddess
of Ephesus was portrayed as a woman with a fish amulet over her genitals.
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The fish
symbol "was so revered throughout the Roman empire that Christian
authorities insisted on taking it over, with extensive revision of myths to
deny its earlier female-genital meanings...Sometimes the Christ child was
portrayed inside the vesica, which was superimposed on Mary's belly and
obviously represented her womb, just as in the ancient symbolism of the
Goddess." 4 Another author writes: "The fish
headdress of the priests of Ea [a Sumero-Semitic God] later became the
miter of the Christian bishops." 5
The symbol
itself, the eating of fish on Friday and the association of the symbol with
deity the symbol itself, the eating of fish on Friday and the association of
the symbol with deity were all taken over by the early Church from Pagan
sources. Only the sexual component was deleted.
Ichthys (Greek:
ἰχθύς, capitalized
ΙΧΘΥΣ; also transliterated
and Latinized
as ichthys, icthus,
ichthus or ichthus; ichthus), is the Ancient and Classical Greek
word for "fish." In English it refers to a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of
the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile
of a fish, said to have been used by early Christians as a secret symbol and now known
colloquially as the "Jesus fish"." Greek ἰχθύς is an acronym (or backronym) of Ἰησοῦς Χριστός,
Θεοῦ Υἱός,
Σωτήρ "Jesus Christ, God's Son,
Saviour."Ichthys
is also the son of Atargatis.
Ichthus as a Christian
symbol
Symbolic meaning
An early circular (Ichthys symbol), created by combining
the Greek letters ΙΧΘΥΣ, Ephesus.
The use of the Ichthys symbol by early Christians appears
to date from the end of the 1st century AD. Ichthus
(ΙΧΘΥΣ, Greek for fish) is an acronym, a word formed from the first
letters of several words. It compiles to "Jesus Christ God Son Saviour", in ancient Greek
"Ἰησοῦς Χριστός,
εοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ"
- Iota is the first letter of Iesous (Ιησους),
Greek for Jesus.
- Chi is the first letter of Christos
(Χριστóς),
Greek for "anointed".
- Theta is the first letter of Theou (Θεοῦ), genitive case of Θεóς "God".
- Upsilon is the first letter of Huios (Υἱός), Greek for
Son.
- Sigma is the first letter of Soter (Σωτήρ
), Greek for Saviour.
Historically,
twentieth century use of the ichthys motif is
an adaptation based on an Early Christian symbol which included a small cross
for the eye or the Greek letters "ΙΧΘΥΣ".
An ancient
adaptation of ichthus is a wheel which contains the letters
ΙΧΘΥΣ superimposed such that the result resembles an
eight-spoked wheel.
Fish are
mentioned and given symbolic meaning several times in the Gospels. Several of
Jesus' twelve disciples were fishermen. He commissions them with the words
"I will make you fishers of men."At the feeding of the five thousand,
a boy is brought to Jesus with "five small loaves and two fishes".
The question is asked "But what are they, among so many?" Jesus
multiplies the loaves and fish to feed the multitude.In
the Gospel
of Matthew, 13:47-50, Jesus compares God's decision on who will go
to heaven or to hell ("the fiery furnace") at the end of this world
to fishers sorting out their catch, keeping the good fish and throwing the bad
fish away.
In the Gospel
of John, 21:11, it is related that the disciples fished all night
but caught nothing. Jesus instructed them to cast the nets on the other side of
the boat, and they drew in 153 fish. It has been observed that, like many other
numbers given in the Bible, this number is associated with a mystic property,
in this case the vertical ratio of the vesica
piscis.A less
commonly cited use of fish in Christ's life may be found in the words of
Matthew 17:24-27, in which, upon being asked if his Teacher does not pay the
temple (two-drachma) tax, Simon Peter answers, "Yes." Christ tells
Peter to go to the water and cast a line. He says that a coin sufficient for
the tax will be found in the fish's mouth. Peter does as told, and does find
the coin.
Societies of Christians in Hellenistic
Greece and Roman Greece, prior to the Edict
of Milan, protected their congregations
by keeping their meetings secret. In order to point the way to ever-changing
meeting places, they developed a symbol which adherents would readily
recognize, and which they could scratch on rocks, walls and the like, in
advance of a meeting. At the time, a similar symbol was used by Greeks to mark
the location of a funeral, so using the ichthys also
gave an apparent legitimate reason for Christians to gather[citation
needed]. Another story suggests that the Ichthys
was used as a sort of secret handshake: one person would draw with a staff,
or even a leg a single curve, (half of the Ichthys) in the sand, and
another person could confirm their identity as a Christian by completing the
symbol[citation
needed]. Alternatively, one would draw the symbol, and
another person would confirm their faith by drawing an eye on it[citation
needed].
Funerary stele
with the inscription ΙΧΘΥΣ
ΖΩΝΤΩΝ ("fish of the living"), early 3rd
century, National
Roman Museum
There are several other hypotheses as to why the fish
was chosen. Some sources indicate that the earliest literary references came
from the recommendation of Clement
of Alexandria to his readers (Paedagogus,
III, xi) to engrave their seals with the dove or fish.
However, it can be inferred from Roman monumental sources such as the Capella
Greca and the Sacrament Chapels of the catacomb of St. Callistus
that the fish symbol was known to Christians much earlier. This Christian
symbol might well have been intended to oppose or protest the pagan apotheosis
of the Roman emperor during the reign of Domitian
(AD 81 - AD 96). Coins found in Alexandria
referred to him as Theou Huios
(Son of God). In fact, even earlier, since the death and deification of Julius
Caesar, Augustus (Octavian)
already styled himself as divi filius,
son of the divine (Julius),
and struck coins to that effect. This practice was also carried on by some of
the later emperors. Another probable explanation is that it is a reference to
the scripture
in which Jesus miraculously
feeds 5,000 people with fish and bread (Mark
6:30-44, Matthew
14:15-21, Luke
9:12-17, and John
6:4-13). The Ichthys may also relate to Jesus or his disciples as
"fishers of men" (e.g., Mark 1:17). Tertullian,
in his treatise On Baptism, makes a pun on the word, writing that
"we, little fishes, after the example of our
ΙΧΘΥΣ Jesus Christ, are born in water" (§1).
Some theories
about the Historicity
of Jesus suggest that Christianity adopted certain beliefs and
practices as a syncretism
of certain mystery religions such as Mithraism,
and that this may be the origin of the Ichthys in Christian circles.
The 20th century popular revival of the Ichthys symbol dates from
1965. At this time the Evangelical Union at Sydney
University, a branch of the Australian
Fellowship of Evangelical Students, confronted by the disenchantment
of students brought on by the Vietnam
War and a perceived anti-Christian sentiment within the university,
held a mission to students. The committee in charge of the promotions of the
activity looked for a symbol which was distinctly Christian and which might
excite curiosity by its apparent novelty and decided upon this ancient sign,
which was drawn simply with two arcs, and no inscription.Traditionally,
up-coming events at the university were advertised in chalk on the bitumen
paths. The campaign for the Fish Mission began by drawing the Ichthus
symbol on pavements all around the university. [2]
Silk-screen prints in bright colours on a white background were stuck with
flour glue to the rises of walkway stairs throughout the campus. The
unexplained early campaign provoked much speculation and interest. Querulous
cartoons appeared in the student newspaper Honi Soit.
As the advertising campaign progressed, more information was revealed.Following the success of the Fish Mission
publicity campaign, the Australian Fellowship of
Evangelical Students used the symbol more widely on campuses around Australia. From
Christian Unions of students it quickly spread to the churches.
The "Jesus Fish" has become an icon of modern
Christianity. Today, it can be seen as a decal or emblem on the rear of
automobiles as a sign to the world that the owner is a Christian. It is
incorporated into business logos or in business advertisements and listings in
telephone books. It is also seen on clothing. Versions of this include an
Ichthys with "Jesus" or "ΙΧΘΥΣ" in
the center, or simply the Ichthys outline by itself. This badge may also be
seen in e-mail
signatures
with the symbols
Iesous (Jesus) Christos
(Christ) Theou (God) Uiou
(Son) Soter (Savior).
I C T U S
Jesus Christ,
of God , the Son, the Savior
Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, Savior."
REF : Wikipedia
