Biblical and classical sources have transmitted to the Western cultures a mythical and stereotyped portrait of Babylon, the foremost Mesopotamian city from the early II millennium B.C. until the late antiquities. The mythical and predominantly negative image of Babylon was for the first time challenged on the basis of archaeological and epigraphic finds which - from mid-nineteenth century - were brought to light in Mesopotamia. The present study aims at providing an updated historical sketch of ancient Babylon, through a combined analysis of the pertinent ancient Near Eastern evidence and the graeco-roman sources.