The Arcadian Cipher: The Quest to Crack the Core of Christianity's Greatest Secret

by Peter Blake, Paul S. Blezard

Peter Blake has found recurrent geometrical themes in the paintings of Poussin, Leonardo and other great masters. For instance, by overlaying the grids found in key paintings on maps of the Languedoc, he has pinpointed a never-before-discovered hill tomb. If the clues are right, this could be the final resting place of two of the most significant characters in the Bible.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical

Paperback

First published October 20, 2000

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

am i allowed to say ' Total bollocks ' ? Not sure so maybe i won't. This absolute drivel astounded me in the way that he attempted to put across this utterly nonsensical rhubarb as carefully worked out scholarship. It would have been a fun read if it had been some sort of imaginary thriller but in so far as it purported to be true it was annoying.

His ability to repeat a few of his own theories a number of times in a chapter appeared to him to give the idea some sort of credence or position as fact. It was a fascinating study in someone's ability to argue himself into breathless certainty. An atheist friend gave me five of these books, each ' investigating ' an important aspect of faith. Two down, one of which ' Act of God ' I quite enjoyed, three to go. Thanks Steve, thank you so very much

[Peter Parslow · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are some interesting bits of Renaissance history and (later in the book) Franco-European history in the "Dark Ages". I am willing to believe those are true, even though much of the rest is just nonsense.

Seems the guy is so keen to support the theory that Jesus didn't die on the cross but lived on happily in exile in France that he's lead on a merry dance of "evidence" and "reasoning".

Examples of poor evidence/argument that come to mind:

* that three paintings are based on pentagrams: almost any painting that contains more than five things can have a pentagram constructed. And if you allow heads, feet, tips of staffs, ... to be those things, that's pretty much every painting

* now take those irregular pentagrams, rescale them, orient them how you like & over lay them on a map. If that map contains a reasonable number of geographic or historical features, there's bound to be one in the centre of the pentagrams

More simply, how can one claim that Jesus was in a line of teachers of a moral philosophy but also maintain that he was part of a complex plot to save his life & can then a) live on aware that all but two of his friends & followers are tortured & died proclaiming the lie that he died & rose again? and b) that he can continue teaching in exile in a place where several of the other participants in the execution are also exiled, without any of them noticing it's him?

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

the Arcadian cipher
fascinated by ancient history, esoteric writing,,,and the fine painting of the greatest renaissance masters..
art-historians have watched as others have made guess as to the codes and meaning that are embedded in them
but from reacquiring themes, symbolism,, or others patterns different conclusions can be gasped... if the clues alone the trail....are right...... this is the final resting place of two of the most significant charters of the bible...

[Peter]

Am I allowed to repeat the comments below because they say it all.. utter rubbish

Am I allowed to say ' Total bollocks ' ? Not sure so maybe i won't. This absolute drivel astounded me in the way that he attempted to put across this utterly nonsensical rhubarb as carefully worked out scholarship. It would have been a fun read if it had been some sort of imaginary thriller but in so far as it purported to be true it was annoying.

[M.tariq Suleman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well might be a hectic research but I am not agreed. So if you want make a correct move toward your belief read the other side as well.