Southern Rome - Rome - page 543

Symbolism
An almost secretive language of symbols had evolved to represent elements of the
Christian faith. Since many early Christians could not read and write, these symbols
served as both a secret code and a means to communicate among the illiterate. The
most common of the symbols include the fish, the Greek word for which is ichthys ,
standing for Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter (Jesus Christ, son of God, Saviour).
The anchor, which also appears regularly, symbolises the belief in Christ as a safe
haven, a comforting thought in times of persecution. It's thought, too, that this was
again an example of Greek wordplay: ankura resembling en kuriol , which means 'in
the Lord'. A dove with an olive branch in the beak is a reference to the biblical dove,
meaning salvation.
TOP 5 CATACOMB READS
» The Roman Catacombs, by James Spencer Northcote (1859)
» Tombs and Catacombs of the Appian Way: History of Cremation, by Olinto L Spadoni (1892)
» Valeria, the Martyr of the Catacombs, by WH Withrow (1892)
» Christian Rome: Past and Present: Early Christian Rome Catacombs and Basilicas, by Philippe Per-
gola (2002)
» The Roman Catacombs, by Maurus Wolter (2010)
Abandonment
The catacombs began to be abandoned as early as 313, when Constantine issued the
Milan decree of religious tolerance and Christians were thus able to bury their dead
in churchyards.
In about 800, after frequent incursions by invaders, the bodies of the martyrs and
first popes were transferred to the basilicas inside the city walls for safe keeping. The
catacombs were abandoned and by the Middle Ages many had been forgotten.