The Gate
The picture is of a gate in the Byzantine walls of Thessaloníki, Greece. Until the beginning of the industrial era, most cities around the world had gates. It was a clear demarcation between the city and the surrounding countryside. However seeing gates in these pre-industrial cities conjures up the metaphoric use of gates. The Bible has many references to them. The one that I remember is “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100: 4).” The references to gates in the Bible are literal and also metaphoric as seen in this link: http://www.bible-topics.com/Gates.html . The "gate" metaphor is still in our vocabulary transferred from an era where gates were a significant part of the morphology of a city. In the mercantilist and industral city, gates ceased to be a defense mechanism is as the city was protected through the nation-state. Most cities in Europe tore down their walls. They can...