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The word “paradise” derives from an Akkadian and Persian word (''pardesu'' is Akkadian) and (''paridayda'' in Old Persian). <ref> For more on the origins of the term "paradise" and its meaning, see: Bockmuehl, Markus N. A. 2010. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1107693128/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1107693128&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6b7c13b18fd5ed9cc79ae4dc667a0131 Paradise in Antiquity: Jewish and Christian Views]. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press.</ref> The term seems to specifically deal with structures or enclosures, perhaps associated with the walled gardens of temples discussed earlier. Soon, however, these gardens began to be found in other areas, including palaces or as pleasure gardens for royalty. In other words, the concept of gardens as an ideal setting spreads to more secular structures. In fact, gardens became very popular as royal areas in the Neo-Assyrian \and Neo-Babylonian Empires (9th-6th centuries BCE), spreading to the different Persian empires, such as the Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sassanians, who eventually influence Islamic empires and states that arose in the 1st millennium CE. We can still see these gardens as they were envisioned by the Persians today (Figure 3).

With the arrival of the Greeks in the Near East at the time of Alexander the Great, the Akkadian/Persian term is utilized by the Greeks, who now associate this term as a garden with animals and begin to adopt it as part of their culture. <ref>For more on the Greek concept of gardens and paradise, see: Aben, Rob, and Saskia de Wit. 1999. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ESPVP0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007ESPVP0&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=2a72430b58147986003c0015eab24090 The Enclosed Garden: History and Development of the Hortus Conclusus and Its Reintroduction into the Present-Day Urban Landscape]''. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Pg. 249.</ref> This perhaps reflects the change that these gardens underwent, from generally being associated with temple architecture to also becoming royal parks enclosed in areas for kings in Western societies. The concept of royal garden develops further in Rome, and begins to be found in their great palaces and large houses, spreading to various parts of Europe.  For the developing religions of the 1st millennium BC and later, in particular Hebrew and Zoroastrianism, the concept of paradise begins to develop. We see in the Hebrew Bible the story of Genesis most representing what this paradise looks like, as a place where pre-sinful Adam and Eve resided along with animals and the Sacred Tree of Life and Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Early Christianity and Islam also develop concepts of paradise as gardens that the righteous will dwell in. <ref>For more on the development on the concept of paradise in universal religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism, see: Ellens, J. Harold, ed. 2013. ''Heaven, Hell, and the Afterlife: Eternity in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality''. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.</ref>