Living with the Gods

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

Neil MacGregor explores the role and expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world. Produced in partnership with the British Museum.

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Living with the Gods: The House of God

The House of God

BBC Radio 4 - Living with the Gods, The House of God

Neil MacGregor on sacred spaces, from a 4,000-year-old temple to a brand new cathedral.

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.

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