Editing Cross (section)

{{Short description|Geometrical figure}}
{{For-multi|the Christian symbol|Christian cross|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
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[[File:Cross2.svg|thumb|150px|A ''Greek cross'' (all arms of equal length) above a ''[[saltire]]'', a cross whose limbs are slanted]]

A '''cross''' is a compound [[geometrical figure]] consisting of two [[Intersection (set theory)|intersecting]] [[Line (geometry)|lines]], usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter [[X]], is termed a [[saltire]] in heraldic terminology.

The cross shape has been widely officially recognized as an absolute and exclusive religious symbol of [[Christianity]] from an early period in that religion's history.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rebecca Stein, Philip L. Stein|title=The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft|page=62|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|quote=The cross is a symbol most clearly associated with Christianity.}}</ref><ref name=McGrath321 >[https://books.google.com/books?id=v26doW8jIyYC&pg=PT261 ''Christianity: an introduction''] by Alister E. McGrath 2006 {{ISBN|1-4051-0901-7}} pages 321-323</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Cross: Its History and Symbolism|page=11|author=George Willard Benson}}</ref> Before then, it was used as a religious or cultural symbol throughout [[Europe]], in [[West Asia|west]] and [[south Asia]] (the latter, in the form of the original [[Swastika]]); and in [[Ancient Egypt]], where the [[Ankh]] was a hieroglyph that represented "life" and was used in the worship of the god [[Aten]]. It often appeared in conjunction with the female-genital circle or oval, to signify the sacred marriage, as in Egyptian amulet [[Nefer]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/571948| title = Nefer}}</ref> with male cross and female orb, considered as an [[amulet]] of blessedness, a charm of sexual harmony.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets|last=Walker|first=Barbara G.|publisher=Harper & Row, Publishers|year=1983|location=San Francisco|pages=188}}</ref>