“Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves…” --Genesis 11:4
~一~
It is a monument of mythical proportions, it has been disputed whether or not the tower is even real. The legend that tells of the tower tells of people banding together to reach the heavens in defiance of God in order to become gods themselves. Throughout the past two centuries of archaeology, many have claimed to find the ruins of the Tower of Babel. Ziggurats from Eridu, to Babylon, to monuments that were built in modern Syria to the Sinjar Mountains.
~一~
It is a monument of mythical proportions, it has been disputed whether or not the tower is even real. The legend that tells of the tower tells of people banding together to reach the heavens in defiance of God in order to become gods themselves. Throughout the past two centuries of archaeology, many have claimed to find the ruins of the Tower of Babel. Ziggurats from Eridu, to Babylon, to monuments that were built in modern Syria to the Sinjar Mountains.
BUILDING THE TOWER OF BABEL
Painting
James Jacques Joseph Tissot
~一~
Tissot’s painting of the tower’s construction also displays the tower’s biblical proportions. The monument seems impossibly large when compared to other examples of early Mesopotamian architecture. It is reminiscent of paintings that depict the building of the Egyptian pyramids.
Painting
James Jacques Joseph Tissot
~一~
Tissot’s painting of the tower’s construction also displays the tower’s biblical proportions. The monument seems impossibly large when compared to other examples of early Mesopotamian architecture. It is reminiscent of paintings that depict the building of the Egyptian pyramids.
TURRIS BABEL
Drawing
Athanasius Kircher, 1679
~一~
Kircher’s illustration is one of the most iconic representation of the Tower of Babel. It shows Babylon as a Roman metropolis in the Mesopotamian desert. Hellenistic temples and buildings cover the landscape. In the distance ziggurats rise but they pale in comparison to the Tower. The monolith seems impossibly large and intricate, matching the Biblical grandeur, but may be too lofty of an achievement for the ancient people accredited.
Drawing
Athanasius Kircher, 1679
~一~
Kircher’s illustration is one of the most iconic representation of the Tower of Babel. It shows Babylon as a Roman metropolis in the Mesopotamian desert. Hellenistic temples and buildings cover the landscape. In the distance ziggurats rise but they pale in comparison to the Tower. The monolith seems impossibly large and intricate, matching the Biblical grandeur, but may be too lofty of an achievement for the ancient people accredited.
RECONSTRUCTION OF ETEMENANKI
Model
~一~
Etemenanki, known in English as The Temple of the Foundation of Heaven & Earth, was a ziggurat dedicated to the Babylonian god Marduk. The temple was built in the 6th Century BCE during the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews. Many modern scholars believe that the nearly 300 foot high ziggurat served as the inspiration for the story of the Tower of Babel.
Model
~一~
Etemenanki, known in English as The Temple of the Foundation of Heaven & Earth, was a ziggurat dedicated to the Babylonian god Marduk. The temple was built in the 6th Century BCE during the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews. Many modern scholars believe that the nearly 300 foot high ziggurat served as the inspiration for the story of the Tower of Babel.