Supplemental Keywords on Sacred Symbols

 

Sacred Symbols

Temple

guardian figures

astronomy/calendar and temples

Center

circumambulation

cosmic mountain

site of creation

sacred waters

tree of life

celestial temple

order vs. chaos

microcosm

purification

 

Sacred Stones

Lascaux cave

Paleolithic hunting ritual as sacrifice

Shaman

Tombs and ancestor cult

burial mounds

relation of temples and tombs

upright/raised stone (masseba)

aligned stones (Gezer)

Stonehenge

stone circles

theophany

 

Egypt

Sacred Way

temenos wall

boundary markers

sacred waters

gateway

courtyard

altar (blood sacrifice)

columned hall

purification

sacred robes = transition

Holy of Holies

presentation to the gods

embracing the gods

procession

 

Mesopotmia

city-state

tribal democracy

hierocentric

polytheism

fertility cult

syncretism

Gudea of Lagash

Hammurabi

Ziggurat

investiture (presentation) scene

 

Creation Myths

myth

cosmogony

cosmology

primordial water

"unknown god"

creation by breath/spirit/wind

division into opposites

theomachy

temple as site of creation

 

Persia

Persepolis

"Immortals" as guardians

Tombs of emperors

 

 

India (Hindu and Buddhist)

Burial Mound

variations in different symbol systems

Pagoda

Stupa

Sanchi

mandala

parasol

circumambulation

 

China

Daoist Temple of the White Clouds

incense altars

cloud pillars

royal burial mounds

Qin Shi Wangdi's tomb

terracotta warriors

tomb of the Yellow Emperor

ritual prostration

Altar of Heaven

dragon and phoenix stairs

dragon as guardian figure

 

Greece

Eleusis (initiation)

Delphi (oracle)

Acropolis (temple)

Parthenon

mystery

griffin as guardian (cherub)

KRB = KRV = GRV = GRF

iconography of ritual

Israelite

Herod’s temple

Samaritans

Solomon’s Porch

Court of the Gentiles

Concentric zones of sacredness

Samaritan Passover Sacrifice

Monumental Gate

Veil

Holy of Holies

Hebron = Abraham’s tomb

Dan

Arad

Early Christianity and the Great Apostasy

Esoteric Tradition

Prophets

Syncretism

Hellenistic Philosophy

Doctrinal Controversy

Caesaropapism = Imperial Church

 

Early Christian Sacred Symbols (Hagia Sophia, St. Catherine’s)

Simeon Stylites

Dome of Heaven

Christ Pantocrator

Ravenna Mosaics

Hand of God iconography

Hagia Sophia

Basilica

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

 

Islamic Sacred Symbols (Dome of the Rock, Damascus, Hajj)

Hajj

Ka’ba

Black Stone

Ihram (white robe of consecration)

Muhammad’s Ascent

Celestial Dome

Garden of Paradise

Floral Mosaics

 

South Asia Sacred Symbols (Angkor Wat)

Mandala (microcosmic diagram)

Temple as 3D mandala

Angkor Wat

Temple as Cosmic Mountain

God-King

Circumambulation Galleries of Angkor Wat

Seeing the “face of God”

Africa (see main list)

Precolumbian Temples (see main list)

Book of Mormon

Limited Geography Theory

“Narrow Neck of Land” = Tehuantepec

Mesoamerican Cumorah

Lamanite as Cultural Term

Olmec and Jaredite thesis

Chronology

Urban Life

Writing

Warfare

 

 

Tibet Sacred Symbols (cut)

Lhasa

Song-sen Gempo

Lamistic Buddhism

Dalai Lama as God-King

Jokhang Temple

Potala Palace

Drepung Monastery

 

Western Europe Cathedrals

Cathedral

Chatres

Cruciform

Stained glass

Three orders

“Scripture of the illiterate”

sacred history in stone and glass