Christian Symbolism in a Roman Fresco

I saw the fresco below a few years ago when I went to the British Museum in London. It is from a Roman-era villa in Britain, from the 3rd/4th century AD.

The symbolism is fascinating to me:

– In the very middle is the Chi Rho, which is the monogram of Christ, being the first two letters of the name in Greek

– On the left side of the Chi Rho is the letter Alpha, and on the right the letter Omega. Christ refers to himself as “the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.”

– The letters t...