Ichthys
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Ichthys (Greek: ἰχθύς; also transliterated and latinized as ichthys, icthus, ichthus or ikhthus; ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma), is the Ancient and Classical Greek word for "fish." In English it refers to a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs resembling the profile of a fish, used by early Christians as a secret symbol and is now known colloquially as the "Jesus fish." Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ, Greek for fish) is an acronym to "Jesus Christ God's Son is Saviour."
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[edit] Origins
[edit] Pagan
Ichthys was the lover-son of the ancient Babylonian sea goddess Atargatis, and was known in various mythic systems as Tirgata, Aphrodite, Pelagia or Delphine. The word also meant "womb" and "dolphin" in some tongues, and representations of this appeared in the depiction of mermaids. The fish is also a central element in other stories, including the Goddess of Ephesus (who has a fish amulet covering her genital region), as well as the tale of the fish that swallowed Osiris, and was also considered a symbol of Isis.
Along with being a generative and reproductive spirit in some religious systems, the fish also has been identified in certain cultures with reincarnation and the life force. Sir James George Frazer noted in his work, "Adonis, Attis, Osiris: Studies in the History of Oriental Religion" (Part Four of his larger work, "The Golden Bough") that among one group in India, the fish was believed to house a deceased soul, and that as part of a fertility ritual a specific fish is eaten in the belief that it will be reincarnated in a newborn child.
The fish symbol may have also been known as "the Great Mother," a pointed oval sign, referred to as the Vesica Piscis. Also, in ancient Greek, "fish" and "womb" were denoted by the same word ("delphos"). Its link to fertility, birth, feminine sexuality and the natural force of women was acknowledged also by the Celts, as well as pagan cultures throughout northern Europe. Eleanor Gaddon traces a "Cult of the Fish Mother" as far back as the hunting and fishing people of the Danube River Basin in the sixth millennium B.C.E. Over fifty shrines have been found throughout the region which depict a fishlike deity, a female creature who "incorporates aspects of an egg, a fish and a woman which could have been a primeval creator or a mythical ancestress. . ." The "Great Goddess" was portrayed elsewhere with pendulous breasts, accentuated buttocks and a conspicuous vaginal orifice, resembling an upright Vesica Piscis.
[edit] Christian
It is believed that societies of Christians in the early Roman Empire, 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. Another story suggests that the ichthys was used as a sort of secret handshake: one person would draw with a staff a single curve, (half of the ichthys) in the sand, and another person could confirm their identity as a Christian by completing the symbol. Alternatively, one would draw the symbol, and another person would confirm their faith by drawing an eye on it.
Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ, Greek for fish) is an acrostic, which is a word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name. It compiles to "Jesus Christ God's Son is Saviour" or "Jesus Christ God's Son Saviour", in ancient Greek "Ἰησοὺς Χριστὸς Θεoὺ ῾Υιὸς Σωτήρ"
- I is the first letter of the word Jesus in Greek: Ιησούς
- CH are the first letters (in Greek one letter) of the word Christos (Χριστóς), Greek for Christ
- TH are the first letters (in Greek one letter) of the word THeou (Θεoύ), genetive case of Θεóς, Greek for God
- Y is the first letter for Yios (῾Υιóς), Greek for son. (the "῾" (the is called a rough breathing mark) here is a part of the vowel, and is not included in ICHTHUS)
- S is the first letter for Soter (Σωτήρ), Greek for saviour.
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 Yios (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 Icqus [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 icthys in Christian circles. However, this theory is controversial and scholars are split on the probability (or even possibility) of such influence.[1] A minority posit that the Babylonian myth of Ichthys, or other similar pagan myths, were adopted by Christianity, and with them the icthus sign.
In Greek it is sometimes speculated that the fish symbol actually comes from the interpretation of the word ichthys as an acronym: ΙΧΘΥΣ - "Ἰησοὺς Χριστὸς Θεoὺ ῾Υιὸς Σωτήρ" (Iēsous Christos Theou Huios Sōtēr), meaning "Jesus Christ God's Son Savior". This is probably a backronym. A slight variation of the Greek translation of the above was mentioned in The Word, a novel by Irving Wallace, as follows. "To His pioneer disciples, the Messiah was known as 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour', which, translated into Greek, the language used by Roman occupation forces, was Iesous Christos, Theou, Uios, Soter. The initials of those five Greek words spells I-CH-TH-U-S, the word for fish in Greek."
[edit] Mystery Religion
The name ichthus was also associated with Adonis, the central character in one of the 1st-century mystery religions (specifically, the version used in Syria). Like many other mystery religions, the religion of Adonis adopted certain mystic aspects of Greek philosophy, which may have included the Vesica Piscis.
[edit] Adaptations of the symbol
The ichthus symbol has been re-adopted by modern Christians as a badge, often with the word "JESUS" in the center of the symbol. Applied to the rear bumper of a car, the symbol is used to indicate to the world that the owner is a Christian. Historically, this adaptation was based on an earlier symbol which included a fish with the Greek letters "ΙΧΘΥΣ" or a small cross for an eye. These letters are sometimes confused for the Latin letters "IXOYE".
Local businesses in some areas will incorporate the symbol into their logo.
It is important to note that not all cars displaying this symbol do so for Christian reasons. Certain car manufacturers (for example some in the UK), use this symbol on certain brands of car (for example, the Alfa Romeo).
Some Christians who put the logo on their cars do not realize that they have displayed it backwards when the tail of the fish is on the left and the head is on the right. The correct placement is with the head on the left and the tail on the right as this calls to mind the Greek letter alpha (α) which has a similar shape. This is an allusion to the saying that Jesus is the "Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End."
This badge may also be seen in email signatures with the symbols "<><".
Another adaptation of ichthys is a wheel which contains the letters ΙΧΘΥΣ superimposed in such a way such that the final collection looks like a common wagon-wheel.
[edit] Parodies of the ichthys symbol
The ichthys symbol has been subject to considerable parody in the late 20th century, especially on bumper stickers, and usually used to imply a contrast with creationism. The most famous is the Darwin fish, an ichthys symbol with feet attached and often the word "DARWIN" in the middle. This variation of the ichthys symbol is meant to represent evolution as an apparent contrast with creationism.
The tiktaalik has been compared to the Darwin fish. It is a fossil which has been interpreted as a link between fish and land animals and was discovered after the Darwin fish symbol was in common use. As such it is said tongue-in-cheek to be evidence supporting the Darwin fish hypothesis.
A variation with growing popularity is the Icacycle (I-see-a-cycle) which makes the Ichthys into a motorcycle.
A variant-upon-a-variant, there is also in this line the "Truth" fish in which an ichthys with the word "truth" inside is shown eating the Darwin fish. It may or may not be a Christian retaliation against the Darwin fish. The larger "Truth" fish eating a smaller "Darwin" fish might also imply "survival of the fittest," a Darwinian tenet. Another variant includes a "Darwin" fish eating the "Truth" fish with "Reality bites", in an apparent attack on the "survival of the fittest" fish. Ironically this "battle of the fishes" can be considered a form of evolution with new generations of fish changing themselves to adapt to other fish which "threaten" them.
[edit] Other symbolism associated with the fish
The constellation Pisces comprises a set of dim and scattered stars that trace the images of two widely separated fish joined by a knotted cord. One fish, swimming upward, faces east toward Aries, while the other fish swims westward toward Aquarius along the plane of the ecliptic. The directions of motion of the two fish form a cross, the symbol of the Christian religion — the upright line of the cross representing spirit and the horizontal line signifying matter.
Astrologists say that the Age of Pisces (cf.) coincided with the birth of Jesus.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "[C]hronologically and geographically any influence by Mithraism on the origins of Christianity seems excluded." (Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity [Eerdmans, 1993, 2nd edt.], p. 271).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- PRINCIPAL CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS: THE FISH (ICHTHUS), CROSS & CRUCIFIX Extensive explanations on several popular Christian symbols, including the ichtys
- Ichthus Music Festival The longest running Christian music festival in the nation having been started in 1970 as a Christian response to Woodstock.
- What do the symbols hide?, by sociologist Ieva Cepulkauskaite. A site giving brief descriptions of the origins and histories of various symbols, including the ichthys.
- Ichthus Christian Fellowship A large Christian organisation in the UK led by Roger Forster
- Symbolism of the Fish - Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Coins of the Emperor Augustus
- Coins of the Emperor Domitian
- The Harvard ICHTHUS, Journal of Christian Thought
- Darwin fish symbols on cars are an act of ‘ritual aggression’
- Home of the Icacycle or Christian Motorcycle Fish Christian Motorcycle Merchandise
