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WITH its new Babylon show opening tomorrow, the British Museum surely has another hit on its hands. For centuries, the lost Middle Eastern city has been a symbol of decadent magnificence. But this splendid exhibition looks behind the biblical myths, casting new light on the civilisation that gave us the hour, the zodiac and modern astrology.
From its early days in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, some 40 centuries ago, Babylon was one of the greatest cities in the world. But its extraordinary peak came during the reign of the legendary king Nebuchadnezzar, from 605 to 526BC, the focus for the British Museum's new show.
Nebuchadnezzar controlled not merely an empire that stretched from modern-day Iraq to the shores of the Mediterranean, he ruled from the biggest and richest city on earth. With its gigantic city walls and towering gates, whose rich colourful panels are now on show, it must have been an awesome sight. Among its landmarks were spectacular monuments that have lived on as legendary wonders of the world, such as the Hanging Gardens and Tower of Babel.
As the exhibition suggests, there was truth behind the legends. Although it is a myth that Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens as a present for his homesick wife, Babylon probably did boast spectacular terrace gardens, irrigated, as a Greek source recorded, by "water which was raised by pumps in great abundance from the river, though no one outside could see it being done".
The Tower of Babel, meanwhile, also had a basis in fact. Far from being a tower built to reach the heavens, as the Bible suggests, it was the temple to Babylon's chief god, Marduk. Cuneiform tablets show the temple was a gigantic ziggurat 90 metres high, dominating the city skyline. And far from being demolished by divine intervention, it was destroyed by Alexander the Great when he conquered the city centuries later.
But there is more to Babylon's legend than architectural grandeur. While we know little of the city's inhabitants, the Bible records the stories of the Jewish exiles held in captivity after Babylon occupied their kingdom. And their myths, from Daniel in the lion's den to the "writing on the wall" at Belshazzar's feast, have become part of Babylon's decadent reputation.
For the real Babylon, alas, modern history has not been kind. Saddam Hussein built a gigantic palace on the site in the 1990s, and after the 2003 invasion it became a camp for American and Polish troops, who caused incalculable damage.
Since then, archeologists have been working to restore the site. Their efforts deserve our praise - as does the British Museum, whose fascinating exhibition is a timely reminder that even the greatest empire is not immune to the tides of history.
Reader views (1)
The intention of the Babylonians was to build a city with a tower as high as the heavens, but the building was stopped when their languages were confused. It doesn't say that the tower was demolished, just that the building couldn't continue because they couldn't understand each other. (Genesis 11 vs 1-9)
- Karin Mccathie, London
