Image and Symbol

"Truth entered the world not naked, but in symbols and images" - these words from the apocryphal Gospel of the Apostle Philip define the significance of symbolism in culture from ancient times to the present day. Based on the laws of analogy and correspondence, the symbol expresses the interconnection of the divine, natural, and human realms of existence. The property of the symbol - to briefly, without translation, convey the profound meaning of fundamental concepts of the universe - has long transformed it into a special universal language of religion, ritual, fine arts, and literature. In the book, the meaning of the symbols of the center of the world, the temple as an image of the world, the earthly and heavenly city, biblical and Celtic symbolism of the stone, the Holy Grail, and megalithic culture is systematically unfolded from the center to the periphery. The goal of the book is to assist the reader in orienting themselves in the world of symbols and to teach them to independently read the symbolic meaning of monuments of history and works of art.