Erowid
 
 
Plants - Drugs Mind - Spirit Freedom - Law Arts - Culture Library  
Is it important to you that the world have accurate information about drugs?
Please donate to support Erowid Center's vision!
cover image
Sacred Architecture
Models of the Cosmos, Symbolic Form and Ornament, Traditions of East and West
Rating :
rating
Author(s) :
Caroline Humphrey
 
Piers Vitebsky
Pages :
184
Pub Date :
1997
Edition(s) at Erowid :
1997(pb,1st us ed,fine)
Publisher :
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN :
0316381225
BACK COVER #
Sacred Architecture is deeply symbolic, reflecting a culture's awareness of its relationship with the divine. A vivid and richly illustrated account of the way in which different cultures translate their faith into architecture, this book examines how themes that are common throughout the world are expressed with wonderful diversity through structure and embellishment.

  • Presents a superb pictorial record of some of the world's most outstanding sacred buildings, with more than 200 photographs and illustrations, mostly in full color, including specially commissioned plans, diagrams, and maps.

  • Captures the power and beauty of a wide range of temples, shrines, and other sacred buildings, from the apyramids and medieval cathedrals to the tribal architecture of the indonesian islands.

  • Explores such key themes as choosing a site, space and boundaries, feng shui, celestial alignments, consecration and purification, and the architecture of the afterlife.

  • Features a detailed visual treatment, with maps, photography, and artwork, of 17 sacred sites, from the Kaaba at Mecca to the oracle at Delphi.

  • Concludes with a glossary of architectural terms and a guide to the construction techniques of sacred buildings.