(Top) Peace symbol or Nero's cross?
A broken, upside-down cross. To Roman emperor Nero, who hated and persecuted the early Christians, it meant destruction of Christianity. Revived in the sixties by hippies and others who protested nuclear weapons, Western culture, and Christian values, it now symbolizes a utopian hope for a new age of global peace and earth-centered unity. But many of heavy metal rock fans would agree with Nero and use it to mock Christ and His followers(1).
I find it unusual that this symbol has so much meaning and yet no one actually knows the history behind it. It is interesting that it is a contemporary symbol of peace that has previously meant the exact opposite ~ just like the symbol above (bottom), a gesture that wasn't always so accepted when posing for a photograph.
(1) http://www.radioliberty.com/Symbolsandtheirmeaning.html
No comments:
Post a Comment