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Another cross with sun imagery is the Coptic Cross. This was originally a sun symbol, with the heaven in the center supported
by four pillars in each direction to uphold the sky. Coptic Christians later added the four nails to identify Christ with
the heavenly diety, and to suggest the blood on the nails had spread to the four corners of the world.
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Similar in appearance is the Cross Pommee. This cross represented the Assyrian god Asshur, who ruled time/seasons. He was
pictured with the faces of a man, lion, eagle, and bull, his four totems. The cross with circles was later used on Jewish
amulets.
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Crosses are often associated with sky or sun gods. The Cross Potent was a symbol of this in ancient Mesapotamia. The cross
potent with a circle (similar to the Coptic Cross, below) was the sign of the Assyrian heaven-god Anu. This cross is also
called the Windlass, a term linked with it in the Middle Ages.
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The Greek Cross was one of the original forms used by Christians. (The Latin cross was not in popular usage until the eighth
and ninth centuries.) Before Christianity, the Greek cross was an emblem of Hecate as the Goddess of Crossroads. The vertical
was male, the horizontal was female - making it a plus sign of one-plus-the-other.
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