Between digit and symbol: The figure ‘6’ in Christian epigraphy

Abstract

In late Latin inscriptions, particularly in Christian epitaphs, a ‹Ϛ›-shaped sign is
sometimes employed alongside the conventional notation ‹VI› in order to express
the digit ‘6’. Traditional explanations about the origin of this sign are discussed
and rejected in favour of an alternative hypothesis which focuses on its symbolic
significance. Over and above its numerical value, the Greek digit ‹Ϛ› ‘6’ (the socalled
episemon) can in fact be regarded as a Christological symbol, and it is by virtue
of such an ideological connotation that it was adopted in the graphic/writing
repertoire of Latin Christian epigraphy.