Ziggourat

A ziggourat , or ziggurat (of the Akkadien ziqquratu “height, top, turn of a temple” of the verb zaqâru , “high being”), is a religious building mésopotamien in form of pyramid on floors, whose function remains fuzzy even if they would be rather a place worships and sacrifices, which comprised a sanctuary. It is starting from three platforms that this kind of buildings is called ziggourat, the maximum is of seven levels.

Situation

One counts approximately about thirty these large urban temples set up in the Babylonia, they are built in the middle of more the big cities: since Sippar in north, sits of the sanctuary of the god of the sun, Shamash, until Ur in the south, where the god of the moon resided, Sîn, without forgetting Uruk and its temple dedicated to the goddess Ishtar. Most ambitious was undoubtedly that of Babylon dedicated to the god Mardouk.

Stars and men

During construction, one took great care of the orientation of this one compared to stars and with the constellations. The observation of the vault of heaven made it possible to know the decision of the gods, the stars symbolizing the divinities.

These large towers had struck the travellers of the Antiquité, like Hérodote (fifth century BC). One had seen there an astronomical observatory, the Chaldéens being famous for the study of the stars. Thus, Ctésias (Ve front century J. - C.), Greek doctor near Artaxerxès II Mnémon with Suse, reported that “Chaldéens went up in top of the turns for their astronomical observations, so much this height facilitated the precise spectacle of the rising and laying down stars”. The Greek historian Diodore of Sicily (first century BC), followed it in this explanation.

This idea was taken up by the archeologists of the 19th century, such Victor Place (1818-1875), who had believed to be able to identify in one of these turns a “temple-observatory”. He had discovered in Khorsabad (Hard-Sharrukin) a ziggourat whose four lower stages would have been, according to him, painted following colors: white, black, pink and blue. Reconstituting a tower of seven stages, it supposed that the last three were also coloured. It should however be announced that the later excavations of the Oriental Institute of Chicago could not confirm any the remarks of Victor Place.

Symbolism

The construction of such temples was not intended for the observation of the stars, as confirms it research and excavations. It had another significance with the eyes of the Mésopotamie NS. Ziggourat seemed synthesis visible of creation, axis of world connecting Apsû (water mass on which the ground rested), the ground (Ki) and the sky (Year). It was, according to the Enuma Elish (Babylonian poem of creation), the dwelling of the gods.

The archeologist Victor Place contributed to spread the idea according to which each of the seven stages of the ziggourats would have symbolized by its color the seven large " planètes" what knew the Assyro-Babylonians: the Sun, the the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury. This interpretation, in particular founded on its reconstitution very criticable of the Hard-Sharrukin Observatory of , rests on a series of fragile and recently refuted assumptions.

Ritual

One has the text of a ritual of Uruk which describes a curious night ceremony. The starting point was the higher terrace of the ziggourat, and one made there sacrifices with the gods of the temple like to the seven " planètes". One walked then a torch in the various sanctuaries, where fires were lit.

Excavations

Redécouvertes by archeology at the 19th century, about thirty ziggourats were counted, like those of Assur, Nippour or Kish. That of Babylon was explored by Robert Koldewey in 1897. Its dependences formed a quadrilateral of approximately 500 meters on side. The shelf of Esagil preserved at the Louvre also informed us about many elements concerning the temple with measurements of its square and the base of the ziggurat (Etemenanki). All that was to remain secret as a recommendation indicates it: “That the initiate with the initiate the watch! The layman should not see it. ”

The Tower of Babel

Etemenanki, the ziggourat of Babylon which is supposed to be at the origin of the myth of the Tower of Babel, fell under a complex named Esagil. It is the standard illustration of this kind of construction.

See too

Random links: