#ishtargate

Mesopotamian Art and Architecture: The Birth of Art and Architecture in the Ancient World

Mesopotamian monumental architecture is epitomized by the ziggurat, but the Sumerians were also responsible for the first large-scale palaces and temples, as well as urban planning, the arch, canals and aqueducts, landscaped gardens, and architectural ornamentation. These early innovations would become more refined in the region through succeeding periods and influence the works of other cultures in the Near East and Mediterranean regions.

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A Gallery of Lions of Mesopotamia

The Asiatic lion in Mesopotamia symbolized the forces of chaos, which the king defeated in his role as a champion of order and civilization. Lions appear in works of art from the Early Dynastic Period through the time of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as a symbol of the ruler’s strength in defeating untamed forces that threatened stability.

Lions frequently attacked livestock on the Mesopotamian plains, threatened merchants traveling the roads, and killed herdsmen, shepherds, dogs, children, and others. They came, therefore, to symbolize the chaotic nature of the untamed world – the world thought to exist outside of the civilized and orderly realm of a given monarch – and so threats to that order needed to be neutralized.

Lion hunts, whether in the wild or staged in an arena or park, were reserved solely for the king. In Mesopotamian belief – whether Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, or Assyrian – humans were understood as co-workers with the gods. The gods had established order at the beginning of time, and it was up to the people to maintain it. The king, as the divinely appointed leader of his people, was expected to serve as a role model and the lion hunt, in which the lion represented the threat of chaos and destruction, provided him the opportunity to do so publicly.

Lions were depicted in statuary and reliefs to illustrate how the king had tamed the wild forces of nature – as in the lion reliefs from the walls of the Ishtar Gate of Babylon – as the lion in these works is no longer a dangerous menace roaming freely but has been caught by the king and held eternally. The king, then, took the power from the lion as his own, and so lions came to symbolize royal authority in maintaining order and supremacy over any threats to that order, in the same way that imagery associating the lion with a deity – such as Ishtar – would do. A statue or image of a lion assured the people that the king, anointed by the gods, was in control and would protect them from all dangers.

Mesopotamian Art and Architecture

Ancient Mesopotamian art and architectural works are among the oldest in the world, dating back over 7,000 years. The works first appear in northern Mesopotamia prior to the Ubaid Period (c. 5000-4100 BCE) and then developed in the south during the Uruk Period (4100-2900 BCE) in Sumer which established the first historical civilization.

A Gallery of the City of Babylon

The city of Babylon was once the most famous cultural and religious center of the ancient world and, in fact, was understood as the center of the world according to an ancient map. It did not acquire its reputation as a “city of sin” until after it was featured in biblical narratives.

Babylon is famously depicted unfavorably in the biblical Book of Revelation (as well as in Daniel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, among others) but, according to other sources – before and after the biblical books - it was an important center of culture and education. Thales of Miletus is said to have studied at Babylon prior to his first forays into what would become known as Greek Philosophy but, today, it is probably most closely associated with the story of the Tower of Babel as given in Genesis 11:1-9 – thought to be a reference to the city’s towering ziggurat.

This gallery presents a sampling of images of the once-great city along with the deities most closely associated with it and the ancient “map of the world” with Babylon as its center.

Mesopotamian Art and Architecture

Ancient Mesopotamian art and architectural works are among the oldest in the world, dating back over 7,000 years. The works first appear in northern Mesopotamia prior to the Ubaid Period (c. 5000-4100 BCE) and then developed in the south during the Uruk Period (4100-2900 BCE) in Sumer which established the first historical civilization.

Mesopotamian Art and Architecture

Ancient Mesopotamian art and architectural works are among the oldest in the world, dating back over 7,000 years. The works first appear in northern Mesopotamia prior to the Ubaid Period (c. 5000-4100 BCE) and then developed in the south during the Uruk Period (4100-2900 BCE) in Sumer which established the first historical civilization.