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)
