what is the different between pyramid and ziggurat?

Question

I would like to know the differences between pyramids and ziggurats.
Thank you.

Answer 1

A ziggurat (Akkadian ziqqurrat, D-stem of zaqāru "to build on a raised area") is a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and Iran, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

A pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. The base of pyramids are usually quadrilateral or trilateral (but generally may be of any polygon shape), meaning that a pyramid usually has three or four sides. The measurements of these triangles uniformly classify the shape as isosceles and sometimes equilateral.

Therefor: all ziggurats are pyramids but not all pyramids are ziggurats.

Answer 2

A pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. The base of pyramids are usually quadrilateral or trilateral (but generally may be of any polygon shape), meaning that a pyramid usually has three or four sides. The measurements of these triangles uniformly classify the shape as isosceles and sometimes equilateral.

A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground, means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. This allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures. For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids: first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the only remaining Wonder of the World. The largest pyramid ever built, by volume, is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated.



A ziggurat (Akkadian ziqqurrat, D-stem of zaqāru "to build on a raised area") is a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and Iran, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

Ziggurats were a type of temple tower common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians of ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest examples of the ziggurat were simple raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period[1] during the fourth millennium BC and the latest date from the 6th century BC. The top of the ziggurat was flat, unlike many pyramids. The step pyramid style began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period.[2] Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven, with a shrine or temple at the summit. Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. Notable examples of this structure include the Great Ziggurat of Ur and Khorsabad in Mesopotamia.

The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods. Through the ziggurat the gods could be close to mankind and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. As a result the priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.

Answer 3

Pyramid has a constant slope from top to bottom.
Ziggurat goes up in steps

Answer 4

pyramid

pyr·a·mid [pírrəmid]
n (plural pyr·a·mids)
1. Egyptian stone tomb: a huge stone tomb of ancient Egyptian royalty with a square base and triangular walls that slope to meet in a point at the top
2. solid shape with sloping triangular sides: a solid shape or structure that has triangular sides that slope to meet in a point and a base that is often, but not necessarily, a square. The volume of a pyramid is one-third of the product of the area of the base and the height of the vertex.
3. system with gradually expanding structure: an arrangement or system that has a small number of elements at one point and expands gradually to have a large number of elements at the opposite point
4. pointed body part: a pointed or cone-shaped body part, for example, either of two bundles of fibers located in the brain
5. investment method spreading risk: a financial risk structure that spreads investments between high, medium, and low risk
6. crystalline form with multiple nonparallel faces: a crystalline form in which three or more nonparallel faces intersect all three axes of the crystal


vi (past pyr·a·mid·ed, past participle pyr·a·mid·ed, present participle pyr·a·mid·ing, 3rd person present singular pyr·a·mids)
take on pyramid shape: to take on the shape of a pyramid, with few elements at one point or level and gradually increasing numbers of elements toward the opposite point or level


[Mid-16th century. Via the Latin stem pyramid- from Greek puramis , of uncertain origin: probably an alteration of Egyptian pimar through the exchange of the letters m and r .]


-py·ram·i·dal [pi rámmidd’l], adj
-py·ram·i·dal·ly [pi rámmidd’lee], adv
-pyr·a·mid·ic [pìrrə míddik], adj
-pyr·a·mid·i·cal [pìrrə míddik’l], adj
-pyr·a·mid·i·cal·ly [pìrrə míddikəlee], adv

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ziggurat

zig·gu·rat [zíggə ràt]
n
ancient Mesopotamian pyramid-shaped tower: an ancient Mesopotamian pyramid-shaped tower with a square base, rising in stories of ever-decreasing size, with a terrace at each story and a temple at the very top. It is thought that the Tower of Babel referred to in the Bible was a tower of this kind.

Answer 5

Egyptians built pyramids
babylonians built ziggurats
different cultures
check on their purposes.