A Closer Look at the Myths of Cities in Ancient West Asia

A Closer Look at the Myths of Cities in Ancient West Asia

The Mesopotamia cities of Uruk and Ur are cities of sacred and

monumental images. These cities of Mesopotamia have unique

characteristics, which go into the design of these two cities.

Monumental organization and planning was carried out only in the

centers and complexes of Mesopotamian cities. These centers were laid

out using axial planning (rectangular arrangements). These huge

centers contrast strikingly with the most important parts of the

cities, which were not planned at all. Housing areas grew from the

inside out, which made the house based on rooms around a central

courtyard.

Uruk culture (3200 to 2350 B.C.E) had two very important scores:

religion and science, which is confirmed by the thousands of clay

tablets, dug in it, which goes back to the beginning of the writing.

It was also the center of the worship of the goddess Inanna (goddess

of love and war). The Eanna precinct was dedicated to Inanna. A

ziqqurat was constructed under the command of King Ur Nammu (2112-2095

B.C.E). “To serve as an elevated platform for a temple to Inanna” (p.6

Primacy Source) Amid the rubble of temples in the Eanna precinct found

““Warka Vase,” an “ alabaster cult vessel 39 inches high with a scene

of priest- king making on offering to the goddess Inanna , which

symbolizes the religious roles that were produced in the Mesopotamian

city of Uruk. Uruk was renowned for its wall, which cuneiform texts

say were first built years ago by king Gilgamesh. The city in its

neighborhood is the ruins of a temple, which used for mural

ornamentation thousands if colored clay cones. Another temple in ruins

is one devoted to Anu.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the greatest pieces of literature from the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia known to modern scholars. It was found among ruins in Ninevah in the form of twelve large tablets, dating from 2,000 B.