Ziggurat - what is it? Symbolism of ziggurats architecture

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Ziggurat is a massive architectural structure, consisting of several tiers. Its base is usually square or rectangular. This feature makes the ziggurat look like a step pyramid. The lower levels of the building are terraces. The roof of the upper tier is flat.

The builders of the ancient ziggurats were the Sumerians, Babylonians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and also the inhabitants of Elam. The ruins of their cities have been preserved in the territory of modern Iraq and in the western part of Iran. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included other buildings.

Historical review

Buildings in the form of large towering platforms began to be erected in Mesopotamia as early as the fourth millennium BC. Nothing is known for sure about their purpose. According to one version, such artificial elevations were used in order to preserve the most valuable property, including sacred relics, during the flood of rivers.

Architectural technologies have improved over time. If the stepped buildings of the early Sumerians were two-tiered, then the ziggurat in Babylon had as many as seven levels. The inner part of such structures was made from sun-driedbuilding blocks. Fired brick was used for the exterior cladding.

The last ziggurats of Mesopotamia were built in the sixth century BC. These were the most impressive architectural structures of their time. They amazed contemporaries not only by their size, but also by the richness of their external design. It is no coincidence that the Etemenanki ziggurat built during this period became the prototype of the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible.

The Purpose of Ziggurats

In many cultures, the peaks of mountains were considered the dwelling of higher powers. It is well known that, for example, the gods of Ancient Greece lived on Olympus. The Sumerians probably had a similar worldview. Thus, a ziggurat is a man-made mountain that was created so that the gods had a place to settle. Indeed, in the desert of Mesopotamia there were no natural hills of such a height.

At the top of the ziggurat was a sanctuary. Public religious ceremonies were not held there. For this, there were temples at the foot of the ziggurat. Only the priests, whose duty it was to take care of the gods, could go upstairs. The clergy were the most respected and influential class of the Sumerian society.

Ziggurat in Ur

Not far from the modern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah are the remains of the best preserved structure of ancient Mesopotamia. This is a ziggurat built in the 21st century BC by the ruler Ur-Nammu. The grandiose building had a base of 64 by 45 meters, rose more than 30 meters and consisted of three levels. At the top wasthe sanctuary of the moon god Nanna, who was considered the patron of the city.

By the sixth century BC, the building was badly dilapidated and partially collapsed. But the last ruler of the Second Babylonian Kingdom, Nabonidus, ordered the restoration of the ziggurat in Ur. Its appearance has undergone significant changes - instead of the original three, seven tiers were built.

The remains of the ziggurat were first described by European scientists in the early 19th century. Large-scale archaeological excavations were carried out by specialists from the British Museum in the period from 1922 to 1934. During the reign of Saddam Hussein, the facade and the staircase leading to the top were reconstructed.

The most famous ziggurat

One of the grandest architectural structures in the history of mankind is the Tower of Babel. The dimensions of the building were so impressive that a legend was born according to which the Babylonians wanted to use it to reach the sky.

Today, most researchers agree that the Tower of Babel is not fiction, but a real-life ziggurat of Etemenanki. Its height was 91 meters. Such a building would have looked impressive even by today's standards. After all, it was three times higher than the nine-story panel buildings we are used to.

When exactly the ziggurat was erected in Babylon is unknown. It is mentioned in cuneiform sources dating back to the second millennium BC. In 689 BC, the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib destroyed Babylon and the ziggurat located there. After 88 years the city wasrestored. Etemenanki was also rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II, the ruler of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom.

The ziggurat was finally destroyed in 331 BC by order of Alexander the Great. The demolition of the building was supposed to be the first stage of its large-scale reconstruction, but the death of the commander prevented the implementation of these plans.

Exterior view of the Tower of Babel

Ancient books and modern excavations have made it possible to fairly accurately reconstruct the appearance of the legendary ziggurat. It was a building with a square base. The length of each of its sides, as well as the height, was 91.5 meters. Etemenanki consisted of seven tiers, each of which was painted in a different color.

To climb to the top of the ziggurat, one had to first climb one of the three central stairs. But this is only half way. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, having ascended the large staircase, one could rest before further ascent. For this, special places were equipped, protected by canopies from the scorching sun. Steps for further ascent encircled the walls of the upper levels of the ziggurat. At the top stood a spacious temple dedicated to Marduk, the patron god of Babylon.

Etemenanki was famous not only for its incredible size for its time, but also for the richness of its external decoration. By order of Nebuchadnezzar II, gold, silver, copper, stones of various colors, enameled bricks, as well as fir and pine were used as finishing materials for the walls of the Tower of Babel.

First tier from the bottomthe ziggurat was black, the second white, the third purple, the fourth blue, the fifth red, the sixth silver, and the seventh gold.

Religious meaning

The Babylonian ziggurat was dedicated to Marduk, who was considered the patron saint of the city. This is the local name of the Mesopotamian god Bel. Among the Semitic tribes, he was known as Baal. In the upper tier of the ziggurat there was a sanctuary. There lived a priestess who was considered the wife of Marduk. Every year, a new girl was chosen for this role. It had to be a beautiful young virgin from a noble family.

On the day of the choice of the bride of Marduk in Babylon, a grandiose festival was held, an important element of which were mass orgies. According to tradition, every woman had to make love at least once in her life with a stranger who would pay her money. At the same time, the first offer could not be refused, no matter how small the amount. After all, the girl went to the celebration not to earn money, but only to fulfill the will of the gods.

Similar customs were found among many Middle Eastern peoples and were associated with the cult of fertility. However, the Romans, who wrote about Babylon, saw something obscene in such rituals. Thus, the historian Quintus Curtius Rufus condemns feasts, during which ladies from noble families danced, gradually throwing off their clothes. A similar view is rooted in the Christian tradition, not without reason in Revelation there is such a phrase as "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."

Architecture symbolsziggurats

Any tall building is associated with a person's desire to get closer to the sky. And the structure of the stepped shape resembles a staircase leading up. Thus, the ziggurat primarily symbolizes the link between the heavenly world of deities and people living on earth. But, in addition to the meaning common to all high-rise buildings, the architectural form invented by the ancient Sumerians has other unique features.

On modern pictures depicting ziggurats, we see them from the top or side view. But the inhabitants of Mesopotamia looked at them, being at the foot of these majestic buildings. From this vantage point, the ziggurat is a series of walls that rise one after the other, the topmost of which is so high that it looks like it touches the sky.

What impression does such a spectacle make on the observer? In ancient times, a wall surrounded the city to protect it from enemy troops. She was associated with power and impregnability. Thus, a series of huge walls rising one after another created the effect of absolute inaccessibility. No other architectural form could so convincingly demonstrate the limitless power and power of the deity living on top of the ziggurat.

In addition to impregnable walls, there were gigantic stairs. Usually ziggurats had three of them - one central and two lateral. They demonstrated the possibility of a dialogue between man and the gods. Priests climbed them to the top to speak with higher powers. So the symbolismthe architecture of the ziggurats emphasized the power of the gods and the importance of the caste of priests, called upon to converse with them on behalf of the whole people.

Decoration of ziggurats

Not only the grandiose size of the structure was designed to surprise the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, but also their exterior decoration and layout. The ziggurats were lined with the most expensive materials, including gold and silver. The walls were decorated with images of plants, animals and mythological creatures. At the top stood a golden statue of the deity in whose honor the ziggurat was erected.

The path from the bottom to the top was not straight. It was a kind of three-dimensional maze with climbs, long passages and numerous turns. The central staircase led only to the first or second tier. Then I had to move along a zigzag path - go around the corners of the building, climb the side steps, and then, already on a new tier, go to the next flight, located on the other side.

The purpose of this layout was to make the climb longer. The priest during the ascent had to get rid of worldly thoughts and focus on the divine. Interestingly, labyrinth temples also existed in ancient Egypt and medieval Europe.

The ziggurats of Mesopotamia were surrounded by gardens. The shadow of trees, the scent of flowers, the splashing of fountains created a feeling of heavenly serenity, which, according to the architects, was supposed to testify to the benevolence of the deities who lived on top. Also should notforget that the ziggurat was located in the center of the city. Residents came there to indulge in friendly conversations and joint entertainment.

Ziggurats in other parts of the world

Not only the rulers of Mesopotamia erected majestic buildings, trying with their help to leave their name for centuries. In other parts of the world, there are also structures whose shape resembles a ziggurat.

The most famous and well-preserved buildings of this kind are located on the American continent. Most of them look like a step pyramid. The ziggurat, as an architectural form, was known to the Aztecs, Mayans and other civilizations of pre-Columbian America.

Most of the step pyramids collected in one place can be found at the site of the ancient city of Teotihuacan, which is located about fifty kilometers from the capital of Mexico. The architectural form of the ziggurat is clearly recognizable in the appearance of the famous temple of Kukulkan, also known as El Castillo. This building is one of the symbols of Mexico.

In Europe there are also ancient ziggurats. One of them, called Cancho Roano, is located in Spain and is a monument of the Tartessian civilization that once existed on the Iberian Peninsula. It is assumed that it was built in the sixth century BC.

Another unusual building for Europe is the Sardinian ziggurat. This is a very ancient megalithic structure, erected in the fourth millennium BC. The Sardinian ziggurat was a place of worship duringreligious ceremonies have been held there for many centuries. The base of his platform was almost 42 meters long.

Modern ziggurats

Invented in ancient times, the architectural form inspires modern designers. The most famous "ziggurat" built in the twentieth century is Lenin's Mausoleum. This form of the tomb of the Soviet leader gave rise to conspiracy theories about the connection of the Bolsheviks with the ancient Mesopotamian cults.

In fact, the similarity of the Lenin Mausoleum with the ziggurat - most likely - is dictated by the artistic preferences of its architect Alexei Shchusev. To be convinced of this, it is enough to look at the building of the Kazansky railway station in Moscow, the project of which the master presented back in 1911. Its main structure also has a characteristic stepped structure. But the prototype here was not the architecture of Mesopotamian ziggurats, but the appearance of one of the towers of the Kazan Kremlin.

But not only Russians in the twentieth century came up with the idea to build a ziggurat. In the US, there is also a building of a similar design. It is located in West Sacramento, California. It's called the Ziggurat Building. Its construction was completed in 1997. This 11-story, 47.5-meter office building spans seven acres (28,000 m2) and has underground parking for more than 1,500 cars.