In the Roman, Mediæval and Muslim cultures, how did /does the garden play a role in their respective religions?

Water is a very common element in gardens due to its beauty, cooling properties, and, often, religious significance and can be seen in each of the three styles of gardens. However, the water is only religiously significant in the Mediaeval and Muslim gardens. Although there were other religiously-significant symbols in the Medieval Christian and the Islamic Persian gardens, both used water.  The Christian use of water in the medieval period was usually seen in the monastery gardens and represented the “four rivers of life” which were a part of the Garden in Eden (Fig 1). The four rivers can refer to the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and the Euphrates which are believed to have been the rivers that flowed out of Eden (Fig 2) or represent the four gospels of the bible (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John). In the Bible, Eden is a place of abundance and harmony and thus the Church used this image to create an image of the paradise that awaits those who seek redemption. This redemption could be gained through an intervention of the church, meaning you sought forgiveness for your sins and desired to follow God. The garden was usually divided into quadrants with four sections being raised or level beds of vegetation. The expression of these rivers was not solely expressed through water, but could be represented through four pathways emanating from a central fountain. An example of this is the Metropolitan Cloister Garden in New York (Fig 3.)  These gardens were places in which people, mostly monks, could come and pray and reflect on such things as the mercy of Christ.  

Fig 1: Artistic representation of the Garden in Eden

 

Fig 2: Map of where the four rivers meet: the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and the Euphrates

   Fig 3: The Cloisters museum and gardens,The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The design of the Islamic gardens were very similarly to the Medieval cloister gardens but had different religious significance. The Islamic garden represented the paradise promised to the devout in the afterlife, the jannat al-firdaws. The prophet Mohammad said "God is beautiful and he loves beauty" and therefore every expression of beauty on earth was meant to honor God and his beauty rather than show of the talent of the artist or the wealth of the commissioner. Gardens were a very common expression of this devotion and were meant to represent an earthy paradise. The typical Islamic garden was a quadripartite. This means that it was a square divided into four parts. The partitions of these four sections were typically rills of water that represented the four rivers of life that originated in a central fountain (Fig 4). Each river represented something in particular: water, milk, honey and Sharabun Tahoora (pure drink). The garden have been a place when people could come and pray and ponder the beauty of the jannat al-firdaws that will be even more beautiful than the garden.

 

Fig 4: Basic quadripartite garden structure

 Fig 5: A tapestry depicting the typical layout of an Islamic garden

 Fig 6: The Alhambra, The Court of Lions

The Roman gardens also incorporated water into the garden, but it was the sculptures and frescos that held the religious significance. The water in the gardens would have been for beauty and used to cool the hot air while the sculptures and the frescoes depicted the gods.  There would have often been a small alter or shrine in front of each of the statues so that people who walked through the garden could make an offering. The Romans worshiped the pagan gods (i.e.  Jupiter, Venus, Tellus, etc.) who were specialized gods. By this I mean that Jupiter ruled the skies and Tellus was the goddess of earth.   Therefore if people were hoping for something in particular they could pray to and give and offering to a specific god (Fig 7 & 8). The Ancient Roman gardens were commonly seen in people’s homes which meant that people could worship in their own houses. The Romans would have used their gardens for otium (relaxing with an intellectual purpose) but also for their religious worship. 

Fig 7:  Villa d'Este, statues of gods

 Fig 8:  Mural of Flora, the goddess of flowers and spring

Throughout all three of these cultures the garden was seen as an escape where one could reflect on their life and pray to their god(s) and each used symbolism in the garden to help them express their devotion.

Sources:

Fig 1: http://curiouspresbyterian.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/garden-of-eden.jpg

Fig 2: http://itis.volta.alessandria.it/episteme/ep7/Image1127.jpg

Fig 3: http://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/cuxa-lawn.jpg

Fig 4: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/PersianGarden.png/220px-PersianGarden.png

Fig 5: http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/344/flashcards/1903344/jpg/chahar_bagh_carpet1347998036312.jpg

Fig 6: http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/esp_alhambra_courtoflions_blog1.jpg 

Fig 7: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/03/b9/c8/6c/hadrian-s-villa.jpg

Fig 8: http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5526529/il_570xN.77159345.jpg