The Sign Of The Fish.

The Fish, or "Ichthys", in Greek, is one of the earliest Christian symbols.

It was first used secretly during a time of persecution.

Ichthys is an acrostic for Jesus.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour,

in Greek, is

Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter

and the first letter of each word spells

Ichthys, or Fish (ΙΧΘΥΣ).

It is said that the symbol was scratched onto walls to point the way to meetings.

If one person drew a simple curved line in the sand, a second could draw another arc

to complete the fish and confirm that they were followers of Jesus.

Early Christian inscription with the Greek letters "ΙΧΘΥΣ" carved into marble

in the ruins of the ancient Greek City of Ephesus, Turkey.

This was an early circular Ichthys symbol, created by combining the Greek letters.

Date: 27 September 2007.

Source: Rotated and cropped from Commons image Image:Ephesus Ichthys.jpg

Author: User:Mufunyo.

(Wikimedia Commons)