At the center of the world : polar symbolism discovered in Celtic, Norse, and other ritualized landscapes / John Michell.
Material type:
TextNew York: Thames and Hudson, [1994]Description: 184p.; ill., maps; 24 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 0500016070
- BL980.G7 M53 1994
| Item type | Home library | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Books
|
Zeller Library | HT.Mic (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | B00081 |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-180) and index.
1 Finding the centre. -- 2 The Northern Isles. -- 3 Why the Alting met at Torshavn. -- 4 The centre of the Isle of Man. -- 5 A diversion to the centre of England. -- 6 The centre of Ireland. -- 7 The cosmological prototype
'The powers of ancient rulers emanated from the ritual center of the tribal territory....Installed upon this sacred rock (the omphalos or "navel of the world:), at the polar axis around which all revolved, the king could survey his realm, ordered from the center according to the divisions of the cosmos itself, reflecting the harmony and balance of paradise. Akhenaten's city in Egypt, Megalopolis of Ancient Greece, the world-centers of Roman Gaul and Celtic Cornwall, all provide clues to lead John Michell to the geographical and sacred criteria for locating a center....Finally, the esoteric foundation plan for these ancient societies is disclosed: the sacred geometry, the symbolic numbers. Symbols of the center are among the most persistent elements of myth and belief between cultures widely separated in time and space....
Hardcover
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