Sprechertexte
The Tower of Babel
Voice-over
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The Tower of Babel was the world's first skyscraper, as well as a symbol of the might and hubris of the ancient city of Babylon.
The enormous building – mentioned in the Bible – has fascinated generation upon generation, although everyone has their own image of what it once looked like. Historians have only been able to agree on one thing: The Tower was said to reach up to the sky. Herodotus, the ‘Father of History’, described this symbol of Babylon as a wonder of the world.
The Tower of Babel stood at the very heart of the vibrant metropolis of Babylon in what is today Iraq. It was a city of open squares, broad boulevards and narrow, winding lanes. But the ‘City of Cities', as Babylon was known by the Ancients, eventually fell into ruin. And the residents of Babylon plundered the Tower of Babel and used its bricks to build their own houses.
Long ago, the once-mighty Babylon and its gargantuan tower sunk into the sands of the Iraqi desert and disappeared. Archaeologists have been working ceaselessly and successfully since 1811 to excavate the capital of the Ancient World.
It was aerial photography, however, that provided the first real clues as to the location of the tower. The photographs show the tower's square-shaped outline in the centre of the city. Today, nothing remains but a watering hole. The Tower was said to be almost 100 metres tall and was dedicated to Babylon‘s own God, Marduk. But even he was powerless to save this once mighty city.
Vocabulary
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hubris freche Selbstüberhebung
plunder rauben
excavate ausgraben
Notes
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Questions/Tasks
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