A ziggurat is a massive structure with a holy place on top with stairs leading up to the shrine or temple. Ziggurats were typically constructed out of mud bricks, and were built on the remains of previous structures.
One example of a ziggurat is Anu Ziggurat and the White Temple. It was built between 3,400- 3,200 B.C.E in Uruk, which is in modern day Iraq. This temple was dedicated to the god of the sky, Anu and served religious and political purposes. Symbolically these structures formed a link between the heavens above and earth.
A Stele is a chunk of engraved stone, frequently with cuneiform and decoration.
One example of a stele is the Stele of Naram-Sin, which depicts a victory in battle over the Lullubi. The stele of Naram-Sin
Although Cordoba’s Mezquita and Rome’s Pantheon share similar architectural qualities, each of these buildings has their own unique characteristics. Cordoba’s Mezquita is an Islamic religious architecture where the community comes together for their daily prayers. Rome’s Pantheon is a temple used as place to display all the gods. A unique feature of the mosque is that some of the arches are horseshoe-shaped, a quality possibly originated from earlier Mesopotamian
Thousands of years ago, Greek and Roman architects created rectangular-shaped buildings supported by huge, marble columns. For example, the Parthenon has forty six outer columns and twenty three inner columns. All of these columns come at a price. There is less space in the building and the views through the building are obstructed by the columns. It was not until about 100 A.D that that the Romans did a little experiment with a new concept, arches. These Roman scientists discovered that when you put them together, they form a circular dome. This concept caught on quickly as many ancient architects began to build “domes”. They found that making a dome created more space because there were no columns involved. Without the columns, the arches provided unobstructed space that is more appealing to those u...
Egyptian burial complexes evolved from the simple rectangular mastaba to the great pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty. The true pyramid evolved from the mastaba through an intermediary form, the step pyramid, the earliest example of which is Zoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara, which dates to the Third Dynasty (c. 2680 BC). The Step Pyramid was revolutionary for several reasons. It is the earliest known free-standing monument built entirely of stone in Egypt (Fakhry 20); it is also the earliest example of evolutionary architectural development beyond the mastaba. In form the step pyramid is a series of superimposed mastabas and represents the stairway that the spirit of the pharaoh was to climb to reach the sky-realm and join the crew of the solar barque traveling across the heavens (Aldred 47).
Religion has a big influence on Mesopotamian and Japanese architecture. Mesopotamia shifts their religious views to the concept of having multiple gods looking over them. This same concept influenced the Mesopotamians to build massive, tall structures called Ziggurats. The purpose to the ziggurat’s design was to enable the community a way to become closer to the gods, essentially as a passageway between heaven and earth. Japan on the other hand, centralizes their beliefs around Buddhism, Shintoism, and Zen. Although Shintoism centralizes around the way of the gods, all three of these religions focus greater on the concepts of connecting with nature and not as much with the gods. Japans religious structures include temples and shrines designed
The votive statues were created by worshipers of the ancient Mesopotamian gods. They were crafted out of materials such as limestone, alabaster, gypsum, and other such materials (Votive Statues). These statues were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna. The creators of these statues created them in their own likeness to be held at the Square Temple, a place of worship to their gods. It was the worshipers belief that the gods would bless these statues and in turn, bless the creators (Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, 2004). Worship of the gods was a huge part of the culture of Ancient Mesopotamia, as such these votive statues played a major role in that culture.
The Victory stele of Naram-Sin holds similar features, however there are some distinct characteristics that set the two apart. The stele is obviously a different material than the Egyptian palette of King Narmer. The palette was made of soft siltstone while the stele was made of pink limestone. They both have similar shapes; however, the palette is much more polished than the stele.
The Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Parthenon were very similar in most cases but at the same time, there were also very different. In this essay, I will compare and contrast these two renowned temples. I am going to focus on the context, subject and style of each Temple. Firstly, let us examine Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. According to Hill (2010) the Temple of Hatshepsut is one of the most beautiful temples in ancient Egypt and it is located at Deir el-Bahri. It was built by an architect named Senemut. Moreover, this temple was very significant in Egypt because that is where the body of Queen Hatshepsut was buried, and she was said to be the first woman ruler in history. On the other hand, according to Beard
Since people feared pharaohs, they respected them. For instance, the passage in Document 5 states that wokers built large pyramids to serve their pharaohs inside tombs. The text states, "Pharaohs were burried with their possessions." In addition, some people (Sumerians Akkadians) practiced polytheism, the worship of gods. Based on the document, "They believed that keeping the gods happy was the key to their own happiness and prosperity. On the other hand, if the gods were angry, they might bring suffering and disaster." In additon, previously stated, Egypt and Mesopotamia develoved into successful civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily. The text states, "Sumerians built huge temples called ziggurats. They believed these temples linked Earth with the heavens and linked people with the gods." This shows that they use dtheir resources to build ziggurats for their own goods so that the gods can give them happiness and prosperity instead of bringing them suffering and disaster. Therefore, Egyptians' religion and beliefs would help develop Egypt and Mesopotamia into successful
The victory stele of Naram-Sin was made to commemorate his defeat of the Lullubi, which were a people from the mountains of Iran to the east. It depicts a relief of Naram-Sin leading his well organized army to the top of a mountain, the defeated army is in disarray at there feet. Naram-Sin stands along above his men who are staggered on the front of the mountain (which is what the artist did instead of using registers.) Three stars shine above him as he steps on two dead enemy soldiers.The Stele of Hammurabi however, was not made to commemorate a victorious battle but instead was made to commemorate Hammurabi's now
The Greeks built temples, where they worshipped the gods. Each city had several temples, because each temple was used to worship one god. In each temple, there was a statue of a god that they worshipped. They had an extra big temple, and statue for the god that guarded their city.
Pyramids are one of the Ancient Architectural structures known to man. They were built as tombs for pharaohs and queens. To a layman, when a pyramid is being made mention of, one automatically assume the Egyptians. Although one of the trademarks of the Egyptians was the pyramid, the Mesopotamians were the first to construct a step-like pyramid structure. These platform-raised buildings were known as Ziggurats. The ziggurat was the major architectural structure for the founders of the Mesopotamian civilization (3500 and 3000 B.C.E); “the Sumerians.” Ziggurats were constructed using sun-dried baked stones that prevented it from lasting longer like the pyramids in Egypt. The most famous of them all was the ziggurat of King Urnammu at Ur in Iraq, although not as old as the pyramid’s of Giza. The lower levels of the ziggurats are covered with planted trees and dirt just to give it a mountainous effect. There is a belief that the gods lived on mountains thereby bringing the worshippers closer to heaven. Back then, only powerful priests were allowed to go inside the ziggurats.
Zoroastrianism is credited by authors of comparative religion as the religion that developed the original concept of eschatology or the doctrine of the end of the world and time, a doctrine that includes a final judgment and the resurrection of the souls of the righteous. It has been an unusually fruitful faith, exercising an influence on the doctrines of other religions disproportionate to its size. It was founded in ancient Persia in about 1000 B.C. E. (some sources say much earlier) by the prophet Zoroaster (also referred to as Zarathushtra). (Warren, 1885) In this Persian religion, the Chinvat Bridge [the bridge which separates the world of the living from the world of the dead, which all souls must cross the bridge upon death] is a site of judgement.
Mazda’s creation is represented by the Amesha Spentas and the host of other Yazatas. The lost portions are known only through references and brief quotations. Zoroastrianism is of great antiquity. In some form, it served in as the national or state religion. The term ZOROASTRIANISM was first attested by the Oxford English
The end of the Geometric period resulted in the beginning of the Orientalizing Period, dated between 700-600 BC. Within this time frame, Greek introduced a new innovation, the Peripteral Temple. For many years prior, a row of colonnade was used on the interior primarily to hold up the roof of the building. In contrast, columns are seen being used on the outside, creating a visual wall around the building exposing parts of the interior. With in the temple existed the megaron style, carried forward from Bronze Age homes. It was also in eastern influenced period, the first real stone temples, and terra cotta roof tiles came to exist to hold the weight on these new stone temples. The population grew drastically, introducing new techniques and styles, which blended to form designs with balance and symmetry. It was during this period, two major Greek designs were developed, the Ionic and Doric order. (Pedley, 2012: pg. 180) The Doric order, being the first and most simple, consisted of baseless columns placed closely together as the Greeks did not know how much weight the shortened columns could hold. Reason behind this was the lack of length in the columns were believed to hold less weight and therefore forced into being placed closer together. This closely set arrangement created a very bold statement in the Doric temple. The Capital, which sat on top of the concaved shaped shaft, was left plain but when grouped alongside others, suggested a bold harmony. In contrast, the Ionic order was less bulky and more delicate than the Doric order. The top of the capital is decorated with two scrolls, also known as volutes, which could have resembled a shell or animal horns. Above the capital, held room for a surrounding frieze depictin...
...re that was most unique to the Early Dynastic period was the oval enclosure with a centralized platform to lend stability to the shrine. Storage were found near the enclosure. The Temple Oval at Khafaje best exemplifies the unique formation of the oval enclosure in the temples. This enclosure had a double perimeter wall present which was highly unusual for enclosures. Another oval temple was found that Tell al Ubaid, which had a rectangular platform in the center. In the front of this platform there were elaborate decorations, which were belived to have fallen from the façade of the temple which had stood on the platform. Besides these oval temples there were also plans of temples with a number of single or double roomed shrines, one noteworthy temple is from Tell Chuera in North Syria. This design plan yields a closer resemblance to the west and megaron buildings.