Crucifixion

Saturday, 11 April 2009

Now that Good Friday has passed, I thought I might share some early depictions of Christ's crucifixion.

For an excellent historical overview of crucifixion as a tool of public torture and execution, I highly recommend the online article "Crucifixion in Antiquity: The Anthropological Evidence" by Joe Zias . James Tabor also has a good summary of Joesphus' references to crucifixion.

It might be surprising to know that the visual depiction of Jesus being crucified are very rare prior to the 4th century. The earliest existing graphic depiction dates from the 3rd century, and it is actually a graffito drawn to mock the worship of a crucified God:


(Click for larger image )	(Click for larger image)

This image was carved in plaster and discovered on the Palatine Hill in Rome in 1857. It's inscription reads in Greek: Αλεξαμενος ϲεβετε θεον, "Alexamenos worship god!" or possibly "Alexamenos worships [a] god." It seems apparent that this inscription was made to mock Alexamenos' worship of Jesus. Though it has been dated by some as early as the 1st century C.E., the most common dating is to the 3rd century C.E. The 3rd century corresponds to Tertullian's against the accusations that Christians of worshipping the head of an ass: "Somniatis caput asininum esse Deum nostrum". (Apology, xvi ; Ad Nationes, I, xi)

Another 3rd century image of crucifixion was discovered in Iruña-Veleia , Spain on an ostracon in 2005 and published during 2006. The image was scratched into the pottery and contains a scene of Jesus cross with two worshippers (possibly kneeling) at is based and two crosses on either side. The bodies of two other crucified victims are faintly scratched on the other two crosses.

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Interestingly, the inscription above the center crucifix reads "RIP" (Requiescat In Pace, "Rest In Peace") rather than INRI (Jesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, "Jesus Nazarene King of Jews").

Another early depiction of Christ's crucifixion can be found on the door of the Basilica of Saint Sabina in Rome. This door was most likely carved around the mid 5th century and contains many panels of biblical scenes. The crucifixion image is very unique as it seems to depict a crucifixion on a type of gallows before city walls:

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This last depiction brings up the question of the type of cross that was used to crucify Jesus. The Romans were known to use multiple forms of crucifixion, with different materials and positions of the crucified. Simple stakes or gibbets (crux simplex), trees, gallows, and walls may have been used in addition to stakes/trees with cross-beams. Often the crucified may have been tied to the cross rather than nailed. The most common type of cross with a cross-beam was probably the Tau cross which was in the shape of that Greek letter (Τ), and this may have been the type of cross used to crucify Jesus rather than crux immissa which is the most well known Christian image of the cross today. The late 1st century Christian document the Epistle of Barnabas make the following symbolic interpretation concerning Abraham in regards to the shape of Jesus' cross:

λέγει γάρ· καὶ περιέτεμεν Ἀβραὰμ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ ἄνδρας δεκαοκτὼ καὶ τριακοσίους. τίς οὖν ἡ δοθεῖσα αὐτῷ γνῶσις; μάθετε ὅτι τοὺς δεκαοκτὼ πρώτους, καὶ διάστημα ποιήσας λέγει τριακοσίους. τὸ δεκαοκτὼ, Ι δέκα, Η ὀκτώ· [65] ἔχεις Ἰησοῦν. ὅτι δὲ ὁ σταυρὸς ἐν τῷ Τ ἤμελλεν ἔχειν τὴν χάριν, λέγει καὶ τριακοσίους. δηλοῖ οὖν τὸν μὲν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τοῖς δυσὶ γράμμασιν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τὸν σταυρόν.

For it says: “And Abraham circumcised ten and eight and three hundred men of his household.” What, then, is the knowledge that was given to him? Observe that it mentions the “ten and eight” first, and then after an interval the “three hundred.” As for the “ten and eight,” the I [the first letter of Jesus' name in Greek, IHSOUS] is ten and the H [the second letter of Jesus' name] is eight;* thus you have “Jesus.” And because the cross, which is shaped like the T [tau in Greek always looks like this, without the extension above the cross-bar], was destined to convey grace, it mentions also the “three hundred.” So he reveals Jesus in the two letters, and the cross in the other one. (Barn. 9:8, *The abbreviation IH was sometimes used as short-hand for Jesus in early Christian literature)

However, Barnabas is a late document and may be more interested in the rhetoric of the cross's shape than the actual form used to crucify Jesus. It is possible that any of the three types of crosses could have been used, along with crosses in the shapes of X and Y. Interestingly, it is known that the Romans crucified victims on trees turned into gibbets and the book of Acts along with Paul refers to Jesus as hanging on a "tree" (Acts 5:30, 10:39, 13:29; Gal 3:13). However, the Greek word for "tree", ξύλου, can also simply mean wood, and the author of Acts could be simply speaking of the stake or pole. There is some thinking among historians that perhaps the Romans found old olive trees readily useful and available for the task:

Personally, I've always thought the Last Temptation of Christ was, oddly, one of the better historical representation in film of at least the form of crucifixion. In it, Jesus is stripped naked and crucified on a cross-beam tied to rough hewn post and the thieves are crucified on trees.