whats the difference between the ankh and the cross?

Question

I know they are from two different cultures and they have two different meanings but what are they? and what are the simiarities. what could it symbolize if the two were merged together?

Answer 1

The cross has its current identifiable origin from early Christianity as the instrument of Christ's crucifixion, but it also goes back to earlier times as the symbol of man with arms outstretched.

The Ankh has its origins in Ancient Egypt and is alternately known as either the Crux Ahnsata, or the Egyptian cross, which represented the spirit within man, or the key of life itself. It became used as a religious symbol in the court of the monotheistic pharaoh Akhnaton.

The cross and the Ankh have similar origins, but if merged together, they would probably symbolize the Light and the Love of God in Life.

Answer 2

The origin of the Christian cross has to do with an instrument of torture and execution, that became the derailment of the actual teachings of Jesus and the deification of the symbol over the message.

The origin of the Ankh is the putting together of the female symbol (the oval) and the male symbol (the Tau-cross), being somewhat obvious in symbolizing life...but as time passed, it began to be the power of the Gods and Goddesses over life, and more time passed without the Egyptian religion being practised by those who knew of it, and so the Ankh came to symbolize Deific life or immortality.

The result of combining these whould be utter confusion.

Answer 3

The ankh, which looks like a cross but with an inverted tear drop for the top arm, is the Egyptian symbol for life, and therefore it symbolizes eternal life. One of the most important gods, Amun, is often depicted clutching it in his fist. The cross symbolizes the wooden cross on which Christ was killed; since He afterwards conquered death and was resurrected, the cross has also come to symbolize eternal life.

If they were merged, they would be either a sloppily drawn ankh or a sloppily drawn cross.

Answer 4

The ankh (pronounced 'ahnk', symbol ☥) was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that stood for the word ʿnḫ, meaning life. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest. It is also known as the Egyptian Cross, or as crux ansata, Latin for "cross with a handle".
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The cross is one of the most ancient human symbols, and is used by many religions, most notably Christianity. It is frequently a representation of the division of the world into four elements (or cardinal points), or alternately as the union of the concepts of divinity, the vertical line, and the world, the horizontal line (Koch, 1955).


Here are the links if you want to read more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh

Answer 5

for starters the ankh has a circle or oval on top of the cross bar, and there are about a dozen or so different styles for the cross.