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Meeting the Gods
66: Holy Thorn Reliquary
67: Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
68: Shiva and Parvati sculpture
69: Sculpture of Huastec goddess
70: Hoa Hakananai'a Easter Island statue
Throughout the world during this period objects were used to bring the faithful closer to their gods. In the Western Church, pilgrims flocked to shrines to see holy relics, including the bodyparts of saints. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, images of Jesus and the saints were venerated in the form of icons. Hindu worshipers in India used statues to developing a personal relationship with individual Hindu gods. In Huastec Mexico, penitents visited statues of the mother goddess asking for forgiveness. The religion of Easter Islanders in the Pacific changed to reflect their deteriorating environment. Polynesians ceased worshiping statues of their ancestors and instead created a cult associated with the island’s diminishing bird population.
Shakespeare's Restless World
Neil MacGregor uncovers Shakespeare's world through twenty objects.
