Temple Of Heaven Vs Ziggurat

Between Gods and Men Two ancient structures support ancient rites and tradition to the past. They stand as structures representing religious values from a time before and continue to stand and serve as historical structures. The Temple of Heaven and The Ziggurat of Ur stand in both China and the Middle East respectively. Both the Temple of Heaven and The Ziggurat of Ur are important to their culture, have a similar yet different purpose today, and pay homage to similar pieces of tradition, but their overall purpose, design, and ties to nature remain different. Both structures remain maintained and have a significant impact on the lives of their people. The Temple of Heaven stands south of the Forbidden City in China and was once a place of

The Temple of Heaven and Ziggurat of Ur were both the centers of religious affairs and homage to their patron god(s). The Temple of Heaven was a place of worship for Chinese gods while the Ziggurat of Ur was a place of worship for Nanna. The emperor and king of both societies designed and built each structure to serve as a seat of religious power in their society, and through both they were able to exact power over their people. While both were seats of religious power, The Temple of Heaven required human sacrifice where the Ziggurat required only the sacrifice of goods. While they were similar in their earlier years, today they remain similar but both play a different role in use. The Temple of Heaven and the Ziggurat of Ur today are preserved and used to attract tourism. Both contain cultural importance and links to the past and allow people to experience historical events that happened in the past. They serve as a place of revenue for the national government even if they no longer are utilized for the purpose they were designed for. Key to the Ziggurat of Ur is the significance of the place as a fortress as well. The cultural importance hid Hussein from American troops although eventually the risk was taken to damage the structure in order to retrieve Hussein. While both religious sites had similar purpose, their design and tie to nature are

The Temple of Heaven is several buildings manifested to serve different purposes while the Ziggurat of Ur is only one massive structure in which all religious proceedings occur. The Temple of Heaven’s major building is built in a conical shape with a roof open to the sky in order to allow direct connection to the gods. The Ziggurat of Ur’s major building was destroyed long ago but the speculation regarding the structure suggests that the building was a closed area where people would pray. Not only is the Ziggurat of Ur larger than the Temple of Heaven, but the building is located in the center of its city while the Temple of Heaven is located south of its major city. In regards to the importance of nature to both buildings, the Temple of Heaven is the only one with any regard to nature at all. The Ziggurat of Ur was made specifically as a place of worship and has no natural ties at all. The Temple of Heaven is a tie between man and the gods’ spiritual realm. In Chinese lore, the spirit realm is the place where all people go after ‘death’ and is the location of all gods and ancient beings. The beings, also known as ‘Mushi’ were nature spirits that could influence the world around them. As a place for devotion to the gods and spiritual connection, The Temple of Heaven was a major site for natural influences as well. Both buildings held significant influence over their culture despite being so