Main content

The House of God

Neil MacGregor focuses on the creation of sacred spaces built for engagement with the divine, including a 4,000-year-old temple in Mesopotamia and a new cathedral in Kenya.

Neil MacGregor's series on the role and expression of beliefs continues with a focus on the creation of sacred spaces, built for encountering or engaging with the divine.

Stone tablets in the British Museum detail how a temple was designed and formed in Mesopotamia about 4000 years ago - the first sacred space for which we have a written record. It was a god's home, complete with private areas crafted to meet his every need: kitchens and dining rooms, family rooms and spaces for guests.

Architect Aidan Potter reflects on the ideas and ideals behind the design of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Kericho, Kenya, consecrated in 2015, and Neil views the original models - starting with a curled cardboard sleeve, used on a disposable coffee cup, which Aidan shaped to suggest the high inverted V-shaped roof

Producer Paul Kobrak

The series is produced in partnership with the British Museum, with the assistance of Dr Christopher Harding, University of Edinburgh.
Photograph (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.

Available now

14 minutes

Last on

Fri 17 Jun 2022 14:45
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

The Power of Song

Next

Gifts to the Gods

See all episodes from Living with the Gods

Broadcasts

  • Mon 6 Nov 2017 09:45
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM
  • Mon 6 Nov 2017 19:45
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Fri 17 Jun 2022 14:45
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

Animations

Neil MacGregor tells the stories of some of the key objects in the series.

Podcast

  • Living with the Gods

    Neil MacGregor explores the role and expression of shared beliefs around the world.