However, unlike Egyptian pyramids, the façade of Ziggurats was not smooth but tiered to fit the labor done at the building as well as the governmental control and religious rites required in Ancient Near Eastern communities. The first level was made of limestone with flat surfaces that would have been painted red, white or black. On this surface were carved images of gods who were thought to protect cities from harm during war or other disasters. Carved images of animals were placed on the next level, which was also made of limestone. Finally, the top level was made of clay.
Ziggurats were used for worship by priests who had special access to these temples. Priests would have led ceremonies dedicated to helping cities win wars, ensure victory over enemies, or provide good harvests. They would have sung, danced, and made sacrifices to ensure good luck for their communities.
Because priests lived inside the temple, they needed safe places where they could pray alone without being disturbed. So the kings who controlled cities built many structures for priests to use. Some of these were small rooms within the main temple where one priest might live while serving as leader of the community's cult. Others were larger buildings where several priests could live and work together.
The most important place for a priest to pray alone was called the "holy of holies".
A ziggurat is a sort of large stone building resembling pyramids and with tiered tiers that was built in ancient Mesopotamia. It is only accessible via the stairways and has historically represented a link between the gods and humanity, while it also acted as a functional flood refuge. A temple constructed like this would have been impressive indeed!
The Babylonians built many such structures during the third millennium B.C., but only one of them remains today: The Ziggurat of Ur. This artificial mountain served as both a religious site and a city fortification; it was here that Marduk defeated Tiamat, the dragon who had challenged him for dominion over all life. For this reason, the place was often called "Mountain of God".
The pyramid as we know it from Egypt was first developed by the Egyptians around 2500 B.C. They used smooth limestone blocks without any kind of adhesive to bind them together. The Egyptians called these blocks "pyramids" after the shape they imagined the pharaoh's body to be composed of.
Over time, other countries began to build their own versions of the pyramid. The Indians built several varieties, some larger than others. There were also Chinese pyramids, Persian pyramids, and Mesoamerican pyramids. But all of these buildings had one thing in common: They were all based on the design of the Egyptian pyramid.
A ziggurat is a type of temple that was popular in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and western Iran) during the Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilizations. Ziggurats are pyramidal structures, although they are not nearly as symmetrical, exact, or visually beautiful as Egyptian pyramids.
In ancient Mesopotamian religion, the ziggurat was sacred land raised up by gods who needed places to rest after many years of exertion. The word comes from Akkadian šaggara, which means "to rise up." In modern usage, the term refers to any multi-storey building with pyramidal or triangular shapes.
The first known ziggurat was built by the Sumerians around 3000 B.C. It was called the Eanna Temple because it was dedicated to the god Enlil. Later rulers built additional layers on top of the original Sumerian structure, giving us today's famous towers of Babylon. The Egyptians also had their own version of the ziggurat, but unlike the Mesopotamians they used smooth, flat stones instead of bricks or mortar for their construction. It was built near Memphis around 2500 B.C. and its purpose was to provide housing for some of the priests who served at the city's major temples. There are still remnants of this pyramidion today inside the temple complex at Karnak.
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