Western Civilization I / Unit 1 WC1 0009 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Capricious Gods and the Ziggurat
Captions available
The idea
Mesopotamian gods were cruel, capricious and easily offended, and humans existed to toil for them. Priests' chief duty was begging mercy. The ziggurat, the stepped temple at the city's heart, also served as bank and workshop.
In practice
A shared pantheon with a different patron in every city.
Where people slip
A ziggurat is a temple, not a tomb. Unit 02's pyramid is the opposite.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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