Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Jer usalem:
Connecting and Supporting
Heaven and Earth
T H E S A C R E D A N D T H E P R O FA N E B Y M I R C E A E L I A D E
Semantic Meaning
“Revelation of a sacred space makes it
possible to obtain a fixed point and hence
to acquire orientation in the chaos of
homogeneity.”
T H E S A C R E D A N D T H E P R O FA N E B Y M I R C E A E L I A D E
Jerusalem is a central space at which the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam provides a divine orientation for His people. Without orientation, space is homogenous and altogether separate from the sacred. As Eliade writes, “Revelation of a sacred space makes it possible to obtain a fixed point and hence to acquire orientation in the chaos of homogeneity” (Eliade 23). Space can be a threshold where the two cosmic realms of the sacred and the profane communicate. One way that the homogeneity of space is broken is through hierophany, or the manifestation of the sacred. Tangible interventions of God such as a voice calling out to Abraham or an angel appearing to King David are hierophanies that designate areas as holy. Geographical and architectural features can also point to the development of a sacred space, in the form of an axis mundi. An axis mundi “connects and supports heaven and earth” (Eliade 36). It is a sacred pillar that is commonly represented by a feature that protrudes into the sky such as a tall temple or a mountain. Eliade elucidates this idea in saying the cosmic mountain is “holy ground because it is the place nearest to heaven” (Eliade 39). In addition, depictions of imago mundi or “the imitation or replication of the cosmos as a model to follow” (Eliade 42) designate a sacred space. An imago mundi can occur at any scale, from a home, to an entire city. Imago mundi such as the Temple Mount offer the holy people of Israel orientation to God after the chaos of Eden in Jerusalem. It is a space where God and His people commune and reestablish the perfect relationship ruined in Eden.Semantic Meaning
Even for the most frankly nonreligious
man, all these places still retain an
exceptional, unique quality; they are the
“holy places” of his private universe, as if
it were in such spots that he had received
the revelation of a reality other than
that in which he participates through his
ordinar y daily life.
T H E S A C R E D A N D T H E P R O FA N E B Y M I R C E A E L I A D E
Semantic Meaning
The universal pillar, axis mundi, at once
connects and supports heaven and earth
and whose base is fixed in the world
belo w. Such a cosmic pillar can be only
at the ver y center of the universe, for the
whole of the universe, for the whole of the
habitable world extends around it.
T H E S A C R E D A N D T H E P R O FA N E B Y M I R C E A E L I A D E
Semantic Meaning
Semantic Meaning
Photographic Expression
Photographic Expression
Photographic ExpressionPhotographic Expression
Photographic Expression
Photographic Expression
Typographic and Diagrammatic Expression
Typographic and Diagrammatic Expression
Typographic and Diagrammatic Expression
Typographic and Diagrammatic Expression
Typographic and Diagrammatic Expression
Material Expression
Material Expression
Material Expression
Material Expression
Material Expression
Spatial Expression
Spatial Expression
Spatial Expression
Spatial Expression
Spatial Expression
