These are the famous ruins of Pompeii. As I’m sure you know, Mount Vesuvius erupted here in 79 A.D., and all of this was covered in ashes and preserved for posterity in perfect conditions. Now, one of the things they found here, which really surprised them, was proof that there were already Christians here by 79 A.D. The thing they found that proved it, is called a Rotas square and these Rotas squares are deeply mysterious.
They have been found all over the Roman Empire, in Syria, in Gaul, even in England, in Cirencester, they found one of these. They are usually inscribed on the walls of houses, and sometimes on the columns outside the house, but, of course, when they found them, they didn’t have a clue what these were. Just mysterious word games, plastered outside houses.
The Rotas Square – Latin Cryptography
What it is is a letter square, made up of five Latin words Rotas, Opera, Tenet, Arepo and Sator. Rotas at the top is Sator backwards. And you can see Rotas down this side, as well. And Sator down that side. And here in the middle, Arepo, is Opera, “work”, backwards.
The actual words mean something like “As ye sow, so shall ye reap”. But only if you ignore Latin grammar. The various code-breakers twisted it this way and that for decades, but it still didn’t mean much.
Religious Cryptology
But then, a eureka moment. One of these code-breakers realised that the important thing about the Rotas square was not the words, but the letters. Because these letters of the Rotas square can be rearranged to form a cross, which reads the same both ways, up and down. It says paternoster, which is Latin for “Our Father”, the opening words of the Lord’s prayer.
What’s more, these two letters that are left over, Alpha and Omega, are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Alpha and Omega in their Roman form. You can see them down in the Roman catacombs popping up everywhere. Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end. Popular Christian code for the one true God.
So these mysterious word squares were put outside houses to signify that the occupants were Christians, and also as a kind of lucky charm to ward off evil.
Of course, this isn’t art yet, this is an inscription, but it has artistic implications. What you see in here, this appetite for signs and symbols and secret meanings, that Christian appetite is something that transferred to Christian art. The Christian art of the Dark Ages is an art of mystery and magic. Of suggestions and miracles. Transcendence and light. The Rotas Square isn’t art yet, but it is an excellent pointer to a new artistic direction.
One of the reasons early Christian art is so exciting is because you find it in exciting places. Rome is wild enough on the surface, but when you descend into its underground look how scary and fascinating it becomes.
People often imagine the catacombs were hiding places, underground shelters in which persecuted Christians hid from the Romans.
But you can’t hide an underground city as huge as this under anyone’s nose. The Romans knew these were here, all right. What they didn’t know, is what one Christian was saying to another down here. Because the first Christian art was filled with secret signs and hidden meanings. That’s why the fish became a ubiquitous Christian symbol.
When two Christians met on the road it is said that one of them would draw this shape in the sand. The other one would draw this shape and two of them knew immediately that they were Christians together.
Christogram Chi-Rho
This famous Christian sign, the Christogram, or Chi-Rho, represents Jesus himself. It is made by combining two Greek letters, Chi and Rho, the first two letters of the word Christos, which means “the anointed one”.
It is said that the sign had magic powers. Even today, we still call Christmas, “Xmas”, because of this. Another popular Christian sign was the anchor. For the simple reason that the top of it here looked like a cross.
Everywhere you look in these haunting Roman catacombs, the first Christians are declaring their faith in such mysterious and cryptic ways. These symbols and signs weren’t just a secret language, they were also a different way of seeing things, a different way of understanding, not just with your eyes, but with your imagination.
What is most interesting about this first Christian art you find down here is how few pictures there are in it. No images of Jesus, no Marys, no saints. For the first few centuries of Christianity there were no Christian images.
Further Reading
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External Links
The Sator or Rotas Square – Wikipedia Page
