Solar effects in cultic architecture : A very short introduction
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| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | Most people today have lost a dimension of existence that shaped the spirituality of humankind for most of its history. The artificial lighting of modern towns has dimmed the visual impact of the night sky. Additionally, technological advancements render less obvious the relation that extends between the sun and the food we produce and consume. Unlike our predecessors, people today are imaginatively isolated from the cosmos, despite the important steps taken towards its understanding and exploration. How past societies explained man’s relation to the cosmos can be found in their writings, rituals, and material culture. It emerges from these that the sun occupied a central position in their world-views, and that peoples of the past were aware of light’s functional and symbolic potentials. Although also attested in domestic architecture, the orientation of the built environment in order to make the most of the sun’s path across the sky is, nevertheless, best preserved in cultic buildings. |
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