TOWERS. Strictly speaking, a tower is any architectural structure that is high in proportion to its lateral dimensions. Broadening that definition, tower here will be understood to be any architectural structure whose religious meaning is related to its lofty vertical dimension. This entry will refer to this quality as vertical aspiration, which, while inexact, at least sets towers apart from merely massive structures. Towers have no single explanation but betray a variety of meanings that show clearly the ingenious fertility of the religious imagination and offer a challenge to the interpreter, especially in cases where there is a paucity of written sources. Their meanings are not fixed but can change over time.

The Egyptian pyramid, one of the earliest examples of tower building, is essentially a funerary monument used to inter and glorify deceased pharaohs, yet the pyramid is not simply a gigantic tombstone. Because of the divinization...