Functions and Purposes of Ziggurats, Pyramids, Temples and Palaces - Essay Example

Functions and Purposes of Ziggurats, Pyramids, Temples and Palaces Presented Functions and Purposes of Ziggurats, Pyramids, Temples and Palaces Ziggurats The Ziggurats were mainly built by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Elamites, and Babylonians for local religions. A ziggurat was particularly part of a temple complex, together with other buildings (Anonymous, 2011). The Mesopotamia Ziggurats were particularly not places of public worship or ceremonies, but were believed to be dwelling places for gods; each city had a unique patron god, explaining the existence of various Ziggurats in different cities. Priests were the only ones allowed in the rooms at the base of the Ziggurat; it was believed to be their responsibility to take care of the gods and fulfill their needs as the priests were particularly a very powerful people in the Samaritan society (Anonymous, 2011). Moreover, the Ziggurats performed other different functions. The top of the Ziggurat was an ideal place where priests could escape rising water in lowlands during flooding, the Ziggurat was ideal for security purposes as they were restricted to only priests, and the Ziggurats performed as shrine to offer sacrifices (Anonymous, 2011). In addition to offering security, Ziggurats by being part of the temple complex had dwelling places for priests, and courtyards that added to the extensive temple designs. Their important functions as places where gods stayed was perceived by their inclusion in the temple complexes, implying they were part of the temple, but with slightly different purpose from the temple as they were particularly not accessible to the general public, but to the priests alone. The Ziggurats were located at the base of temple; their purpose was to bring the temple closer to heaven, and to provide access to the temple through numerous steps. The Ziggurats were therefore considered to connect heavens and earth; in Babylon, they were known as “House of the Platform between Heaven and Earth” (Anonymous, 2011). Pyramids The Egyptian pyramids are the most recognized pyramids in the near East, while the Meyer pyramids were much different from the Egyptian pyramids. To most people, the Egyptian pyramids were considered a burial place for ancient pharaohs or kings. However, the complex nature and size of these pyramids proves that pyramids could have been used for other functions as well. The pyramids due to their unique and precise accuracy were a manifestation of the relationship between man and the universe; their celestial and geographical alignments indicate a high degree of mathematical perfection, implying they were not only meant for burying the kings (Praamsma, 2009). Therefore, while debates on the actual usage of these pyramids continues, pyramids unlike the ziggurats, which were temples could be considered to be burial sites and places where heritage of pharaohs could be , judging from the massive sculptural work present in these pyramids. The sharp high point of these pyramids at the top were considered to serve the purpose of taking the Pharaoh’s soul directly into heaven, explaining their large size and height from the ground. Unlike the Ziggurats which were connected with priests and hence were holy places where the gods lived, pyramids especially in Egypt do not have any religious significance (Praamsma, 2009). However, pyramids as they were designed as burial places for pharaohs were designed to provide all the necessary requirements to the pharaoh in their journey to heaven. The discovery of gold items among other precious things highlights that these were placed during the burial of pharaohs as accompaniments to heaven, implying that though to a lesser magnitude, the pyramids served some religious functions; they were perceived to be the place where the pharaoh would make his journey to heaven, with the high point aimed at taking his soul closer to heaven; this is a religious function though not as elaborate as practices in Ziggurats. Temples Temples were mainly religious buildings to the Greeks. However, the current congregational worship in today’s temples where people meet to celebrate their gods, reaffirm faith and receive spiritual comfort was rarely observed in the Greek temples (Shuter, 2005). Temples served as homes of individual gods or goddesses, who served the purpose of protecting and sustaining the community. The needs of the gods in these temples were more important. Since gods were known to turn against humanity when aggrieved, temples were designed to make the gods comfortable and reduce such rage. The temples were therefore designed with the finest materials and provided with servants and staff to look after god’s every need to please them. They served as a place where food offerings and drinks could be offered as people shared their harvest and their profits to please gods. Temples similar to the Ziggurats had stern restrictions as only the high priests were allowed to access the sacred and high places (Shutter, 2005). Similar to the Ziggurats, the pubic were allowed to access the public places where there were celebrations, feasts, competitions and dramatic productions as the gods were presented with gifts of jewelry and fine ornaments, and other personal offerings. The public could gather at te4h front of to the temple to offer their prayers for abundant corps, and pray for increase of their flocks. However, they were not supposed to enter; only priests could deliver such sacrifices to the holy places. Therefore, just like in the Ziggurat, the temple signified a holy place to the people, and was revered as sacrifices in both cases were delivered by priests. Moreover just like the ziggurats, temple functioned as the dwelling place of priests. The difference was that no ceremonies were performed in the Ziggurat like in the temple where people presented their gifts to goddesses and gods. Palace A palace to the ancient Greeks had much significance and played many roles in the community at large. The major role and function of the palace was to organize overseas trade, particularly in the acquisition of tin and copper particularly with the Aegean. The palace coordinated trade between the kingdom and other far areas, and served as storage of such precious metals; palaces were rich in bronze and other precious metals, and tin was one of the metals largely traded (Budin, 2004). Palaces served as palace where the king and his subjects could offer their offerings to gods in praying for a fruitful harvest. Archeology has revealed presence of such structures as the kernos, which are believed to have served this purpose. The palaces had places of burial for the royal family and his subjects, and where gold and other precious metals could be stored (Budin, 2004). The presence of sculptures of goddesses would imply such palaces were viewed to have religious significance as even the king could offer sacrifices to these gods, meaning palaces were part of the wide religious significance to the Greek people. However, the religious significance in palaces was much less, compared to the Ziggurat, or the temple; this significance could be compared to significance attached to the pyramids in religion. The fact that a king was viewed to be closer to gods, makes such places a sacred place where presence of the gods and goddesses clearly indicated a sacred place, though not a place of worship like the two above. References Anonymous (2011) Ziggurat, http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST361-1.2.3-Ziggurat.pdf Budin, L.S., (2004). The Ancient Greeks: An Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Praamsma M.F., (2009). The Function and Purpose of the Great Pyramid of Giza http://gizacetaceanconnection.blogspot.com/2010/03/function-and-purpose-of-great-pyramid.html Shuter, J., (2005) Life in a Greek Temple, NY: Heinemann Reintree Read More