Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 2,1): Zeus god of the dark sky (thunder and lightning): Text and notes (Cambridge, 1925)

602 The double axe and the labarum

stances in which Constantine had his famous dream. Lactantius
continues:

'Constantine while resting was warned to put the celestial sign of God as a
mark upon his shields and so to give battle. He did as he was bidden and, set-
ting the letter X aslant and bending round its topmost end, marked cht rho upon
the shields. Armed with this sign his soldiers advanced to the fight.'

The sign intended is almost certainly f1, and it is highly probable
that in this we should recognise a time-serving modification of
Iupiter's trophy-cross.

Eusebios ten years later (c. 324 A.D.)2 omits the dream, but states
that after the victory over Maxentius Constantine had his own statue
erected in the most public place at Rome with 'the trophy of the
Saviour's passion' beneath his hand and 'the saving sign of the
cross' on his right hand, a Latin inscription imputing his success 'to
this sign of salvation, this true token of valour.'

The same author in his Life of Constantine (337 A.D.)3 claims to

1 E. Venables in Smith—Cheetham Diet, Chr. Ant. ii. 909 says: '"transversa X
litera, summo capite circumflexo {i.e. with a line drawn through the middle and turned
into a loop at the top, forming the letter Rho) Christum in scutis notat." ' We thus obtain

no doubt; but we cannot legitimately extract it from Lactantius' Latin,—at least I do
not see how transversa X litera is to mean ' a line being drawn through the letter X-;

B. Schremmer Labarum und Steinaxt Tubingen 1911 p. 1 : 'also X oder But
the first of these two is surely excluded by summo capite; for, if X he laid on its side as
X , it has, to speak strictly, no summum caput.

2 Euseb. hist. eccl. 9. 9 avTiKa <to (inserui) > tov crwTrjpiov rponaiov wddovs vtto %e?pa
iSLas eiKOvos dvaTe6r)vai irpoaraTTei • Kal St) to acorripiov tov UTavpov ar]p.etov eirl tt\ 5e£ia
KCLTexovTa aiiTov ev rcjS p.dXio~Ta tCov eVi 'PuipLrjs bebrip.ocnevp.evu> towu) <TTf)aavTes, avrr/v brj
TavTTjv vrroypa(prjv eVrdfarpr)p.ao~iv avrois rrj Pwp.aiuiv eyKeXetjerai <pwvrj' ' tovtui ti2 ffUTrj-
pLthbsL crr/peiu), Tip aXr/Owy eXeyxv Trjs dvbpeias, k.t.X.' Cp. the parallel description in
Euseb. v. Const. 1. 40.

3 Euseb. v. Const. 1. 28—31 trans. E. C. Richardson (in H. Wace—P. Schaff A select
Library, of Nicene and post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church Oxford—New York
1890 i. 490 f.). The actual sign and the imitation of it are described in the following
terms: 1. 28 dp.<pl p:e err) p./3piv as rjklov Upas, r)8ri ttjs rjpiepas dTTOKXivovarjs, avTois b(pdaXpo?s
IdeTv e(p7j ev clvtui ovpavip virepKeip-evov tov rjXiov crravpov Tpbiraiov e/c (piorbs crvvi.aTdp.evov,

ypacprjv Te airtp avvrjcpdai Xeyovaav TOtjTCp viKa____ I. 31 r)v be roiwbe trxVfxaTl KareaKevaa-

/j,£vov. v^rfKbv bbpv xputry KaTrjpupieap.e'vov Kepas elxev eyKapatov [aTavpov axvp-an TrewoLr/-
pevov (seclusit J. A. Heikel)], dvai be rrpbs &Kpip tov rravTos aTecpavos e/c Xidcov -rroXvTeXQv
Kal xpucroO avpireirXeypevos KaTearrjpiKTO, Kad' ov Trjs awTr/ptov eTrr/yopLas to avpfioXov, bvo
ffTOix^o- to XpiaTov irapabrfXavvra 6vop.a [5td tS>v rrpibTiov inrear)p.aivov xa-PaKTr)pwv {seclusit
J. A. Heikel)], xLaS°P-^V0V T°v P& Kara to peaanarov ' d drj Kal Kara tov Kpdvovs (pepeiv
elude Kav tols /xeTa ravra xpovoLS 6 fiaaiXevs. tov Se rrXayiov xipws tov Kara to 86pv Trewap-
p.evov ddbvrj tis eKKpepr/s dwr]<J}pT)To, fiaaiXiKov vcpaap.a rroiKiXLa avvqp.p.evwv iroXvTeXQv Xidwv
0wtos avyais e^aarpairTOVTUv Ka.XvirTop.evov avv rroXXf Te Kadvcpaa pevov xpV(?<d, dbLrjyr/Tbv
ti XPVP-0- t°ls bp&ffi irapexov tov KaXXovs. tovto p.ev ovv to <pblpos tov Kepus e^7]p./nevov
o~vp.p.eTpov p.rjKovs Te Kal wXarovs TrepLypa<pi]v aTreXdp.(3ave • to 5' opdiov Sbpv, Trjs KaTW dpxys
ewl ttoXv ixr]Kvvbp.evov avu p,eTeupov, virb ti2 tov aTavpov Tpoira'up npbs avTois aKpois tov
b~iaypa<pevTos ixpaapaTos tt)v tov deocpiXovs j3acn.Xews eiKova xpvtJVv M-^XP1 VTipvuv twv t'
aiiTov iraibwv bp-oius 'itpepev.