<P> The fish is also used by Jesus to describe "the Sign of Jonah". (Matthew 12: 38 - 45) This is symbolic of the resurrection of Christ upon which the entire Christian faith is based . (1 Corinthians 15: 1 - 58) </P> <P> According to tradition, ancient Christians, during their persecution by the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after Christ, used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes: </P> <P> According to one ancient story, when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt . If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company . Current bumper - sticker and business - card uses of the fish hearken back to this practice . </P> <P> There are several other hypotheses as to why the fish was chosen . Some sources indicate that the earliest literary references came from the recommendation of Clement of Alexandria to his readers (Paedagogus, III, xi) to engrave their seals with the dove or fish . However, it can be inferred from Roman monumental sources such as the Cappella Greca and the Sacrament Chapels of the catacomb of St. Callistus that the fish symbol was known to Christians much earlier . </P>

What is the meaning behind the christian fish symbol