The first Christians, especially in the 64st and XNUMXnd centuries AD, lived in a polytheistic society that treated them with relative distrust. After a great fire in Rome in XNUMX AD. Christians were persecuted by Nero, and public opinion was not always favorable to them. The remarks made against them by various authors (see Box on the right), do they reflect only a form of contempt for religion, which has not yet become widespread? Does the Christian community still hardly differ in the eyes of the Romans from the Jewish religion? Are Christians such an unpleasant counter-force for the emperor? There is no doubt that the little-known Christian religion is sometimes blamed for the most terrible calamities: misanthropy, debauchery, incest ...
Although Christianity is not a mysterious cult reserved only for initiates, Christians are obliged, not only because of their convictions, but also because of the hostile attitude of the population towards them, to be especially vigilant. Christian persecution is less numerous than is often thought. However, this community could be the target of discrimination: some of them could be imprisoned, and sometimes even sentenced to exile or death. They use symbols from the Old and New Testaments for communication; draw or engrave them on the walls of the catacombs and sarcophagi; later, when Christianity was firmly established in Roman society, they would not hesitate to decorate their homes with mosaics or frescoes with Christian symbols. Although the Decalogue of the Bible prohibits any depiction of a living being and God, the symbols used generalize the principles of the Christian faith. Note that there are many symbolic animals, some of which fulfill similar roles. Here is a partial list of commonly used Christian symbols:
