331, where the monogram -^ stands between branches of palm, and preceded by the words IN SIGNO, which recall the apparition of Constantine (Piper, I'ther den ChrUtlichen Bilderkreis, p. 4, G5, with a plate, fig. 1). Yet another inscription, lately discovered in the cata- combs of Melos, and containing the monogram, is con- sidered as belonging to the 2d century (see Koss, In- script. Gr. ined. fasc. iii, n. 24(5, b, p. 8). It is further probable that, since in the early part of the 2d century the first two letters of the name of Jesus were already used in that manner, as we shall see hereafter, the same was already done also with the name of Christ; and also that, from the moment Constantine wished to adopt a general sign, he would more likely have adojited one previously in use than invented a new one. After Constantino it became verj' numerous in private monu- ments, and especially on the graves, and that in most Christian countries. In Germany we find many such inscriptions, with either the ^ or the f, at Treves (Hersch, Centralmuseum, pt. iii, Nos. 5G, 61 ; Le Blant, Inscrip. Ckret. de la Gaule, vol. i, No. 230, 244), and at Cologne (Hersch, p. i. No. 95, 96 ; Le Blant, vol. i. No. 355, 359). They are also found on tilings deposited in the graves, as, for instance, on lamps and glass vessels, and, finally, on things used in daily life, as on stones, rings, etc. (D'Agincourt, Scult. pi. ix, fig. 1, 24). Under Constantine the Great the monogram came to be used on public monuments. He caused it to be inscribed on the Lahaiinn (q. v.), doubtless in the form ^^ (Euse- bius, FiV. Con5^f^^^ i, 28, speaks only of the cross; but the cross seen by Constantine was this verj- monogram), as also on his helmet, and on the shields of his soldiers. His vision is recalled in the Labarum by the mono- gram in the hand of the emperor, who is crowned by vic- tory, and by the legend hoc sigxo victor eris on the coins of his son Constantius, and of the contemporary Yetranius (350) and Gallus (351-354). Of his own reign there is a celebrated coin with the monogram of the La- barum, placed on and piercing a snake, with the legend ARES PLBUCA (Eckhcl, Z>oc??-. ?i«m?".vi!i, p. 88). Coins show it also on the helmet of Constantine, and on the shield of the emperor Majorianus (457-461). In the coins of the Eastern Koman empire, the monogram in its two principal forms is quite common until the time of Jus- tinian I, with an interruption during the reign of the emperor Julian. Under Justinian (j 565) the sign of the cross took the place of the monogram. Soon after Con- stantine, in the second half of the 4th century, we find it placed on buildings. The oldest monogram of that kind of which the date is known is an inscription of the year 377 at Sitten, in Switzerland, probably by the praetor of that place, and relating liis restoration by the pra'tor Pontius (ilomiesse, Inscript. Ilelvet. Eat. pi. 3, No. 10 ; Le Blant, Inscript. Chret. p. 496, pi. 38, No. 231 ; Gelpke, Kirchengcsch. d. Schweiz. pt. i, p. 86 sq.). It was especially used in Church architecture. The oldest, from the time of Constantine, is to be found in the mo- saic of S. Constantia at Rome, where it is on a roll in the hand of Christ. In the IMiddle Ages it was esiic- cially placed on the top of the pulpit, as in the churches of S" Franccsca Komana and of S. Maria Maggiore at Rome, both built in the 13th century. In the Latcran it is placed in the gable end, according to tlie orders given by Clement XII in 1735. This monogram, in funereal inscriptions, where it occurs at the beginning,in the middle, and at the end, may be considered in gen- eral as confessing Christ. It is sometimes used in con- nection with other words, but generally alone, as in an inscription at Yienna Faustina "in •^' (Sl&x.Sanct.ver, nor. coll.x, 432, 433) ; one in the museum of the Yatican, on Gentianus, ends with the words '•qm& scimiis te in ^" (Marini. Jlist. Allan, p. 37). In the images on the graves it is especially used to designate the person of Christ, particularly where there are any representations of him. Thus a iamb standing on a mountain, as rep-
MONOGRAM
507
MONOGRAM
resented in Rev. xiv, 1, pictured on a coffin in the Vat- ican grottoes, bears on its liead the i^ (Bottari, Scult. e pitf. sacre, vol. i, tav. xxi). It is also used with the bodily representations of Christ, either simply over his head, or in the nimbus around him, or one on each side of his head, as in a lately discovered painting in the cemetery of Prastextatus (Perret, Les Catacumbes de Rome, t. i, H. L.). There is a gem of heathen origin representing the heads of Jupiter, Apollo, and Diana, with the inscription Vivas in deo /(eliciter), in which the head of Jupiter is surmounted by the sign ^. This was probably added to it in after-times by a Christian owner, either to give it a sort of Christian consecration, or, more probably, to transform the head of Jupiter into a likeness of Christ (Piper, Mythol. u. Symb. d. christl. Kunst. I, i, p. 115-117). Sometimes the monogram also appears alone in carvings, and is then intended to represent the person of Christ ; for instance, on glass vessels, where it is placed between two persons, to sig- nify that Christ is with them. An especially interest- ing instance of that kind recurs on several coffins, where a cross is represented, with those who watched at the grave at the foot of it, and on the cross the monogram ■^, in a wreath, borne by a soaring eagle. While the lower part is indicative of the crucifixion and burial, the crowned monogram held aloof is the emblem of the crucifixion and ascension. A drawing and explanation of it are to be found in the Eva/iff. Kalender for 1857, p. 37, 45 sq. Finally, we tind also the monogram used with a symbolical meaning. On a grave-stone of the year 355 the -^^ is placed by the side of the figure of a person who, with the outstretched right hand, takes hold of the name (Aringhi, Roma subterran. lib. ii, c. 23, t. ii, p. 570).