After the conversion, so-called, of Constantine the Great (B.C. 313), the
cross first came into use as an emblem of Christianity. He pretended at a
critical moment that he saw a flaming cross in the heavens bearing the
inscription, “In hoc signo vinces”, i.e., By this sign thou shalt conquer, and
that on the following night Christ himself appeared and ordered him to
take for his standard the sign of this cross. In this form a new standard,
called the Labarum, was accordingly made, and borne by the Roman
armies. It remained the standard of the Roman army till the downfall of the
Western empire. It bore the embroidered monogram of Christ, i.e., the first
two Greek letters of his name, X and P (chi and rho), with the Alpha and
Omega. (See A.)
- CROWN (1.) Denotes the plate of gold in the front of the high priest’s
mitre (Exodus 29:6; 39:30). The same Hebrew word so rendered (ne’zer)
denotes the diadem worn by Saul in battle (2 Samuel 1:10), and also that
which was used at the coronation of Joash (2 Kings 11:12).
(2.) The more general name in Hebrew for a crown is ’atarah, meaning a
“circlet.” This is used of crowns and head ornaments of divers kinds,
including royal crowns. Such was the crown taken from the king of
Ammon by David (2 Samuel 12:30). The crown worn by the Assyrian
kings was a high mitre, sometimes adorned with flowers. There are
sculptures also representing the crowns worn by the early Egyptian and
Persian kings. Sometimes a diadem surrounded the royal head-dress of two
or three fillets. This probably signified that the wearer had dominion over
two or three countries. In Revelation 12:3; 13:1, we read of “many
crowns,” a token of extended dominion.
(3.) The ancient Persian crown (Esther 1:11; 2:17; 6:8) was called kether;
i.e., “a chaplet,” a high cap or tiara. Crowns were worn sometimes to
represent honour and power (Ezekiel 23:42). They were worn at marriages
(Cant. 3:11; Isaiah 61:10, “ornaments;” R.V., “a garland”), and at feasts
and public festivals.
The crown was among the Romans and Greeks a symbol of victory and
reward. The crown or wreath worn by the victors in the Olympic games
was made of leaves of the wild olive; in the Pythian games, of laurel; in the
Nemean games, of parsley; and in the Isthmian games, of the pine. The
Romans bestowed the “civic crown” on him who saved the life of a citizen.
It was made of the leaves of the oak. In opposition to all these fading