As early as the second century Titus Flavius Clemens (St. Clement of Alexandria), suggested that Christians identify themselves with a seal depicting a fish or dove (Paedagogus, III, xi. See also Dove Cross.) Even before that time, inscriptions on monuments suggest that the fish symbol was familiar to Christians.
Let's go back to a time even before St. Clement, since Paganism has been around much longer than Christianity.
Neo-pagans are often quick to point out, that the fish is not a Christian owned symbol at all, but was derived from a sexually related image.
Hinduism is another religion that's a few thousand years older than Christianity, and one of their symbols is a fish. One appeared as an avatar (incarnation or physical bodily manifestation) of Vishnu to save mankind from the Great Flood.
The Sanskrit for fish is Matsya and he is usually shown with four arms and a fish tail.
The symbol of the cosmic philosophy or religion of Tao is yin-yang. This symbol is also popular with New Age followers and shows a couple of fish, Yin and Yang, where Yin's eye is in the Yang fish, and Yang's eye is in the Yin fish.
(... so is it narcissistic for one of these fish to wink at the other?)
The lowercase Greek character for Alpha (α) is similar to the fish symbol. This may also have had some influence on the decision for Christians to adopt the symbol, since Jesus calls himself "the Alpha and the Omega"4 – the beginning and the end.
Ichthys
Ichthys as adopted as a Christian symbol.
Ichthys (more commonly spelt Ichthus, or sometimes Ikhthus, from Greek: ἰχθύς, capitalized ΙΧΘΥΣ or ΙΧΘΥC) is the ancient and classical Greek word for "fish". In English it refers to a symbolconsisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish, used by Early Christians as a secret symbol and now known colloquially as the "sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish."
Symbolic meaning
An early circular ichthys symbol, created by combining the Greek letters ΙΧΘΥΣ,Ephesus.
Ichthys can be read as an acrostic, a word formed from the first letters of several words. It compiles to "Jesus Christ, God's son, savior," in ancient Greek "Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ ͑Υιός, Σωτήρ", Iēsous Christos, Theou Huios, Sōtēr.
- Iota (i) is the first letter of Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), Greek for "Jesus".
- Chi (ch) is the first letter of Christos (Χριστὸς), Greek for "anointed".
- Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou (Θεοῦ), Greek for "God's", the genitive case of Θεóς,Theos, Greek for "God".
- Upsilon (y) is the first letter of yios (Υἱὸς), Greek for "Son".
- Sigma (s) is the first letter of sōtēr (Σωτήρ), Greek for "Savior".
Historians say the 20th-century use of the ichthys motif is an adaptation based on an Early Christian symbol which included a small cross for the eye or the Greek letters "ΙΧΘΥΣ".
An ancient adaptation of ichthys is a wheel which contains the letters ΙΧΘΥΣ superimposed such that the result resembles an eight-spoked wheel.
Early Christians needed no reminder of how Jesus died; they saw it in its most hideous form all too frequently. Even in the fish symbol, we can see an X-shapped crossin the tail. (X happens to be the Greek symbol Chi, which is the first letter of 'Christ' in Greek.)
As in the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, the fish is a symbol of baptism and as such, an appropriate symbol for Christians to adopt. Fish swim in deep water yet do not drown; indeed, they need to be immersed in water in order to survive. Similarly for us to survive spiritually, we need to be baptised by immersion into the waters of Christ's love; the love he showed by dying on the cross.
After Christ's crucifixion his followers were persecuted and the fish symbol was used as an identifying symbol that fellow Christians would recognise, but non-Christians would not. Therefore Christians could connect with each other through a secret code, such as a fish symbol, without revealing themselves to the oppressors.
In the fourth century, the cross became a more popular symbol for Christians, and the symbolism of the fish gradually disappeared.
In recent years, however, some Christian groups have attempted to give their religion a fresh new look by reviving the fish as an alternative symbol. Some argue that this is a healthy 'downgrading' of the cross, which they say should not be treated as a god (being mindful not to give reverence the fish symbol). Other groups prefer the cross, because the fish symbol doesn't directly reflect Christ's sacrifice. Fortunately for Christians, they can make their own choices.
But for Jews we still stick to the star of David.
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