Ichthys

Ichthys as adopted as a Christian symbol.

The ichthys or ichthus (/ˈɪkθəs/[1]), from the Greek ikhthýs (ἰχθύς 1st cent. AD Koine Greek [ikʰˈtʰys], "fish") is 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. Now known colloquially as the "sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish".[2]

Origin

An early circular ichthys symbol, created by combining the Greek letters ΙΧΘΥΣ, Ephesus.

The first appearances of the ichthys symbol in Christian art and literature date to the 2nd century AD. The symbol's use among Christians had become popular by the late 2nd century, and its use spread widely in the 3rd and 4th centuries.[3] The symbolism of the fish itself may have its origins in pre-Christian religious imagery. For example, Orpheus was described as a "fisher of men" as early as the 3rd or fourth century BC.[4] The fish was used as a symbol in a number of other near-eastern religions as well, often as a sacred (or taboo) food. The fish was sacred to the goddess Atargatis, for example, who was said to cause tumors in those who ate them. Fish were only allowed to be eaten by priests during rituals devoted to Atargatis, in the belief that they represented her body.[5] Despite the thematic similarities of these various sacred fish, some scholars have argued that there is no direct link between them and the Christian symbol or practice of the Eucharist; instead, the Christian usage was probably simply part of a larger, popular religious motif of the time.[5]

Symbolic meaning

ΙΧΘΥΣ, or also ΙΧΘΥϹ with lunate sigma (Ichthys) is a backronym/acrostic[6] for "Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ", (Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr) contemporary Koine [ie̝ˈsus kʰrisˈtos tʰeˈu (h)yˈjos soˈte̝r], which translates into English as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour."

This explanation is given among others by Augustine in his Civitate Dei,[8] where he notes that the generating sentence " Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς [sic] Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ" has 27 letters, i.e. 3 x 3 x 3, which in that age indicated power. (This suggestion is obviously spurious, resulting from Augustine's ignorance of Greek.)[9] Augustine quotes also an ancient text from the Sibylline oracles[10] whose verses are an acrostic of the generating sentence.

A fourth century A.D. adaptation of ichthys as a wheel contains the letters ΙΧΘΥΣ superimposed such that the result resembles an eight-spoked wheel.[11]

In the Gospels

Fish are mentioned and given symbolic meaning several times in the Gospels. Several of Jesus' twelve Apostles were fishermen. He commissions them with the words "I will make you fishers of men".

Having resurrected, Jesus is offered some grilled fish and honeycomb in Luke 24:41-43.[12]

At the feeding of the five thousand, a boy is brought to Jesus with "five small loaves and two fish". The question is asked, "But what are they, among so many?" Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish to feed the multitude. In Matthew 13:47-50, the Parable of Drawing in the Net, 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.[13] In John 21:11, it is related that the disciples fished all night but caught nothing.[14] Jesus instructed them to cast the nets on the other side of the boat, and they drew in 153 fish. In Matthew 17:24-27, upon being asked if his Teacher pays the temple (or two-drachma) tax, Simon Peter answers yes. Christ tells Peter to go to the water and cast a line, saying that a coin sufficient for both of them will be found in the fish's mouth. Peter does this and finds the coin.[15]

The fish is also used by Jesus to describe "the Sign of Jonah". (Matthew 12:38-45) This is symbolic of the resurrection of Christ upon which the entire Christian faith is based. (1 Corinthians 15:1-58)

Funerary stele with the inscription ΙΧΘΥϹ ΖΩΝΤΩΝ ("fish of the living"), early 3rd century, National Roman Museum

Early church

According to tradition, ancient Christians, during their persecution by the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after Christ, used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes:

According to one ancient story, when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company. Current bumper-sticker and business-card uses of the fish hearken back to this practice.
— Christianity Today, Elesha Coffman, "Ask The Expert"[16]

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 Cappella Greca and the Sacrament Chapels of the catacomb of St. Callistus that the fish symbol was known to Christians much earlier. Another probable explanation is that it is a reference to the scripture in which Jesus miraculously feeds 5,000 people with fish and bread Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:4-13).[17][18][19][20] The ichthys may also relate to Jesus or his disciples as "fishers of men" (e.g., Mark 1:17).[21][22] 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."[23] Still another explanation could be the reference to the sign of Jonah. Just like he was in the belly of a big fish, so Christ was crucified, entombed for three days, and then rose from the dead.

Jesus Fish on a car, promoting evolutionary creation. Other Jesus fish emblems oppose or promote evolution, or feature Cthulhu to parody religious belief.

In the 1970s the "Jesus Fish" started to be used as an icon of modern Christianity. In 1973 the symbol and message was taken to the Aquarius Rock Festival in Nimbin, Australia. Today, it can be seen as a decal or emblem on the rear of automobiles or as pendants or necklaces as a sign that the owner is a Christian. Versions of this include an Ichthys with "Jesus" or "ΙΧΘΥΣ" in the centre, or simply the Ichthys outline by itself.[24]

Music festival

Ichthus Music Festival is an annual large outdoor Christian music Festival held in mid-June in Wilmore, Kentucky. Ichthus Festival is the oldest Christian music festival in the United States.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ichthus". Oxford English Dictionary (third ed.). 2007.
  2. ↑ Los Angeles Times (1 April 2008). "Evolution of religious bigotry". latimes.com.
  3. ↑ Rasimus, T. (2011). "Revisiting the Ichthys: A Suggestion Concerning the Origins of Christological Fish Symbolism". Pp 327-348 in Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices. Biblical Studies, Ancient Near East and Early Christianity E-Books Online, Collection 2012, 76.
  4. ↑ Le Roux, M. (2007). The survival of the Greek gods in early Christianity. Journal for Semitics, 16(2): 483-497.
  5. 1 2 Hyde, W. W. (2008). Paganism to Christianity in the Roman empire. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
  6. ↑ Christian H. Bull, Liv Ingeborg Lied, John D. Turner, editors (2012). Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 327. ISBN 978-90-04-21207-7.
  7. ↑ The initial "h" was sometimes pronounced, depending on dialect and period, but in Ionic orthography the sound was written with the rough breathing diacritical mark instead of a full letter, and so would not be used to form an acronym.) By the Early Christian period, the aspirate was probably lost in most popular varieties of Greek.
  8. ↑ Augustine. Wikisource link to The City of God. Wikisource. XVIII, 23.
  9. ↑ Bagatti, Bellarmino (1984). The church from the circumcision: history and archaeology of the Judaeo-Christians. Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Minor, n.2. Jerusalem. p. 215.
  10. ↑ Sibylline oracles, Book viii, 284-330 (Greek text, 217-250)
  11. ↑ Christian H. Bull, Liv Ingeborg Lied, John D. Turner, editors (2012). Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. pp. 340, 343. ISBN 978-90-04-21207-7.
  12. ↑ Luke 24:41-43
  13. ↑ Matthew 13:47-50
  14. ↑ John 21:11
  15. ↑ Matthew 17:24-27
  16. ↑ Elesha Coffman (August 8, 2008). "What is the origin of the Christian fish symbol?". christianitytoday.com.
  17. ↑ (Matthew 14:15-21
  18. ↑ Mark 6:30-44
  19. ↑ Luke 9:12-17
  20. ↑ John 6:4-13
  21. ↑ Mark 1:17
  22. ↑  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Symbolism of the Fish". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  23. ↑ http://ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-03/anf03-49.htm#P11466_3245563 §1
  24. ↑ "Christian symbols: Fish (Ichthus), cross and crucifix". religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 22 April 2014. The body of the symbol may be empty, or may contain a name ('Jesus' or 'ICTUS').
  25. ↑ See, Robison, Greg, Christian Rock Festivals, (New York: The Rosen Publishing Co., 2009), p.7
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