Changes

The idea of paradise is today associated with the major monotheistic religions. However, the roots of this concept are more complex and developed from earthly ideas and religious structures.

==Early Developments==

This concept of garden and a sacred place for the gods continued from the 3rd to 1st millennium BCE and influenced practical architectural developments in sacred structures. Very likely temples built during this time often had gardens within their compounds, although the gardens have not preserved where temples have been excavated. <ref>For more on temple gardens, see: Wiseman, D. J. 1983. “Mesopotamian Gardens.” Anatolian Studies 33 (December): 137–44</ref> Despite the lack of preservation, we often see large spaces between the physical temple structure, in this example a ziggurat to the god Marduk at Babylon, and an enclosure wall (Figure 1). This could suggest that the space between the temple structure and wall was a garden that likely represented the sacred dwellings area of the gods and the holy structure inside was the inner sanctuary where the god resided. Additionally, in this garden, although little is still known about its meaning, the concept of a sacred Tree of Life is developed in Sumerian mythology. This concept is likely to have been very similar to the Tree of Life found later in the Bible (Figure 2).<ref>For more on the Tree of Life, see: James, E.O. 1966. Tree of Life: An Archaeological Study. Studies in the History of Religion. Brill.</ref>

[[File:1574px-Mesopotamian - Barrel-Shaped Cylinder Seal - Walters 42655.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 2. Cylinder seal showing what is likely the Tree of Life developed from Sumerian mythology.]]