Comments on: Towers of Babel

Towers of Babel

dhruva — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:31:26 -0800

By: amyms

amyms — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:43:24 -0800

Wow. So thorough and so interesting. The link for the Lego Tower of Babel leads to The Brick Testament, which is amazing in a kitschy, I-can't-believe-anyone-took-the-time-to-do-this, way. I'm saving this for a more thorough look. Great post, dhruva!

By: nthdegx

nthdegx — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:51:41 -0800

"However, in other sources such as the Book of Jubilees, Cornelius Alexander (frag. 10), Abydenus (frags. 5 and 6), Josephus (Antiquities 1.4.3), and the Sibylline Oracles (iii. 117-129), God overturns the tower with a great wind." Mighty Crepitus!

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:53:10 -0800

Super cool. And to think, it took almost one thousand years of hard-earned human development to progress from the elegant drawing in the Cædmon Manuscript (ca. 1000) to the lego model (1973).

By: misteraitch

misteraitch — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:56:26 -0800

Very interesting, thanks dhruva; I particularly like seeing all the versions of the Tower by those painters (van Cleve, the van Valkenborchs, Grimmer) who tackled the subject many times. The Dutch site that's the source of many of those images is cool too.

By: AdamCSnider

AdamCSnider — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:57:14 -0800

There is something deliciously apropos about an exhibit showing the diversity of views inspired by the Tower of Babel.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:40:15 -0800

Related, I guess.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:51:59 -0800

Thanks, they're wonderful. But...all the little images. People out there rip and share rock'n'roll and recent movies until everyone hollers mercy. So when will we have the technology (and the interest! among rippers and file-sharers) to liberate BIG images of great graphic art--long since in the public domain--from the state-owned, tax-supported museums that are sitting on them for the republishing income stream? By BIG I mean big enough to see the brushwork and tell how the artists achieved the effects they did. Half-assed would-be painters want to know!

By: tellurian

tellurian — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:39:09 -0800

Etemenanki! Excellent post.

By: hjo3

hjo3 — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:50:10 -0800

Ted Chiang wrote a fantastic speculative fiction short story about the Tower of Babel called Tower of Babylon.

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:32:23 -0800

What are you doing posting Kattullus's posts? I kid, great post.

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:49:01 -0800

Nifty. I always thought the Babel myth was interesting in all of its forms. The fact that later Christian writers felt it was necessary to include tales of their god destroying the tower is also interesting, in that it seems to contradict the point of the myth. I wonder if there are any Christian sects that prohibit learning foreign languages because it works against "God's will"?

By: boubelium

boubelium — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:53:06 -0800

Truly the best of the web. dhruva deserves a pat on the back!

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:58:25 -0800

You can get 72 more if you turn your monitor upside-down.

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:12:48 -0800

Or, if you have an iPhone, simply stand on your head!

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:31:16 -0800

Great find. I liked how, when you hover over this picture, it says: "Photo of Building the Tower of Babel."

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 16 May 2008 06:59:38 -0800

Awesome post. Thanks!