The cause of this fact is not far to seek.

In ancient Greece the temple had been erected for the god, and the statue dwelt within the cella like a master in his house.
Christianity forbade an image of the living God; consequently the Church had another object than to roof the statue of a deity.

It was the meeting-place of a congregation bent on worshipping Him who dwells not in houses made with hands, and whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain.

The vast spaces and aerial arcades of mediaeval architecture had their meaning in relation to the mystic apprehension of an unseen power.

It followed of necessity that the carved work destined to decorate a Christian temple could never be the main feature of the building.