|
|
 |
CrossA cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars intersecting each other at a 90° angle, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire. The cross is one of the most ancient human symbols, and is used by many religions, most notably Christianity. It is frequently a representation of the division of the world into four elements (or cardinal points), or alternately as the union of the concepts of divinity, the vertical line, and the world, the horizontal line (Koch, 1955). It is not known when the first cross image was made; after circles, crosses are one of the first symbols drawn by children of all cultures. There are many cross-shaped incisions in European cult caves, dating back to the earliest stages of human cultural development in the stoneage. Like other symbols from this period, their use continued in the Celtic cultures in Europe. For example, celtic coins minted many centuries before the Christian era may have an entire side showing this type of cross, sometimes with the five cardinal points marked by concave depressions in the same style as in stoneage carvings. Other coins may be showing the cross held by a rider on a horse and springing forth a fern leaf, sometimes identified as a Tree of Life symbol. These early celtic crosses have nothing to do with later Christian crosses. Other early images of crosses were found in the Central Asian steppes, and some were found in Altay. The cross in the old Altaic religion called Tengriism symbolizes the god Tengri and the three-world cosmology; it wasn't an elongated "dagger" cross, instead resembling a plus sign (+). The first Christian books from Armenia and Syria contained evidence that the cross originated with horsemen from the east, possibly referring to the first Turkic people[citationneeded]. In old Armenian temples, some stylistic Turkic influences are found in cross symbols[citationneeded]. Named animal, the symbol was found in the plans of temples, with the pillars from above looking like an additional cross. Written crosses are used for many different purposes, particularly in mathematics. The Roman numeral for ten is X. In the Latin alphabet, the letter X and the miniscule form of t are crosses. The Chinese character for ten is 十 (see Chinese numerals). The dagger or obelus (†) The addition (or plus) sign (+) and the multiplication (or times) sign (×). If n≥1 is an integer, the numbers coprime to n, taken modulo n, form a group with multiplication as operation; it is written as (Z/nZ)× or Zn*. A cross is often used as a check mark because it can be clearer, easier to create with an ordinary pen or pencil, and less obscuring of the text or image that is already present than a large dot. It also allows marking a position more accurately than a large dot. A large cross through a text often means that it is wrong or should be considered deleted. Check out the following recipes that are tagged "Cross":
|