The Expression of Sacred Space in Temple Mythology
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Unisa Institutional Repository EXPRESSONS OF SACRED SPACE: TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST by Martin J Palmer submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in the subject Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Promoter: Prof. P S Vermaak February 2012 ii ABSTRACT The objective of this thesis is to identify, isolate, and expound the concepts of sacred space and its ancillary doctrines and to show how they were expressed in ancient temple architecture and ritual. The fundamental concept of sacred space defined the nature of the holiness that pervaded the temple. The idea of sacred space included the ancient view of the temple as a mountain. Other subsets of the basic notion of sacred space include the role of the creation story in temple ritual, its status as an image of a heavenly temple and its location on the axis mundi, the temple as the site of the hieros gamos, the substantial role of the temple regarding kingship and coronation rites, the temple as a symbol of the Tree of Life, and the role played by water as a symbol of physical and spiritual blessings streaming forth from the temple. Temple ritual, architecture, and construction techniques expressed these concepts in various ways. These expressions, identified in the literary and archaeological records, were surprisingly consistent throughout the ancient Near East across large expanses of space and time. Under the general heading of Techniques of Construction and Decoration, this thesis examines the concept of the primordial mound and its application in temple architecture, the practice of foundation deposits, the purposes and functions of enclosure walls, principles of orientation, alignment, and measurement, and interior decorations. Under the rubric of General Temple Arrangement are explored the issues of the tripartite and other temple floor plans, the curious institution of the ziggurat, the meaning of temple pillars, the presence of sacred groves and the idea of the Tree of Life, and temple/palace symbiosis. The category Arrangement of Cultic Areas and Ritual Paraphernalia deals with areas such as elevated statues of the deity in the innermost sanctuary, sources of water for ablutions, the temple as a site for a cult of the dead, and altars and animal sacrifice. The concept of sacred space and its ancillary ideologies provided underlying justification and support for all the peculiar distinctions that characterised temple architecture in the ancient Near East. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ………………………………………………….………………………. ii 1 INTRODUCTION ……………………………… ……………………………… 1 Research questions …………………… ….……………………….……. 2 Hypothesis ………………………………………………………….……. 3 Sources ………..…………………………………………….…………….3 Sacred space and temple mythology ………………….……..……4 Temple archaeology and architecture ………………………….…7 Methodology……………………………………………………….…….10 Thesis outline ………………………………..…………………………..13 2 TEMPLE AS SACRED SPACE ……………….……………………..……….. 17 Introduction …………………………………………………………..… 17 Etymology of ‘temple’ …………………………………………………. 18 Sacred space defined …………………………………………………... 20 Sacred time and the temple ……………………………………….…..... 24 The temple as the centre place …………………………………………. 27 Jerusalem as the centre of the world …….………..……………. 29 Jerusalem as the centre of time ………………..……………….. 32 Gradations in sacred space ……………………………………………... 34 Case study: gradations of sacred space in Egyptian temples …... 37 Creating sacred space …………………………………………………... 40 Natural and socially constructed sacred space ……....…………. 41 Architectural strategies for socially constructed sacred space….. 43 Conclusions………………………………………………..…………… 46 3 TEMPLE AS MOUNTAIN …………………………………………………… 49 Introduction …………………………………………………………… 49 Mountains in the Bible and other literature ………………………..…... 51 The Garden of Eden as mountain ……………………………………… 56 Mountains as the primordial hillock ………………………………….. 57 Mountains as the navel of the earth ……………………………………..59 The cosmic mountain …………………………………………………. 61 Sinai and Zion ………………………………………………………….. 67 Sinai and Zaphon, Yahweh and Baal …………………………... 68 Conclusions…………………………………………………………….. 75 4 SACRED SPACE AND THE TEMPLE ………………………………………. 77 Introduction………………………………………………………...…… 77 Creation and cosmogony ………………………………………………. 78 The temple as a symbol of creation ……………………...…….. 78 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont) Water and creation ………….………………….……….……… 80 Cosmogony in temple ritual …………………..……………….. 82 The heavenly temple …………………………………………..……….. 85 The ritual of hieros gamos …………………………………………...… 91 Kingship, coronation rites, and the temple ……………………………. 94 Secrecy and the temple ……………..…………………………………. 96 The temple and the Tree of Life ……………………………………… 101 Water and the temple …………………………………………………. 103 In the Garden of Eden ………………………………………… 104 Water under the temple ……………………………..………… 105 Conclusions …………………………………………………………….108 5 MESOPOTAMIAN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE ……………………………109 Introduction ………………………………..………………………….. 109 Description of representative temples in Mesopotamia ……………… 111 The Ubaid period (ca 5300-3500) ……………………………. 111 The Uruk period (ca 4000-3100) …………………………….. 118 The Early Dynastic period (ca 3000-2340) …………………… 119 The Dynasty of Akkad and the Sumerian revival (ca 2350- 2000): the institution of the ziggurat …………………...…….. 126 The second millennium ………………………………….…… 128 The first millennium ……………………………….…….….. 134 Analysis of descriptions …………………………………….………….138 Architectural features of Mesopotamian temples …….………138 Mesopotamian temples and sacred space …………………… 142 Conclusions ...…………………………………………………………. 152 6 EGYPTIAN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE…………………………………… 155 Introduction………...…………………………………………………. 155 Description of representative temples in Egypt ……………………… 156 Predynastic temples ………………………………..…………..156 The Old and Middle Kingdoms ………………………………. 157 Early cult temples in Upper Egypt ………………………..….. 159 New Kingdom temples …………………………….…………. 167 Ptolemaic temples ……………………………………….……. 175 Analysis of descriptions ………………………………………………. 178 Temple architecture in the Old and Middle Kingdoms …..……178 Temple architecture in the New Kingdom ………….………… 180 Egyptian temples and sacred space ……………...……………. 185 Conclusions ……...……………………………………………………. 191 7 HITTITE TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE ……………………………………… 195 Introduction ……………………………………..…………………….. 195 v TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont) Description of representative Hittite temples ………………………… 196 Yazilikaya …………………………………………………….. 196 Boghazköy ……………………………………………………. 198 Analysis of descriptions ………………………………………………. 203 Temple architecture among the Hittites ……………..……….. 203 Hittite temples and sacred space …………………...…………. 205 Conclusions ……...……………………………………………………. 209 8 CANAANITE TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE ………………………………… 213 Introduction ………………………..…………………………………. 213 Description of representative temples in Canaan ……………………... 214 The Chalcolithic Age (ca 4500-3500) ………………………… 214 The Early Bronze Age (ca 3500-2000) ……………………….. 216 The Middle Bronze Age (ca 2000-1500) ………………………220 The Late Bronze Age (ca 1500-1200) …………………………223 The Iron Age (ca 1200-600) ………………………………….. 228 Analysis of descriptions ………………………………………………. 238 Architectural features of Canaanite temples ………..……..…. 238 Canaanite temples and sacred space ……………………....…. 240 Conclusions ……………..…………………………………………… 244 9 ISRAELITE TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE ……………………………..……..249 Introduction ………..………………………………………………..… 249 Description of representative temples in Israel ………………………...251 The tabernacle in the wilderness ……….…………..………… 251 The temple of Solomon ………………………………..……… 252 The temple of Zerubbabel ………………………….………… 256 The temple of Herod ………………………………….……… 258 The Temple Scroll at Qumran ……………………………….. 259 The great temple of Ezekiel …………………………..………. 265 Analysis of descriptions ………………………………………………. 269 Israelite temples and sacred space …………………..…………269 Conclusions …………………………...…………………………..……286 10 TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE AND SACRED SPACE ……………………… 289 Summary of the concept of sacred space……………………………... 289 Summary of regional expressions of sacred space …………………….292 Architectural expressions of sacred space ……………………………..294 Techniques of construction and decoration …………………………... 295 The primordial mound ……………………………………….. 295 Foundation deposits ………………………………………….. 300 Enclosure walls ………………………………………………. 301 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont) Orientation, alignment, and measurement …………………… 302 Exterior and interior decorations ……………………….…….. 308 General temple arrangement ………………………………………….. 311 The tripartite floor plan ……………………………...…………312 The ziggurat ……………………………………………………313 Pillars …………………………………………………………. 315 The Tree of Life ……………………………..…………………317 Temple/Palace symbiosis ……………………………….……. 319 Arrangement of cultic areas and ritual paraphernalia ………………... 323 Elevated statues of deity ………………………………….….. 324 Sources of water for ablutions ……………………...………… 325 Cult of the dead ………………………………………….……. 327 Altars and animal sacrifice …………………………..……….. .328 Conclusions ……………………………………………………...……. 331 Excursus: Angkor Wat ………………………………………………... 333 Excursus: Stretching the cord ……………………………………….....335 APPENDIX …………………………………………………………………………… 337 Table 1: Distribution of the component ideologies of sacred space …. ……… 339 Table 2: Architectural expressions of sacred space ……………….………..… 345 PERIODICAL ABBREVIATIONS ……………………………………………………353 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………. ………………………………….. 354 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Ancient ideas of space and time were very different