The story of the Tower of Babel that Maria tells the workers in the movie is not entirely accurate to the original Bible story. Maria says that the reason the tower did not survive was because of a lack of communication between those who planned the tower and those who did the manual labor. According to the New International Version of the Bible, the tower was built by humans in an attempt to reach the heavens, and destroyed by God when He made the people unable to understand each other. The point that Maria is trying to drive home, however, still remains. Unless there is communication between people, nothing can ever be accomplished because everyone's needs simply cannot be met. In the film, the Upper city represents the Tower of Babel that is nearly brought down when the workers rebel and flood the Lower city, thus cutting off the source of power for the rest of the city.

The pentagram upright looks like a normal five-pointed star and is a religious symbol for several religious orders including Masons and Wiccans. Some say that the five points represent the head, hands, and feet of a human being or that the five points are special because 5 is a prime number that is a sum of 1+4 as well as 2+3. The inverted pentagram, as is seen on Rotwang's wall, usually is associated with the Devil or Satanism. Some Christians also believe that the inverted pentagram is the devil's hoofprint. Fritz Lang may have included the Pentagram to reflect on Rotwang's wickedness, or to comment on the sinfulness of his desire to 'play god' by creating an artificial human.

Another theory regarding the pentagram is that the symbol was intended to look like the Star of David, or the symbol of Judaism. If Metropolis is interpreted as a political allegory of pre-WWII Germany, Rotwang is the stereotypical Jewish villain, pursuing an Aryan woman who he is not fit to socialize with because of his status. (For more on the WWII's influences in the movie, see the War Influences page)

Most people who view this scene in the movie who have any knowledge whatsoever of the Christian faith will identify Freder on this machine as a Christ figure, stretched on the cross, being crucified for another's sins. Freder begins to work the machine when he sees the normal worker collapse from exhaustion, Freder changes places with him so that the worker can go to the Upper city and enjoy himself. As Freder works the machine, becomes exhausted and collapses, calling out, "Father, I never knew 10 hours could be torture!" By suffering as the workers do, Freder realizes their plight and this is one of the deciding factors in his decision to free the workers from their never-ending bondage. Freder's cry is can also be likened to Jesus' cry to his Father from the cross.

The flooding of the lower city is of course another reflection of Bible legend as well as other myths. Almost all cultures and religion can tell a story of the inhabitants of the world, save a few people, being destroyed by a flood. The flood is intended to clease the earth of the evilness brought upon it by humans, and those chosen to repopulate the earth are the ones that were right in the eyes of God (or whatever deity happens to be causing the flood). Though the flood in Metropolis does not cause the deaths of the children, the mythology behind the flood plays and important role in explaining the significance of the change that takes place afterwards - the 'rebirth' of the city as one body that works for each other, instead of one group working while another prospers. Freder and Maria represent the two people 'chosen' to propogate the human after the flood waters recede, and they do so by creating understanding between the Upper and Lower citizens.

Pygmalion, by legend, was an artist who hated all women. He asserted that he would never marry and instead of taking a human wife, crafted out of ivory a beautiful maiden that he fell in love with in spite of himself. He dressed the statue in beautiful clothes and jewelry, until his love for the statue became so strong that he truly wished his creation to come to life. At the festival of Aphrodite, Pygmalion gave an offering and then asked Aphrodite to give him a wife like his creation. Upon returning home, Pygmalion kissed the statue, only to find it it coming to life at his touch. He named the woman Galatea, and she became his wife. Some myths go on to elaborate, saying that Galatea later betrayed Pygmalion by having an affair with another man.

Rotwang, in the movie, plays the part of Pygmalion in his creation of the female robot. Information left out of earlier versions of the film tell us that Freder's mother, Hel, was orignally a lover of Rotwang's until she left him to marry Joh, the leader of the upper city. Hel died giving birth to Freder, so to replace his lost love, Rotwang creates the female robot to take her place. Rotwang was hoping for a submissive female that he could dominate, just as Pygmalion was able to dominate Galatea in the myth. Like Galatea, the robot Maria is inanimate for a time until Rotwang uses magic to bring her to life, like the spell Aphrodite would have used to enliven Galatea. Galatea's betrayal is seen in the original Metropolis storyline, though not quite in the same way. Rotwang causes the robot Maria to appear to be doing Joh's bidding, when in fact the robot only obeys Rotwang and eventually goes agianst Joh's orders.