Pyramids vs. Ziggurats

The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for their pharaohs and their queens. There were many amazing pyramids built in Gaza, but i will only talk about a couple that are the most famous and how these pyramids are similar and different from the ziggurats of the ancient Near East, both in their physical appearance and the function for which they were made. 

One of the earlier Egyptian pyramids built was the Step Pyramid of king Djoser. The pyramid's construction was in the form of a low mastaba tomb upon which extra levels were gradually added to give it a step-like appearance. Underneath the pyramid was a complex system of corridors with a burial chamber lined with pink granite, that goes about 28 meters underground. 

The second pyramid is more famous and is one of the greatest pyramids ever built. It is known as the Great Pyramid of Giza. The pyramid is located southwest of modern Cairo. It was built for king Khufu and was completed around 2550 BC. 

 

It is estimated that the Great Pyramid contains approximately 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tons each and some up to 15 tons. Its sides measure 230 meters in length. The structure that was once about 146.6 meters high, had become a little shorter after some of the outer casing had been removed to for building other building in Cairo during the Middle Ages. The design on the inside of the pyramid had also been changed during the pyramid's construction resulting in the burial chamber being relocated to a different location. One of its most spectacular features is the enormous sloping Grand Gallery. At the Gallery's top is a low corridor which leads into the King's Chamber, the walls of which are made of polished granite. A large granite sarcophagus is open and no burial goods have ever been found. To the east of the pyramid, some of the smooth basalt paving of the mortuary temple remains and the causeway which led to the river temple is now buried with the valley temple being under modern buildings. Small pyramids for queens are adjacent to the Great Pyramid, as are boat pits. Some believe that the purpose of the boats may have been to provide a way for the deceased king to travel through the underworld. 

The builders of pyramids were not slaves, like many people think, but rather they were Egyptian villagers and some were even permanent employees of the pharaoh. The graffiti on the walls of the pyramids indicates that at least some of these workers took pride in what they did and even came up with names for their teams. Like I had mentioned in the beginning, pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs and their queens. The great pyramids were a sign of the deceased pharaohs' power and were meant to protect them in the afterlife. 

Ziggurats on the other hand were built by kings, not pharaohs. By building ziggurats, the king showed that he could perform more impressive religious deeds than the priesthood. Ziggurats are the Mesopotamian equivalent of the Egyptian pyramids, they are large artificial square mountains of stone and they are as ancient as the pyramids of Egypt. But there are two big differences between a pyramid and a ziggurat . A ziggurat was not a tomb but a temple, and ziggurats were built well into the Seleucid age, whereas the building of pyramids came to an end after c.1640 BC. Ziggurats are, briefly, temple towers.

The most famous ziggurat is the Tower of Babel (above) which is mentioned in the Biblical book of Genesis. It was built by many people of Babylon and dedicated to king Marduk. The height of the tower is believed to have been 2,484 meters. This aspect of Babylonian cosmology is echoed in the Biblical story, where the builders say "let us build a tower whose top may reach unto heaven". The king wanted to prove to the world that he can build a tower so high that it will reach the heavens and he will be like God.

Another famous ziggurat is Ziggurat of Ur. Built in 2100 BC by king Ur-Nammu in honor of the sun god. It is a rectangular shape with 3 staircases in the front which come together at the top at a gate. The front staircase is believed to have only been used by the higher priest to climb to the higher stages of the ziggurat. Archeologists believe that there was a temple on the highest terrace of the ziggurat. On either side of the main staircase was a buttress, a support built against the wall to make it stronger.

These are other physical differences between a zaggurat and a pyramid. Pyramids did not have an entrance on the top, but instead they had entrances on the bottom of pyramid and those lead down the stairs and corridors even deeper, Unlike the ziggurats which were meant to lead you up towards the heavens, not down. Also, pyramids had no temples, but they had tombs and their purpose was not for worshiping gods, but for protecting the dead and giving them access to the underworld.