Sator Square

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The Sator Square (also called the Rotas-Sator Square or the Templar Magic Square) is a two-dimensional acrostic class of word square containing a five-word Latin palindrome. The earliest squares were found at Roman-era sites and were all in ROTAS form (i.e. where the top line is "ROTAS" and not "SATOR"), with the earliest discovery at Pompeii (and dating from before the earthquake of AD 62). The earliest square with Christian-associated imagery dates from the sixth century. By the Middle Ages, Sator squares were to be found in Europe, Asia Minor, and in North Africa. In 2022, the Encyclopedia Britannica called it "the most familiar lettered square in the Western world". A significant volume of academic research has been published on the square, but after more than a century, there is no consensus on its origin and meaning. The emergence of the "Paternoster theory" in 1926 led to a brief consensus among academics that the square was created by early Christians, but the subsequent discoveries...

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