architecture

Salt Lake Temple Symbols

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Symbols on the Salt Lake Temple

Symbols on the Salt Lake Temple

There is an article this morning in the Mormon Times about the symbolism in the architecture of the Salt Lake Temple.  It is written by Lynn Arave who used as a reference Dean R. Zimmerman’s article in the New Era entitled “The Salt Lake Temple” from June 1978.

The article cites a brief description and explanation of several of the symbols found on the temple, and includes some interesting details that I did not know before, including this:

Not all the symbolism originally planned for the Salt Lake Temple became a reality, either. For example, an early sketch of the temple by Angell found hanging today in Brigham Young’s guest room at Cove Fort shows that two Angel Moroni statues, one each on the east and west ends, were initially envisioned. Only an eastern statue was ever used for reasons unclear….

For perhaps its first few decades, the Salt Lake Temple used to have statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, one each in niches at the top of the two eastern stairways. These bronze statues were later removed and placed elsewhere on the temple block, according to Elder Talmage in “The House of the Lord.” The empty spaces for these two statues remain and are popular photography spots for wedding parties today. ((Lynn Arave, “Symbolism can be seen in architecture of S.L. Temple,” Mormon Times, November 27, 2008.))

For a more extensive treatment of the symbols of the Salt Lake Temple see Matthew Brown and Paul Smith’s excellent book Symbols in Stone.

Hypaethral – A Roofless Temple

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Hypaethral Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey. (http://www.utexas.edu/courses/citylife/architecture1.html)

Hypaethral Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey. (http://www.utexas.edu/courses/citylife/architecture1.html)

I came across a new word today in my inbox – hypaethral (\hye-PEETH-rul\).  Webster defines this adjective as:

1  : having a roofless central space
2  : open to the sky ((“hypaethral.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 26 November 2008
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypaethral>))

What caught my interest was that this word is applied mostly to ancient temples.  The example sentence that was given was:

During our tour of Egypt, we visited the hypaethral temple of Philae, which was dismantled and relocated after the construction of a dam caused its original site to be submersed.  ((Email – “hypaethral: M-W’s Word of the Day,” November 26, 2008.))

Webster’s given etymology of the word explains why it is often associated with temples:

Ancient Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius used the Latin word “hypaethrus” to describe temples in which the “cella” (the part of the temple housing an image of the deity) was wholly or partially uncovered. “Hypaethrus” is a word sculpted from the Greek prefix “hypo-,” meaning “under or beneath,” and the Greek word “aithēr,” meaning “air or heaven.” In the late-18th century, English classicists adopted the remodeled form “hypaethral” in their writings of ancient architecture. Another adjective that they occasionally employed is “cleithral,” which designates temples having roofed central spaces. (“Cleithral” comes from “kleithra,” the Greek word for “lattice.”) ((ibid.))

In other words, the innermost sanctuary of ancient temples (known in the Israelite tradition as the Holy of Holies) was sometimes open to the sky, hyp-aethral, or “under heaven.”  This was likely due to the temples’ often association with the cosmos.  While although the “Hypaethral Temple” at Philae may not have actually been open to the sky in its heyday, a couple examples of this scenario might be found in Stonehenge and Göbekli Tepe.

Read more in the Wikipedia article on hypaethral.  Dr. William R. Long also has a good description and study of this word, including this interesting quote from Henry David Thoreau ((Elder Perry spoke of this philosopher in the last General Conference)), who used the term figuratively:

Shall the mind be a public arena, where the affairs of the street and the gossip of the tea-table chiefly are discussed? Or shall it be a quarter of heaven itself – an hypaethral temple, consecrated to the service of the gods? ((Hentry David Thoreau, “Life without Principle.”))

Videos of SANE Symposium Lectures on “Temples and Ritual in Antiquity”

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Last Friday I was able to attend the symposium entitled “Temples and Ritual in Antiquity,” sponsored by The Students of the Ancient Near East (SANE) and the Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University.  It was an excellent symposium about the temple, with a wide range of topics related to the temple presented by students and scholars.  I was also fortunate to help organize videotaping the symposium so that it will be preserved and available online for many others to see and study.  In addition to the great things that were shared, I was also able to meet several of the people I have become acquainted with online, such as David Larsen, “Particle Man,” Kathy Larsen, Donna Nielsen, and several others.  It was a great experience.  I hope SANE will continue to sponsor such symposiums in the future.

I am grateful for the SANE organizers for allowing us to videotape the symposium and make it available online, particularly Dan McLellan for his support.  I’d also like to thank Steve Smoot and Tyler Livingston for their help with the video cameras, digitizing and uploading.

Below are all the videos that we were able to record at the symposium (that have been uploaded to date).  You can see short bios of each presenter here or here.  David Larsen also took some great notes in the Ancient Israel sessions.  Note:  I will update this post with links to more of the videos as soon as they become available.  Enjoy! [Read more…]

The Seal of Melchizedek – Part 4

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Satellite Photo of the San Diego California Temple with the "Seal of Melchizedek" overlayed 13 times

Satellite photo of the San Diego California Temple with the “Seal of Melchizedek” overlayed 13 times.  I particularly like the symbol used in the skylight of the atrium in the center of the temple.

(Continued from Part 3)

To continue my research I wanted to know as accurately as possible the story about this symbol, the “seal of Melchizedek,” as it was used in the San Diego Temple.  I couldn’t find a good account online, so I decided to go to the source.  Who better would know than the design architect of the temple?  So I gave him a call.  [Read more…]

Stonehenge: An Ancient Temple

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Stonehenge - by Frédéric Vincent (Wikimedia project)

A group of researchers has just begun a two-week excavation at the well-known Stonehenge site in England in an attempt to discover, once and for all, the meaning behind the mysterious ruins. According to current scientific dating, Stonehenge dates back to about 3000 B.C., but it has perplexed archaeologists for years as to the purpose of its creation. Who created it and why? Why was the structure a venerated destination for thousands of years, being built, taken down, rebuilt and expanded a number of times. [Read more…]