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The document discusses the Etemenanki at Babylon, which some historians believe is the Tower of Babel described in the Bible. It describes Herodotus's account from visiting Babylon in the 5th century BC, noting the pyramid structure had seven recessed levels of different colored bricks. It then provides context about the biblical story of the Tower of Babel and its unfinished state. It also summarizes Greek contributions to art and architecture, highlighting the Parthenon temple in Athens as the finest example, built to honor the goddess Athena with a large gold and ivory statue that has since disappeared. The document concludes with the Parthenon being damaged in 1687 by a bomb from Venetian troops attacking the Muslim Turks who

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33 views2 pages

05

The document discusses the Etemenanki at Babylon, which some historians believe is the Tower of Babel described in the Bible. It describes Herodotus's account from visiting Babylon in the 5th century BC, noting the pyramid structure had seven recessed levels of different colored bricks. It then provides context about the biblical story of the Tower of Babel and its unfinished state. It also summarizes Greek contributions to art and architecture, highlighting the Parthenon temple in Athens as the finest example, built to honor the goddess Athena with a large gold and ivory statue that has since disappeared. The document concludes with the Parthenon being damaged in 1687 by a bomb from Venetian troops attacking the Muslim Turks who

Uploaded by

Yana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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You may be familiar with the Etemenanki at Babylon, which some historians maintain is the

famous biblical “Tower of Babel.” Little is left of it except the foundation, but from the
Greek historian Herodotus’s description, it must have been an imposing structure. Herodotus
visited Babylon sometime in the fifth century BC. He described the pyramid as consisting of
seven levels, each recessed and smaller than the one below it.
A different-colored brick was used to face each level, and at the top was a shrine furnished
with a large couch and a table of gold for the god’s use when he visited Earth.
According to the Bible, the Tower of Babel was built by the descendants of Noah following
the Great Flood. They wanted to build it to heaven, but tradition holds that God frowned on
the idea and caused the builders to speak different languages, as a result of which they could
not understand each other and never finished their endeavor. Few ancient peoples could
match the Greeks when it came to all forms of art, particularly drama and sculpture.
The Greeks wrote and performed plays in outdoor theaters throughout the city-states, and
their sculptors were the first to make their works of art realistic and lifelike. Greek plays are
still performed in theaters today, and examples of their sculpture can be seen and admired in
the British Museum in London and in other locations. Few examples of Greek painting have
survived, but enough illustrated vases have been found that attest to the talents of Greek
artists.
Greek architecture was second known in the ancient world. Beautiful temples and public
buildings built of marble and limestone dotted the countryside. Perhaps the finest example of
Greek architecture is what is left of the Parthenon on the Acropolis (from the Greek words for
“highest” and “city”) high above the city of Athens. A closer look at this magnificent
structure is worthwhile.

The Parthenon was a temple built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the patron
goddess of Athens. Constructed of white marble, it was 60 feet high, 228 feet long, and 101
feet wide. All around the building were majestic columns reaching 34 feet into the air. In one
of the large rooms inside was a gold and ivory statue of Athena. The statue was enormous,
reaching to the ceiling and dwarfing all who came to gaze at it in awe and wonder.
The statue was removed in the fifth century AD, when the Parthenon was converted to a
Christian church, and it has since disappeared. The Parthenon remained essentially intact for
more than two thousand years before it was reduced to its present state. It remained a temple
for Athena for nearly nine hundred years, a Christian church for another thousand years, and
finally a Muslim mosque for two hundred years. Then architectural disaster struck.
In 1687, the Muslim Turks, who controlled Athens and who had converted the Parthenon into
a powder magazine (storeroom for gunpowder), came under attack by troops from the Italian
state of Venice. The Venetians lobbed a bomb that hit the structure, causing the powder
magazine to go up with a roar and a large part of the walls to come down in a pile of rubble.
Still, what remains of this magnificent building stands as a monument to Greek engineering
and workmanship. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is modeled after the
Parthenon.
Exercise A: Comprehension Questions
1. What is the Etemenanki at Babylon?
2. What is left of the Tower of Babel?
3. How did the builders of the Tower of Babel fail to complete their endeavor?
4. What forms of art were the Greeks known for?
5. What are some examples of Greek art that have survived to this day?
6. What is the Parthenon?
7. Who was the Parthenon built to honor?
8. What is the Parthenon made of?
9. What happened to the gold and ivory statue of Athena that was housed inside the
Parthenon?
10. What happened to the Parthenon in 1687?

Vocabulary Check
Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right.

1. imposing a. a room inside a temple or church


2. recessed b. a building or place where people worship a god or gods
3. shrine c. made or constructed of marble
4. endeavor d. having a powerful and impressive appearance
5. sculpture e. an attempt to achieve a goal or objective
6. realistic f. a work of art created by carving or molding materials
7. dot g. having an appearance that looks important or causes admiration
8. majestic h. set back or indented
9. temple i. resembling or representing real life
10. marble j. decorate (a surface) with small marks or spots

Exercise C: True or False


Indicate whether the following statements are true or false.

1. The Etemenanki at Babylon is the Tower of Babel.


2. The Tower of Babel was never completed because God caused the builders to speak different
languages.
3. The Greeks were known for their skills in all forms of art.
4. Greek plays are no longer performed in theaters today.
5. The Parthenon is a temple built to honor Athena.
6. The statue of Athena inside the Parthenon was made of marble.
7. The Parthenon has remained essentially intact for over two thousand years.
8. The Lincoln Memorial is modeled after the Colosseum in Rome.
9. The Parthenon was converted to a Christian church in the fifth century AD.
10. The Parthenon was destroyed in a bomb attack by the Muslim Turks in 1687.

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