Ziggurat Alchemy

[madness]

Ziggurats, Colors, and Planets

An insightful article by Peter James and Marinus Anthony van der Sluijs in JCS 60, they have answered a few things that I have been trying to understand for a while.

Some ziggurats that have been excavated, namely from Borsippa, Khorsabad and Ur, appear to have a certain colour scheme for each level of the tower.


When Henry Rawlinson excavated the Borsippa ziggurat in the mid 19th century, he reconstructed the colours and associated each level with a planet depending on its colour (black for Saturn, etc.). If he was correct, then it would give a geocentric order, the same as the Ptolemaic system. Unfortunately his reconstruction is "wishful thinking" and isn't really useful, so I won't go into details about it.

Simo Parpola has also attempted to connect the colours of the ziggurat to the planets (in Assyrian Prophecies, n. 114). James and Sluijs state that Parpola's scheme is also mistaken since it relies on Rawlinson's correspondences.

--

So, first of all, how should the colour scheme look. Scholars have mostly relied on the account of the Greek Herodotus, who described the battlements of the Median city Ecbatana. The battlements were in this order, from the outer/lower to the inner/higher:

white - black - dark red - blue - light red - silver - gold

The assumption that Mesopotamian towers would have followed this scheme is not without reason. The ziggurat found at Khorsabad has preserved four levels, and possibly originally had seven. The four levels are coloured: white at the bottom, then black, then reddish purple, then blue fourth. Also found were fragments of enamelled bricks that were vermilion, silver-gray, and gold; so if there were an extra three levels then they could have been coloured with these bricks.

As for the ziggurat at Ur, Leonard Woolley had this to say:
The shrine, as we have seen, was bright blue, shining in the sun. The top was red: it was built of large lightly fired bright red bricks and was covered with plaster of the same colour. Below this the whole ziggurat, walls and steps alike, was black, the brickwork covered with a thin coat of bitumen applied with a brush. Below this again was the white-washed columned wall of the court.


Right, if this is a standard colour scheme, the next thing we would wonder is if there is a planetary association. What James and Sluijs have done is looked at how the planets were coloured in astrological texts. Following Babylonian Omen Texts: Part Three, where a text gives a standard list of colours:
The white star is Jupiter, the red star is Mars, the green star is Venus, the black star is Saturn, variant: Mercury.

The colours for Saturn, Jupiter and Mars are also confirmed by other sources. Green for Venus is no difficulty, since the Mesopotamians did not distinguish between green and blue. And Mercury is elsewhere said to be red. For the sun and moon, their colours as gold and silver is universal.

This would give us the following scheme:

Gold - Sun
Silver - Moon
Light Red - Mercury
Blue - Venus
Dark Red - Mars
Black - Saturn
White - Jupiter

Which is almost a geocentric order, but with Saturn and Jupiter reversed. Apparently this order is even identical to some later Greek sources, and similar to that of Egyptian tombs.

[madness]

Alchemy

Given the system of colours and planets, what I really want to focus on is if there is something of an alchemical meaning to this order.

An argument of this kind has been proposed by Parpola (again see Assyrian Prophecies, n. 114). Here he points out an Assurbanipal hymn to Ištar (SAA 3, no. 7):
1. O palm tree, daughter of Nineveh, stag of the lands!
2-3. She is glorious, most glorious, the finest of the goddesses! Nineveh is set with bunbullu decorations, within which there is no [...].
4-5. O praised Emašmaš, ...[...], in which dwells Ištar, the que[en of Nineveh]!
6-8. Like Aššur, she wears a beard and is clothed with brilliance [...]. The crown on her head g[leams] like the stars; the luminescent discs on her breasts shine like the sun!
9. O ziggurat, pride of Nineveh, which bears [awe-inspiring splendour!]

Ištar is described as both a palm tree and as a ziggurat, and a luminescent one at that. According to Parpola (following the Kabbalistic meditation on colours and garments of the sefirot) the seven colours of the ziggurat are the seven garments of Ištar, so that when she descends to the netherworld she undresses, and when she ascends she puts the garments back on. He compares this to the Mithraic ascent of the soul:
the initiate climbs "a ladder with seven gates," the first (of lead) associated with Saturn, the second (of tin) with Venus, the third (of bronze) with Jupiter, the fourth (of iron) with Mercury, the fifth (of electrum) with Mars, the sixth (of silver) with Moon, and the seventh (of gold) with Sun.


If the planets and colours are associated with metals and gemstones, we should see what the Mesopotamians had to say about it. A compendium text helps, from Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works p. 176ff.

9. Silver : An-gal
10. Gold : Enmešarra
11. Copper : Ea
12. Tin : Ninmah
13. Lead : Ninurta(MAŠ)
14. Carnelian : Ninlil
15. Lapis lazuli : Venus
16. Chalcedony : Amaraheea of Eridu
(some unidentified stones follow here)
~
55. Red gold : Anunnaki

Livingstone also compares from another text for the metals:

3. Divine silver : Anu
4. Divine gold : Enlil
5. Divine copper : Ea
6. Divine tin : Ninazal


We are given some interesting associations here. Significantly, Ninurta (who is Saturn) is equated with lead. This fits neatly with the alchemical idea of Saturn and lead. Venus and lapis is expected, as Ištar is usually associated with lapis. Enlil is identified with the rising sun and with the east, so gold would be appropriate for him.

I've commented on the strange equation of Ea and Nabû in the archaic standard thread, so copper (reddish-orange metal) might be for the vermilion level of Mercury.

The Anunnaki (the 600 deities of the netherworld) have a mystical association with Nergal in a mathematical text (Mystical Works p. 33), so their red gold might be for red Mars.

This just leaves Jupiter. The only potential thing that I can think of is a text with describes the gemstone (!) structure of heaven (Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography p. 4). It states that Marduk made a lamp of electrum shine inside the middle heaven. Since electrum is a pale alloy, it might correspond to the white level of Jupiter.

I'll keep looking for evidence that will hopefully make these ideas more solid.


Gold - Sun/Šamaš -------- Gold
Silver - Moon/Sin --------- Silver
Light Red - Mercury/Nabû - Copper?
Blue - Venus/Ištar -------- Lapis
Dark Red - Mars/Nergal --- Red gold?
Black - Saturn/Ninurta ----- Lead
White - Jupiter/Marduk ---- Electrum?


Anyone with alchemical knowledge wish to comment on this arrangement?

[madness]

In case we were to have any difficulty visualising this, a convenient picture is provided by M. Roaf in Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia, p. 105.



Caption:
The ziggurat at the Assyrian capital of Dur-Sharrukin [Khorsabad] was one of the first to be excavated. It is believed that a spiral path led up to the top and the three lower stages were painted white, black and red. The upper stages were not preserved but, following the normal color scheme, would have been blue, orange, silver and gold.

[madness]

Actually I just came across an article by Amar Annus, who follows Parpola's ideas and elaborates on some of the issues that I raised in this thread.

www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/pdf/annus2008.pdf
www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/bibliography/bibllib.php

The Soul's Journeys and Tauroctony: On Babylonian Sediment in the Syncretic Religious Doctrines of Late Antiquity

Especially see pages 7-14


A seven tiered ziggurat was built by Gudea. These levels are described in the Gudea cylinders:

He marked out a square, aligned the bricks with a string.
He marked out a second square on the site of the temple, saying, "It is the line-mark for a topped-off jar of 1 ban capacity (?)."
He marked out a third square on the site of the temple, saying, "It is the Anzud bird enveloping its fledgling with its wings."
He marked out a fourth square on the site of the temple, saying, "It is a panther embracing a fierce lion."
He marked out a fifth square on the site of the temple, saying, "It is the blue sky in all its splendour."
He marked out a sixth square on the site of the temple, saying, "It is the day of supply, full of luxuriance."
He marked out a seventh square on the site of the temple, saying, "It is the E-ninnu bathing the Land with moonlight at dawn."

Which could possibly be associated with certain gods, according to Annus.
The seventh level sheds moonlight, so that could be for Sin.
The sixth is the "day", so that's Utu.
The fifth being blue sky, so An or Iškur.
The fourth having a panther embracing a fierce lion, for Inanna.
The third is Anzu, the bird of Ningirsu.

This would at least supply an appropriate argument as to why the moon should be at the top, which is what Parpola kept insisting.


Annus then goes on to describe the seven walls of Ecbatana, and the ziggurat of Dur Sharruken, which we've looked at. As with Parpola, these seven stages are compared to that of the Mithraic ladder of seven gates.

On pages 23-25 he talks about how Saturn is the star of the sun, that it is a black star and is a statue; these concepts I was looking into from Parpola's LAS #326, so I'll comment on this soon. This would be related to the related to the Mithraic idea that "Saturn is the sun."

He also talks about the descent of the goddess, and about the Gilgamesh episode of slaying of the bull and comparing it to the Mithraic bull killing rite. So this article in general is good for relating Mithraic ideas to Mesopotamian ones.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Madness:



You really have come a long ways with your studies of esoteric Mesopotamian lore! Years of dedication on these topics really pays off as you are able to isolate the exciting scholarship and fill in gaps with your own educated suggestions Thanks very much for making this contribution!

Professor Frayne would be very insterested I think in seeing some of this material - would you mind if I forward him a portion of it? He brought the subject of the Khorsabad Ziggurat in class a few weeks ago and added some brief allusions to gods beings identified with silver, gold, copper and tin so I'm pretty sure his interest in this articular aspect of the esoteric lore is strong.

P.S. I've just sent an email last email addy of yours I had to see if its still current - best

[madness]

Black Star

The reason why Saturn would be associated with the black level of the ziggurat is because of its "black" colour. Looking a bit further into this, from Parpola's LAS


#326
Tonight the planet Saturn approached the Moon. Saturn is the star of the Sun, (and) the relevant interpretation is as follows: it means good for the king. The Sun is the star of the king.

Interestingly, Saturn is described as "the star of the Sun." Parpola cites various texts which state things like this:

Saturn = the black star = the Sun
black (ṣalmu) star = statue (ṣalmu) = Saturn (as) the Sun
mul-gi-gi = the star of truth and justice = Saturn (as) the Sun

Why Saturn is the black star is explained as being due to "his identification with Ninurta." Well good, but this doesn't tell us much. That Ninurta is associated with the metal lead would be a more informative reason.


The Sun is the star of the king, and for this we are referred to another letter:

#143
Why, today already for the second day, is the table not brought to the king, my lord? Who (now) stays in the dark much longer than the Sun, the king of the gods, stays in the dark a whole day and night, (and) again two days? The king, the lord of the world, is the very image of the Sun god. He (should) keep in the dark for only half a day!

The scholars are worried about king Esarhaddon, who is spending time in isolation due to illness. Adad-šumu-uṣur sends him this letter reminding him that, as king, he is equivalent to the sun, and therefore must spend half of the day outside.

[madness]

Venus wears different coloured crowns, and each colour represents a planet.

Babylonian Planetary Omens: Part 3, p. 59

If Venus wears a black crown - Saturn stands in front of her
If Venus wears a white crown - Jupiter stands in front of her
If Venus wears a green crown - Mars stands in front of her
If Venus wears a red crown - Mercury stands in front of her
If Venus wears a rainbow crown - a rainbow lies crosswise in front of her
If Venus wears the Sun's crown - she becomes very bright, Saturn stands in front of her
If Venus wears the Moon's crown - she is very small, Mercury stands in front of her

Reiner and Pingree are intrigued by the association of Saturn and Mercury with the Sun and Moon. They compare it with Indian astrology where "Saturn is the son of the Sun and Mercury is the son of the Moon." My above post also outlines the connection between Saturn and the Sun, and I have mentioned a few times a mystical text which states that Nabû (=Mercury) is the one "inside the Moon."

[madness]

Ziggurat as Cosmic Mountain

Frankfort (Kingship and the Gods, p. 323) takes the ziggurat to mean: the "mountain," as a symbol of the earth, the Netherworld, or the place of sunrise.

Jacobsen (Treasures of Darkness, pp. 15-17) states that the role of the temple is to embody the deity, as if the temple is an expression of a deity's power or even identical to the deity, rather than simply being a place to reside.

Harland (VT 48, p. 521 f.) affirms that the ziggurat is a mountain and that its role is to allow humans to contact the divine.

Walton (BBR 5, p. 156 ff.) (downloadable article) goes into more detail and describes how ziggurats came about from the early times. There was the practice of building upon the ruins of an older temple, which would eventually create a multi-staged temple, thus creating something of a proto-ziggurat. As for it representing a mountain, Walton cites the summary of Childs who finds that the mountain motif was a later secondary one that was absent from the earlier ziggurats. Walton however states that Childs is "perhaps overzealous" and that "the mountain motif cannot be entirely discarded." With an examination of the names from a Neo-Babylonian temple list, Walton concludes that the ziggurat contains the simmiltu "stairway" that binds heaven and earth.


So, a ziggurat is a mountain which connects the upper and the lower cosmic regions together, meaning that it is a ladder. This allows a god (and also a human?) to ascend/descend between heaven and earth, allowing divine power to reach the human level. There would ideally be seven steps to this ladder as we have seen.

[madness]

Copper again

I had proposed that Nabû might be associated with copper, but with no evidence for this other than the vermilion colour of Mercury. But what began as a hunch can be supported a little better now.

Gerd Weisgerber, "Dilmun - A trading entrepôt," in Bahrain through the Ages: the Archaeology

The nature of trade in the Gulf is described by Weisgerber. From the Early periods down to the Old Babylonian period, copper (and other goods) would mainly come from trade with Dilmun and Magan. While copper does not actually originate from Dilmun, only from Magan and Meluhha, in about 2000BC Dilmun gained merchant control over the Gulf, meaning that Mesopotamians were forced to trade with Dilmun for goods. However in 1744BC a record states that copper was coming from both Alasia (=Cyprus) and Dilmun, as at about this time Cyprus had become the dominant source of copper.

Peter Moorey, Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries, p. 245

Also discusses the Magan, Meluhha and Dilmun origin of copper, and points out the Gudea cylinder: "He (Gudea) conferred with the divine Ninzaga (= Enzak of Dilmun), who transported copper like grain deliveries to the temple builder Gudea"

Or the ETCSL translation: "Ninzaga was commanded and he made his copper, as much as if it were a huge grain transport, reach Gudea, the man in charge of building the house"


Ea - Enzag - Nabû : copper?
The direct association of Ea and copper was pointed out in the alchemy post above, maybe this is a reminiscence of the old days of copper coming from Dilmun, i.e. the south. The fact that Enzag (god of Dilmun) is described by Gudea as a source of copper gives us the opportunity to tie this to Nabû, as I noted in the archaic standards thread Enzag was named "Nabû of Dilmun" and is also apparently equivalent to Ea or is at least closely related to Eridu.

(still have not found any text that mentions Nabû himself in relation to stones or metals, I have the feeling that there is something obvious that I have missed, considering the importance of the rule of Ninurta over the stones in Lugale)

[madness]

Mercury Again

Nusku (a fire god) is probably Mercury, for reasons examined by E. Ehrenberg, "The Rooster in Mesopotamia" in Leaving No Stones Unturned (p. 58):

- Nusku personifies the morning/evening star (=Mercury)
- Nusku and Nabû share epithets
- The symbol of Nabû, the stylus + tablet, is used on a Middle Assyrian altar dedicated to Nusku
- Nusku has a lunar nature

This last point caused Parpola to reject the identification of Nusku with Mercury. His rejection is wrong, however, since the connection of Mercury to the Moon is well established (I have pointed this out in above post #6).


This provides an interesting implication. Enlil and Marduk are more or less an equivalent deity, but consider their ministers:

- The son/minister of Enlil is Nusku
- The son/minister of Marduk is Nabû

It is no surprise, then, that Nusku and Nabû are the same deity.

[madness]

The altar that Ehrenberg mentions is this famous one:



I always assumed that this was dedicated to Nabû due to the prominent display of the stylus. Obviously appearances can be deceiving, since the inscription invokes Nusku.

Ornan (Triumph of the Symbol, p. 53) mentions the possibility of this being a discrepancy between text and picture, but suggests that there is unlikely to be such a discrepancy here since "it seems that in this case the visual and the textual expressions did converge into one message."

[us4-he2-gal2]

Hello Madness:



Yes I believe that is the alter of Tulkurti-Ninurta. This image surfaced several times during my introductory studies in ANE this year; yes the funny thing was that in one class one professor described this image as men before an altar with a torch at the middle - while another professor described it as men before an altar with a scribal tool..


Inconsistenancy is a major element of Assyriology - it's there in the ancient sources, there in the modern classrooms and there in the various textbooks (at least when compared with each other.)

[madness]

In the latest periodical that you sent out a couple of days ago, dated 1st June but describing the month of March (?), you mention that you will be taking a course offered by Beaulieu.

An article that I have recently come across, written by Beaulieu in Representations of Political Power (2007), he provides the clearest explanation as to why Sin = Nabû = Nusku. He furthermore discusses a deity named Lugal-šudde which he states is a "chthonic manifestation" of Ninurta/Nusku/Nabû/Sin.

I have been trying to get more information about this Lugal-šudde (might need to look in RlA). Perhaps if you have the time you can speak with Beaulieu to see if he has any more details to offer about this subject, that would be appreciated.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Madness:



I am as yet unaware of the article you mention, Beaulieu's equation of these gods. It's definitely one I should familiarize my myself as it sounds intriguing. Since coming to Toronto I've begun to notice Beaulieu's name in more and periodicals and realize his is a more important contributor than I had none before, though he focuses on later period which I am as yet incompetent with.

Will certainly let you know - this Lugal-shudde is curious hm

[madness]

Lugal-šudde

Continuing my above post:

Lambert (RlA s.v. Lugal-šudde) interprets the name to mean "The lord who utters benedictions".

Lugal-šudde, says Beaulieu, is the "chthonic manifestation" of Ninurta/Nusku/Nabû/Sin [and in their chthonic aspect these deities "keep watch over Enmešarra"]. Lugal-šudde "represented the moon in its period of complete occultation, the bubbulu." I'll note that these deities (Ninurta/Nusku/Nabû/Sin) are also linked to Mercury, but Beaulieu does not mention this.

Lugal-šudde makes a few appearances in the An-Anum god list. Wiggermann (RlA s.v. Nin-ĝišzida, p369) points out that tablet V lines 263-265 of An-Anum both Alla and Lugal-šudde appear as "heralds"* of Ningišzida. In fact this association goes back to Ur III -- Wiggermann (p372) mentions a text (MVN 13, 17) where Alla and Lugal-šudde were venerated at Gišbanda (= cult centre of Ningišzida).

* probably: the text does not preserve their role, but elsewhere Lugal-šudde is described as li-bi-ir "herald" and Alla as "vizier of Ningišzida".

So, we have this interesting association:
Ningišzida
+ heralds/viziers
Alla and Lugal-šudde (= chthonic Moon) [+ Mercury?]

[This is as close an association between Ningišzida and Mercury as we have found so far, as we have long desired]