Afterlife Essay

Life and human fortune was very instable in Mesopotamians’ eyes. People just observed death and afterlife from a distance and some made them into a series of myths. For instance, “The Epic of Gilgamesh” expresses its idea on eventual death. No matter how hard Gilgamesh tries to lengthen his life, his death is predestined. The Mesopotamians viewed afterlife as an inevitable end.

Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians had two different ideas of the afterlife. Ancient Egypt celebrated the afterlife, performing burial rituals such as mummification, and ceremonies to ensure a happy and easy transition into the underworld. Egyption gods did not have as much interference with humans unlike the Mesopotamian Gods. Egyption gods ruled as pharaohs other deities such as Osiris, god of the underworld. Mesopotamian afterlife beliefs were not as joyful as ancient Egyptians. The Mesopotamians afterlife had a gloomier outlook. Most of what we know about Mesopotamian afterlife comes from the epic of Gilgamesh.

As we all know death of humans has been one of the utmost mysteries we would all like to solve. Although the ancient Mesopotamia, Egyptian, and Hindu all believed in an afterlife, their understanding and celebration if any, seems to be a little different. Mesopotamians were afraid of death, although they believed in afterlife they also had strong belief about the spirits still being alive. The Egyptians had an understanding and outlook on death, in which they believed in an afterlife, but they also believed in preserving the body. However, the Hindu also had the same perspective on afterlife, they were also very religious, but the way they went about it was much different than those of Mesopotamia and Egyptians.

Another example of how the Sumerians felt about their gods came from The Epic of Gilgamesh. The gods brutally punished Enkidu, causing him death, because he aided Gilgamesh in killing the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba. This is portrayed in a quote by Anu, a Sumerian god, “Because they have killed the Bull of Heaven, and because they have killed Humbaba who guarded the cedar mountain one of the two must die”. Since Gilgamesh was part god, the gods chose to kill Enkidu, the full human. This demonstrates how merciless the Sumerians portrayed their gods.

For the Mesopotamians view of the afterlife was not always a good thing. Mesopotamians did not live a long life they would die at a young age due to the sickness that thee had back then. Mesopotamia is a place that the Mesopotamians believed to be between two rivers. Mesopotamia first got started through a poems and myths that the ancestors told. They also believed that everything has a personality. The Mesopotamians believed that the afterlife death was a descent of the underworld believed to be ruled by the god Nergal. They lived bad lives and their idea about the afterlife resemble the hardness that they will have to face during their present life. They will ¨wasted no times¨ preparing for the afterlife. This is what usually happens to

In Egyptian Culture, it was believed that individuals survived after death and that life did not end after their earthly death. In the past, people performed specific rituals and prayers after the deceased had moved on. These practices were to ensure that the deceased spirits moved on safely through the journey to their afterlife. The ancient beliefs of an afterlife were provided from the ancient Egyptians who viewed their lives as a never-ending, cyclic pattern. Their views of the afterlife guided not only their lives in the underworld but also their mortal lives on earth.

Buddhism began in the fourth and fifth centuries before Christ by Siddhartha Gautama. The teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, are the major beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism is a belief and religion based on an assortment of customs, principles, and practices. The name Buddha means the awakened one. Buddha’s teachings were of the termination of suffering, attaining nirvana, and absconding from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Buddhism has spread all across Asia and throughout the world, now with between two hundred thirty million and five hundred million followers. Buddhism is largely based around the belief of Karma. Karma is the “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation” (Dictionary.com) or “the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person’s deeds in the previous incarnation.” (Dictionary.com) In simpler words, how you live your life now determines how you will come back when your current soul expires. Buddhists live their lives in hopes of achieving to be placed in the highest state known as Heaven. The after-life stems from Karma and leads into Rebirth. Rebirth is a course of action where humans proceed within multiple lifetimes in one or more of the six states of after-life. Each lifetime begins with birth and ends with death. Buddhists believe that we should not fear death because

For my reading summary article, I chose to review the Nation Geographic article ‘How the Ancient Religions Viewed the Afterlife’ by Patrick Kiger. The article goes over the four ancient religions of the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Romans, and their belief in the afterlife. All four groups had different outlooks on the afterlife. The views expressed by some of the groups were extremely different from the primary beliefs expressed by the major religions of today’s time. I found the viewpoints of all four the ancient groups to be extremely interesting.

The ancient civilization of Sumer was located in modern-day Iraq and Kuwait, and is believed to have begun around 6000 B.C. It is considered ‘The cradle of civilization’ by most historians, because it’s where the first elaborate urban societies appeared. Sumerians were polytheistic, and had a pantheon consisting of many gods and goddesses, who were anthropomorphic superhumans. The Sumerians held a unique view of creation, the afterlife, and worship. They contributed one of the most well known literary works “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, which tells of a hero’s quest to attain immortality.

While both the Egyptians and Sumerians developed a sophisticated way of life with complex religion, political system, system of writing and social classes, there are numerous differences between the two groups. The Egyptian's beliefs in gods and goddesses indicated the significance of nature in their lives and every human activity. The Egyptians thought that the power of nature were superintended by the different deities. They also believed that the gods and goddesses had the power of life and death over everyone. The ancient Egyptians thought that after death they could enjoy their lives because they believed that in the afterlife people were happy, well fed, and busy with the same activities they had done in life. This belief sometimes led

The Ancient Egyptian were polytheistic most of the time, which means that they believed in multiple gods. When Akhenaten was pharaoh, the Egyptians were monotheistic, meaning they worshiped only one god. He ended the worship of other gods and claimed that Aten, the lord of all was the only god in Egypt. The Egyptians didn't like this idea, so on their own,

Most societies that developed in ancient civilizations were centered around their belief systems. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were no different in this sense. Both civilizations were polytheistic and built elaborate temples to praise their gods. Additionally, the leaders in both regions were believed to be related to the gods because of the great power they held and the wealth under their control. However, the Mesopotamians had a pessimistic outlook on life because of the unpredictability of their environment. The Egyptians, on the other hand, had an optimistic outlook because the Nile River inundated their region regularly, which could be predicted by the stars. The similarities and differences in the religions of these two

The early Mesopotamian religions, as all folklores, depicted the activities of nature as those of divine beings and goddesses. These were brought into being by four maker divine beings, who were thus made by Tiamat and Abzu, customized (or humanized, maybe) powers which emerged from a primordial disorder. There was a sky-god, An, Enlil a tempest/climate god, an earth god named Nin-kharsag and a water god named Enki. You see the same or varieties of these and other lesser divine beings and goddesses all through Mesopotamian history from the soonest urban areas through the considerable realms of Babylon and Assyria. Sumerian culture being Mesopotamian a similar essential convictions apply-a level earth encompassed via oceans from which the universe

While many believe inhabitants of early civilizations, like the Sumerians, were at peace with their environment and community, The Epic of Gilgamesh has challenged that idea and suggests that whether or not a Sumerian was civilized or not, determined their relationship with the environment and community. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, representation of the best and worst of humanity is presented through the characters, Enkidu and King Gilgamesh. From the beginning, Enkidu is portrayed as an uncivilized, wild man who is living harmoniously with the environment in which he resides, whereas King Gilgamesh is portrayed as a man of great wealth and stature, who is two-thirds God and one-third human and believes that the environment is at his

Life After Death All of the major religions believe in life after death. However the ideas from religion to religion can vary greatly. I am going to look at Hinduism and Christianity, two religions that I have been surrounded by all my life, and the different perceptions they have of life after death, and then I will give my own view. "For certain is death for the born and certain is birth for the dead; therefore, over the inevitable thou shouldst not grieve.