The Temple of Jerusalem (Wonders of the World) Paperback by Simon Goldhill (Harvard University Press)

The Temple in Jerusalem, as Simon Goldhill reminds us in this admirably readable account of its long and tortured history, has always been more than a holy place: it is above all an idea--a myth, a fantasy, a utopian dream that has dominated the imagination for three millennia and continues to act as a source of contention...As far as it goes, his book is thoroughly absorbing: the writing is fresh, the erudition lightly worn with pleasing nuggets of fact and fantasy culled from an impressive variety of sources. 

The Temple of Jerusalem could not be the subject of a guide book at all, since it now only exists in the mind: the Romans destroyed it entirely in AD 70. Simon Goldhill's study accordingly concentrates on the idea of the Temple down the centuries...The heart of the book...lies in its reconstruction of the Temple in the mind. Beginning with the prophet Ezekiel, Jewish mystics and rabbis have in different ways reimagined the Temple as a symbol of the divine in the midst of the people of God...Most interesting to me are the later chapters of the book, which describes the Temple in art, nineteenth-century quests for the site of the Temple, and 'Archaeology and Imperialism,' all showing how preconceptions of the Temple colour the imaginations of those who seek it...Goldhill is just the writer to attempt such a bold exercise in 'reception history,' his vivid and almost conversational style leading the reader comfortably through complex material. The problem in reception history is always how to avoid a merely miscellaneous list--a few texts from here, a few pictures from there. In a book this short there is inevitably a lot of selection, but it is judicious, and always contributes to the central theme: that the Temple is what we make it. 

Goldhill skilfully allows the reader to understand how the Jerusalem Temple has become a dreamscape for all the Abrahamic faiths. Even more importantly, he shows how that religious longing has inspired artists to imagine their Jerusalem...After reading Goldhill's book, I can understand how 'Jerusalem' is not merely the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock but also an empty space filled with conflicting myths. When we look at this void, we fill it with our own ideal. And we bring Solomon, David, Jesus and Mohammed with us, too.