Etemenanki- Mesopotamian LocationLocation · Landmark"House of Heaven and Earth"
Also known as: É-temen-an-ki
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Symbols
Description
The great ziggurat of Babylon rose in seven stages beside Marduk's temple. At its summit, a golden bed and table awaited the god's descent. No statue stood in the upper chamber. Only the furnishings prepared for Marduk.
Mythology & Lore
The Foundation of Heaven and Earth
In the Enūma Eliš, the Anunnaki built Etemenanki alongside Marduk's temple Esagila, two years of brickwork honoring his victory over Tiamat. The name means "House of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth."
The ziggurat rose in seven stages from a square base roughly ninety meters on each side. At the summit stood a high temple. A golden bed and table were kept there for Marduk's use; no statue of the god stood in the upper chamber. The furnishings awaited his descent. Herodotus, visiting in the fifth century BCE, described the tower and confirmed the upper shrine.
Nabopolassar began the final reconstruction in the seventh century BCE. His son Nebuchadnezzar II completed it: "To raise the top of Etemenanki so that it might rival heaven, I set my hand."
Relationships
- Serves