The Christian cross, recalling the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is probably the most internationally recognisable cultural symbol on the planet. And yet, very few people in the West know about its history.
Crucifixion is believed to be the most famous form of brutal punishment in the history of mankind. This important method of capital punishment was invented by Persians in 300-400BC and later adopted by the Romans, where it became the symbol of Roman supremacy.
What the cross symbolised for Rome or those who are subject to Rome – was the sheer power of the greatest empire on the face of the earth, to torture to death anyone who opposed its rule. The crucifixion was the archetypal punishment for the rebellious slave, and the reason it was so horrible was because it was physically excruciating. According to modern physiologists, someone nailed to a crucifix with their arms stretched out on either side could expect to live for no more than 24 hours. To stay alive on the cross, one had to pull himself up and down in order to breathe, as he would feel the metal scraping against his bone all the time, and birds would flock around his head as they pecked his eyes out. And the worst thing of all was that the guilty person had to be naked, advertising his own humiliation in front of the public, and showcasing the power of Roman authorities that were putting him to death.
So the idea that this symbol of all symbols should, in a sense, have kind of been upended that from degradation to the notion of triumph, from humiliation to glory, from death to life, and more than that someone who suffers the death of a slave turns out to be the creator of all humanity is miraculous. What it means in the long run is that it gives dignity to people who previously would not have been afforded dignity by anyone. And we mustn’t forget that Jesus Christ came to us not as a conqueror, but as a man nailed to a cross. This embeds at the heart of the West the idea that the oppressed can triumph over the oppressor, and that a victim can indeed become the victor.
In the context of Roman culture, it is hard to emphasise just how radical this concept is, and therefore just how much of a detonation it was under the assumptions of Roman power. And the measure of how vast that radical explosion was is now, by and large, we tend to take for granted that the lowest of the low do have dignity, and the last can become the first.