Comparing Sacred Spaces

Throughout history the design and appearance of sacred spaces has greatly differed depending the religion and customs of the culture. Etruscan temples and Islamic mosques are a perfect example of the vast difference in sacred spaces.

Etruscan temples were known for their characteristic terra cotta tiled wooden roof, wooden columns, sundried brick walls, and widely spaced unfluted wooden columns only in the front. One could enter the temple through a narrow staircase in the front. Unlike Greek temples, those in Etruria were not meant to be seen from all sides. They served as a home for the statues of the gods; the roof acting as a protective overhang. The common pedimental statues seen on ancient Greek temples were rare. Instead, life-size narrative statuary was placed on the peaks of the roof. Additionally, Etruscan temples had three cellas as opposed to the preceding one cella of a typical Greek temple. This change was made to accommodate the three main gods in Etruscan culture: Tinia, Uni, and Menrva.

Islamic mosques greatly differ in structure and function from a typical Etruscan temple. A mosque is an Islamic building for collective worship. It gets its name from the Arabic word, ‘masjid,’ meaning a place for ‘bowing down.' The prototypical mosque was a hypostyle hall, a hall with a roof supported by columns, with 4 vaulted iwans and a courtyard. One such structure, the Shahi (Imam) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran, was constructed in the 11^th century. Its southwestern iwan leads into a dome-covered room in front of the mihrab, a semicircular niche usually set into the qibla wall. In the Islamic culture, the faithful must face the direction towards mecca, the qibla, when praying. Therefore, the qibla iwan is always the largest; its size and dome indicated to worshipers the proper direction for prayer. Islamic art is very distinctive and different from previous styles of art, yet it pulls ideas from other cultures, such as the central planned mosque and the use of domes.

Due to the multitude of religions and worship practices around the world, varying structures and designs of sacred spaces are essential. The architectural designs of spaces adhere to the culture of societies, capturing their essence and making a mark in history.