The Gate of Ishtar and the Processional Way
There were eight major gates into the city of Babylon by which travelers, peasants, and merchants could enter. However, by far the largest and most important gate was the Gate of Ishtar which was preceded by the Processional Way. This was a corridor was over two hundred yards long with walls over fifty feet tall on each side. On these walls were painted huge, detailed pictures of lions, all facing towards the traveler as he approached the gate. (Figure 3; Russell, 1997, Online) Each of these lions was over six feet long and it is estimated that there were over sixty lions on each wall leading up to the Gate of Ishtar.
The Ishtar Gate was also quite impressive. It was over sixty feet tall and spanned both layers of the inner defensive wall at over fifty-five feet thick. While the gate itself was destroyed long ago, work is being done to reconstruct it in the Near East Museum in Berlin as shown in Figure 4. (Muller, 1966, pp. 1332-133)
The creatures painted on the walls of the Gate of Ishtar alternated between bulls and dragons. (Figure 5; Russell, 1997, Online) These creatures were arranged in such a way as to appear to be converging upon the entrance of the gate. The reason this gate was so important and lavish is because it was used in the new year celebrations when the statue of Marduk, chief of the Babylonian gods, entered into the city.
The Processional Way was the main street of the city of Babylon and continued past the Gate of Ishtar. It then turned at the two Temples of Marduk, Etemenanki and Esagila, and continued into the "New Town". (Figure 2)