# Staurogram > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Staurogram > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Staurogram.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staurogram > Source revision: 1338682854 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Combination of Greek letters tau and rho}} {{distinguish|text=the [Russian ruble sign](/source/Ruble_sign) (₽)}} thumb|upright|The Staurogram, also called the Tau-Rho, and the Monogrammatic cross.|class=skin-invert-image [[File:P. Bodmer XIV-XV, staurogram.jpg|thumb|A staurogram used as τρ-ligature part of the spelling of the word ''σταυρον'' (as {{overline|Ϲ⳨ΟΝ}}) in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14:27 Luke 14:27] ([Papyrus Bodmer XIV](/source/Papyrus_75), 2nd century).]] [[File:Solidus Anastasius.jpg|thumb|A [solidus](/source/Solidus_(coin)) minted under [Anastasius I Dicorus](/source/Anastasius_I_Dicorus) (struck in Constantinople between 507–518). On the obverse is [Victory](/source/Nike_(mythology)) standing left, holding a staff surmounted by a staurogram.]] [[File:Nahsholim-Tel-Dor-3187.jpg|thumb|An [oil lamp](/source/Early_Christian_lamps) with staurogram from [Caesarea Maritima](/source/Caesarea_Maritima). Glass Factory Museum, [Nahsholim](/source/Nahsholim), Israel.]] The '''staurogram''' ('''⳨'''), also '''monogrammatic cross''' or '''''tau-rho''''',The term ''[staurogram](/source/%3Awikt%3Astaurogram)'' in this sense is of relatively late coinage (1960s); "monogrammatic cross" is in use in the later 19th century. is a [ligature](/source/typographic_ligature) composed of a superposition of the [Greek letters](/source/Greek_alphabet) [tau](/source/tau_(letter)) ('''Τ''') and [rho](/source/rho_(letter)) ('''Ρ'''). ==Early occurrence and significance== [[File:Herod coin1.jpg|thumb|Obverse of a Herodian copper coin, bearing the legend {{lang|grc|ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΗΡΩΔΟΥ}} {{tlit|grc|[Basileōs](/source/Basileus) Hērōdou}}. Visible staurogram.]] The symbol is of pre-Christian origin. It is found on copper coins minted by [Herod I](/source/Herod_the_Great) in 37 BC, interpreted as a ''tr'' ligature representing ''trikhalkon'' indicating the coin value.F. W. Madden, ''History of Jewish Coinage'' (1864), 83–85. ===Abbreviation for ''stauros''=== The staurogram was first used to abbreviate ''[stauros](/source/stauros)'' ({{lang|grc|[σταυρός](/source/wiktionary%3A%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B1%CF%85%CF%81%CF%8C%CF%82)}}), the Greek word for [cross](/source/Christian_cross), in very early [New Testament manuscripts](/source/New_Testament_manuscripts) such as {{Papyrus link|66}}, {{Papyrus link|45}} and {{Papyrus link|75}}, almost like a [nomen sacrum](/source/nomina_sacra), and may visually have represented [Jesus on the cross](/source/Crucifix).{{cite book |editor-last= Kraus |editor-first= Thomas |title= New Testament Manuscripts |publisher= Brill |location= Leiden |year= 2006 |isbn=978-90-04-14945-8 |chapter= The Staurogram in Early Christian Manuscripts: the earliest visual reference to the crucified Jesus? |first= Larry |last= Hurtado |authorlink= Larry W. Hurtado |pages= 207–26 |hdl= 1842/1204 }} ===Monogram of Christ=== The Tau-Rho as a [Christian symbol](/source/Christian_symbol) outside its function as [nomen sacrum](/source/nomen_sacrum) in biblical manuscripts appears from {{circa|the 4th century,}} used as a ''[monogramma Christi](/source/Christogram)'' alongside the [Chi-Rho](/source/Chi-Rho) and other variants, spreading to Western Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries.{{cite book |last=Redknap |first=Mark |year=1991 |title=The Christian Celts: Treasures of late celtic Wales |publisher=National Museum of Wales |location=Cardiff, UK |isbn=978-0-7200-0354-3 |page=61 }} ===In combination with alpha and omega=== [Ephrem the Syrian](/source/Ephrem_the_Syrian) (4th century) discusses a Christian symbol, apparently combining the Tau-Rho with [Alpha and Omega](/source/Alpha_and_Omega) placed under the left and right horizontal arms of the Tau. Ephrem says that the Tau represents the cross of Jesus (prefigured by the outstretched hands of [Moses](/source/Moses) in {{bibleverse||Exodus|17:11|KJV}}), the Alpha and Omega signify that the crucified Christ is "the beginning and end", and the Rho, finally, signifies "Help" ({{lang|grc|βοήθια}} {{sic}}; classical spelling: {{lang|grc|[βοήθεια](/source/%3Awikt%3A%CE%B2%CE%BF%CE%AE%CE%B8%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1)}}), because of the [numerological](/source/Numerology) value of the Greek word being [100](/source/100_(number)), represented by Rho as a [Greek numeral](/source/Greek_numeral).Hurtado (2006), citing [F. J. Dölger](/source/Franz_Joseph_D%C3%B6lger), ''Sol Salutis'' (1920), [https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/get/o:34206/bdef:Book/view# p. 61] (note 2). ''Ephraem in sanctam Parasceven'', ''Ephraem Syri opera omnia quae extant graece — syriace — latine'' Tom. III Romae 1746, p. 477. ===Tau and rho separately=== The two letters tau and rho can be found separately (not in ligature) as symbols already on [early Christian](/source/early_Christianity) [ossuaries](/source/ossuaries). [Tertullian](/source/Tertullian) (''Contra Marcionem'' 3.22) explains the Tau as a symbol of salvation by identification with the sign which in {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|9:4|KJV}} was marked on the forehead of the saved ones. The rho by itself can refer to Christ as [Messiah](/source/Messiah) because [Abraham](/source/Abraham), taken as a symbol of the Messiah, generated [Isaac](/source/Isaac) according to a promise made by God when he was one hundred years old, and 100 is the value of rho.[Bagatti, Bellarmino](/source/Bellarmino_Bagatti), "The Church from the Circumcision: History and Archaeology of the Judaeo-Christians", ''Studium Biblicum Franciscanum'', Collectio Minor n. 2, Jerusalem (1984). {{rp|158}} ====Coptic Unicode block==== The staurogram is encoded by [Unicode](/source/Unicode) in the [Coptic](/source/Coptic_(Unicode_block)) block, at {{unichar|2CE8|Coptic Symbol Tau Ro}}, and as of Unicode 7.0 (2014) also in the [Ancient Symbols](/source/Ancient_Symbols) block, at {{unichar| 101A0|greek symbol tau rho}}. The Coptic block has a ligature of the full word σταυρός, where the τρ is represented by the staurogram, and two [lunate sigma](/source/lunate_sigma)s are attached to either side of the tau's horizontal bar, at {{unichar|2CE7|Coptic symbol Stauros}}. ==See also== * [Chi (letter)](/source/Chi_(letter)) * [Christogram](/source/Christogram) * [Descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross](/source/Descriptions_in_antiquity_of_the_execution_cross) * [Early Christian symbols](/source/Early_Christian_symbols) * [Greek ligatures](/source/Greek_ligatures) * [Stauros](/source/Stauros) * [Stigma (letter)](/source/Stigma_(letter)) * [Tau cross](/source/Tau_cross) ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == * {{wiktionary-inline|staurogram}} * {{commonscat-inline|Staurogram}} {{Christian crosses}} {{Authority control}} Category:Greek ligatures Category:Christian crosses Category:Monograms --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Staurogram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staurogram) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staurogram?action=history)). 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