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3rd-4th century mosaic. The Sun God Sol. He is holding the sphere of the heavens in his hand. What makes this notable is that this is from a Jewish synagogue. I could have said this was Jesus, and people would definitely believe it.
You can see there that Sol is in the middle of a zodiac wheel, a common motif in the Roman empire. And above, there are two menorahs and a Torah shrine. The zodiac signs are labeled in Hebrew, but Greek is also present.
Here are two more examples of Sol with the Zodiac wheel, also from synagogues. Just to show it was not an isolated usage. It was common.
Here is an early Christian depiction of Jesus as the Sun God. In the 4th century, Christian art was retooled pagan art. Patronized by Constantine and his successors at first. Constantine himself worshiped Sol Invictus.
What I want to focus on here is this. The orb shows up all over the place. It represents the heavens or the whole cosmos. And the cross or X running through it is also important. I will show many examples of it to prove the point.
This is a coin of the emperor Domitian(81-96). The figure sitting on the left is his son, sitting on the cosmic orb with the 7 planets. This commemorates the deification of his dead son. Domitian enrolled several of his family members into the official imperial cult.
A coin of the emperor Carinus(283-285). The goddess Victoria is shown standing on the celestial sphere.
A coin of Constantius, a son of Constantine. It a phoenix, standing on top of the orb and X. The phoenix was used as a symbol of Roman revival. The last century hadn't been good for the empire, but after that was even worse.
Another example from the reign of Valentinian II.
Constans, another son of Constantine, holding the celestial sphere.
A coin of Constantine. Sol Invictus can be seen holding the celestial sphere.
More simple gold coins of Vespasian and Augustus and Nero(1st century or earlier). They are victory commemorations with Victoria standing/sitting on the globe. But they are simpler, so no X.
Constantius coin, altar and globe can be seen. Altars commonly appear on Roman coins, an that is a typical Roman one. Christian symbolism starts to be seen on some coins at this time, too. Usually the Chi-Rho.
Constantine II coins. He is holding the celestial sphere with Victoria standing on top of it. Much like Jupiter.
A coin of Crispus, son of Constantine. Crispus was executed by Constantine, along with Constantine's wife.
Jupiter shown holding the celestial sphere. It says that Jove is giving something.
Octavia, sister of Augustus. Oldest coin here. 1st century BCE. CAESAR DIVI, Divine Caesar, with a foot on the celestial globe.
A coin of Vespasian(69-79). Capricorn with the sphere.
Very similar coin of Titus, son of Vespasian.
A coin of Hadrian(117-138). This celebrates him as the successor of the Divine Trajan. One is handing the globe to the other.
Coins with Antoninus Pius(138-161), Marcus Aurelius(161-180_, and Macrinus(217-218). The goddess Italia sitting on the sphere is the one that sticks out most to me. The bottom right says "Providentia deorum". Providence of the gods, with a goddess and cornucopia.
Below are some resources to read. They will explain the point I have belabored here. I have had this in mind for a while, and time and inspiration means I make threads.
In Timaeus, Plato talks about the world soul as shaped like an X. The world soul is exactly what it sounds like, the soul of the cosmos(which Plato considered a god in itself). And the source of lesser individual souls.
This is the pole and celestial equator. It forms a big X running through the Earth. Though another theory is that the visible X in the heavens referred to the Milky Way crossed with the zodiacal light. At certain times of year it was easily seen in the past.
This makes it more understandable as to what Plato was referring to. What gets really interesting is that from Justin Martyr onward, Christians insisted that Plato got this from THEM. Christ's cross was literally imprinted on the Cosmos.
I recommend this article for further context as far as early Christianity goes. https://isthatinthebible.wordpress.com/2019/08/17/the-structure-of-heaven-and-earth-how-ancient-cosmology-shaped-everyones-theology/
Here is an example from a Mithraeum. The god labeled Arimanius(some say it is the time god Aion) standing on top of the sphere and X.
Aion(Time) holding the Zodiac wheel. Earth and the 4 Seasons sit below him. An image of how things work in the world.
Mithra hatching from an egg or rock. Holding the Zodiac.
Phanes. The primordial god born from the cosmic egg at the beginning. Who set things in motion when before all was still. Shown here with the zodiac again. He is standing on part of his egg here.
The topic of how cosmology and astrology influenced ancient religion is a deep rabbit hole. I would say it is about impossible to understand religion, without knowing about these topics.
Here Mithras can be seen holding a sphere and putting his other hand on the zodiac.
Here are images of the Milky Way and zodiacal light. It does look like a big X in the heavens.
Coin celebrating the divinity of Augustus, meaning it was likely minted shortly after he died. Another example of this motif.
