Esagila
Marduk's great temple in Babylon, which the Enuma Elish presents as built for him by the grateful gods.
- Meaning
- 'House whose top is lofty'
- Location
- Center of Babylon, Iraq
- Gods
- Marduk and his consort Zarpanitum
- Festival
- Akitu (New Year) festival
- Companion
- Etemenanki ziggurat
- Active until
- At least the 1st century CE
What is Esagila known for?
The Esagila was the main temple of Marduk in Babylon, with the great ziggurat Etemenanki beside it. Its Sumerian name is usually translated 'house whose top is lofty'. Inside, an inner shrine held the cult statues of Marduk and his consort Zarpanitum. The temple was the ritual center of the Akitu, the New Year festival, when the Enuma Elish was recited.
Marduk began as a local god and rose with Babylon's power to become king of the gods. In the Enuma Elish, after he defeats Tiamat and orders the cosmos, the gods build Babylon and the Esagila for him and proclaim his fifty names. The temple's priests thus presented their sanctuary as founded by the gods themselves.
Herodotus describes the temple and a golden statue. The Esagila was repaired under Alexander and continued to function into the 1st century CE. Berossus, a priest of Marduk, wrote his history of Babylon in this tradition.
The Enuma Elish says the gods built the Esagila for Marduk after his victory over Tiamat.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeEnuma Elish
- Rabbit holeMarduk
- PassageThe Anunnaki split: three hundred above, three hundred below (Enuma Elish VI)
- PersonNebuchadnezzar II
- PlaceBabylon
- PlaceTower of Babel and Etemenanki
Sources
- Livius, 'Babylon, Esagila'Reference
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Esagila'Reference
- Enuma Elish (tr. L. W. King), sacred-texts.comPrimary text
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