Babylon Myth and Reality – Catalogue Review
The Legends Surrounding Ancient City are Compared With Known Truths
Apr 24, 2009
Most westerners think of Babylon in terms of Biblical and Classical sources. The name conjures up images of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Tower of Babel, Nebuchadnezzar's madness and Daniel in the Lion's Den. A recent exhibition, entitled Babylon: Myth and Reality (November 2008 to March 2009) at the British Museum, explored all these ideas, and more.
Babylon: Myth and Reality – the Book
Babylon: Myth and Reality (British Museum Press, 2008) was published to accompany the recent exhibition. The book features all the items from the exhibition such as paintings, sketches, drawings, watercolours, sculptures, photographs, architectural drawings, cuneiform tablets and archaeological remains together with additional related items.
Babylon: Myth and Reality – About the Book
Babylon: Myth and Reality shows how the Babylonian period continues to inspire artists, historians, writers and travellers into the 21st Century through artworks from medieval manuscripts and major paintings to contemporary digital art. Many of these artworks have drawn upon Biblical and Classical sources.
Babylon: Myth and Reality – Editors and Contributors
Dr Irving Finkel is Assistant Keeper at the British Museum with responsibility for cuneiform inscriptions from ancient Iraq. He has specialist knowledge of magical and medical texts.
Dr Michael Seymour is an expert on the politics and history of the archaeology of the Middle East.
Drs Finkel and Seymour, co-curators of the original exhibition, are supported in this publication by additional contributions by Julian E. Reade, Andrew George, Joachim Marzahn, Jonathan Taylor and John Curtis.
Babylon: Myth and Reality – the Layout
After the Foreword and Introduction, Babylon: Myth and Reality is divided into four main parts:
- Babylon. Irving Finkel and Michael Seymour introduce the book by saying: "Babylon, in all its manifestations, is at once remote to us and all around us. Like no other city, its history has become bound up with legend..." This chapter expands on this statement, illustrating it with paintings, maps and photographs such as Georg Gerster's Aerial Photograph of Babylon, taken in 1973.
- The City of Babylon. Julian E. Reade explains how difficult it has been to glean information at Babylon itself, because much of the remains are below the water table. It is mainly the work at other sites that has informed historians about the ancient city. Michael Seymour looks at the research of the German archaeologist Robert Koldewey. It was due to his excavations that Berlin's Vorderasiatische Museum acquired the glazed-brick friezes from Babylon’s Ishtar gate and ceremonial way. These items featured in the British Museum's recent exhibition.
- History and Legend. This chapter looks at the legends and stories through oil paintings, illuminated manuscripts, prints and engravings such as The Madness of Nebuchadnezzar by William Blake. Famous images are compared with the archaeological evidence.
- The Legacy of Babylon. This section identifies two strands of the legacy that have survived into the 21st Century. One is the icons and images that continue to be evoked by the name itself. The other concerns the philosophies of the present world that can be attributed to ancient Mesopotamian society. This chapter also examines the state of the Babylonian site today and the damage to archaeological sites in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
Conclusion
Although this show has ended the catalogue provides an excellent record and insightful comparison of the myths, legends and known facts about Babylon.
Babylon: Myth and Reality (British Museum Press, 2009, ISBN: 978 0 7141-1170-4) is priced at £25.00 and further details can be obtained from the British Museum.
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