The architectures of paradise

The Biblical earthly paradise is a garden, the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was watered by four rivers; the Pison, the Gihon, the Hiddekel and the Euphrates. The rivers meander though Eden in no fixed pattern; Eden appears to be an asymmetric, bountiful wildness where nature prevails. This is in contrast to the celestial Jerusalem, described in the Revelation of John the Divine, which is symmetrical in its shape and design. It is described as being cubic in shape with entrances on the north, south, east and west; all these sides are symmetric and identical. The foundations of the city were gems; the streets were made of gold and the gates carved from massive pearls. The garden of the celestial Jerusalem is the tree of life symmetrical place within the city – symmetry prevails. However, the celestial city of Revelation is not the only architecture for Paradise in the Christian tradition. In early Irish literature there are seven Heavens, but the city of God is still highly planned, with its architecture described in Gaelic verse, such as 'Saltair na Rann'. In the 'Divine Comedy' Dante does not describe a city but his Paradise is housed in a closed, symmetric and fourth-dimensional universe. This paper examines some of the differences and similarities of the architectures of Paradise.