The ancient Mesopotamia stories were seen to be closely related with the old testament which is Biblical. The similarities and differences accounted were historical, cultural, social and religion. however, the creation story which is religion narrates the human creation and flood account. The Mesopotamian religion had a polytheistic belief, which means people believed in multiple gods instead of just one God examples are (Anu-Sky god, Enki- God of fresh water, Inanna- God of love, Nanna-God of the moon and the son of Enlil and Ninlil and many other) and these gods competed each other, each city had its own god, at the center of the city a large temple or ziggurat was built to that god, their priest lived and made sacrifices. they believed that …show more content…
However, God came and created everything in the world by the word of mouth saying, “let there be...” and it happened for six days. On the sixth day, he created man in his own image to take care of all other creatures, man was given supreme powers over all the other creatures. On the other hand, the creation story of Mesopotamia was based on the facts of the role of gods in the ancient time. Man was conceived as matter- clay, and then activated of divine blood, In the Mesopotamia story people were created to provide relief for the gods, people were created to do the work the gods had previously been obliged to do and to provide the needs of the gods. More so the differences included the creation story which tells us how the relationship of man with God broke apart due to Satan’s deceit, while Mesopotamia explained that the faith of people to god reduced due to interaction with the irans. The old testament admits God in all creations while for the Mesopotamia, the creation did not explain the origin of the people and others that existed. In the flood account, the duration of flood differs in the mesopotamain, the inhabitants of the boats included pilots, craftmen, while in OT, it was only Noah and his immediate family. The Mesopotamian hero leaves the boat of his own and offers a sacrifice to be accepted by the gods, in contrast Noah stays in the boat until God calls him and presents him a sacrifice of
* The Gods are more superior beings then men and gave blessings and punishments to humans. On the other hand, humans pay tributes and ask questions to gods. For instance, Gilgamesh continuously asks deities for advices. Mesopotamian deities were more approachable beings rather than inaccessible things.
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.
Mesopotamians government had a set of laws. They did not write them down, however. If a citizen broke a rule. Their punishment was based on the crime that they committed. For example, if you killed someone, the government would kill you. Next, Mesopotamia worshipped many gods. This was called polytheism. The builders of Mesopotamia would build ziggurats, or temples, to worship the gods. They would kneel and pray to the gods. They worshipped 7 gods in total.They also built and created their own tools.
Ancient Mesopotamian religion was the oldest known recorded religion. Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic. There is a relationship between the codes of law and religion in Babylonian – Mesopotamian
After cutting the body of Tiamat in two, he made the Earth having the sun and moon come in and out of her ribs. Her head he made a mountain and out of her eyes flowed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Then he disposed her eleven monster-serpents, which include a snake, and made them into the signs of the Zodiac. In the Egyptian story Rae names things and they come into being and creates man last. He then takes the form of a man and becomes Pharaoh or the “God King.” Similarly, in Genesis, God creates the Earth from a formless void into geophysical features, as we know it. Then he creates all the plants and animals and last creates man, then on the seventh day he rested. In having God take seven days to make everything it sets up a weekly calendar, where as on the seventh day everyone rests. The one difference in the stories is that he let man name and have dominion over all things he created. This shows how all things came into being in all three stories and even sets up the political environment of the Babylonian and Egyptian cultures. There are other parallels in the Babylonian and Genesis stories not told here for example; in the Babylonian story one of the first Gods to appear is Lahmu, meaning Mud. In the Genesis story, the first man called Adam, also meaning Mud. You can also see the relationship in their calendars
Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and
The first category of culture is religion. There were several similarities between the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians had their own religion and beliefs. Both were polytheistic, meaning they believed in numerous gods or goddesses instead of one god or goddess. There were also several differences between the Mesopotamian and Egyptians. While the Mesopotamians and Egyptians worshiped thousands of deities, there were four main essential deities for the Mesopotamians: An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga. An was the god of heaven. Enlil was the god of wind and became the power of energy, force, and authority on the earth. Enki was the god of
“The basic operating premise for the ancient Mesopotamians throughout all periods of their history is that humans were created and placed on earth so the gods did not have to work.”
Although the stories are similar they are not identical. In Genesis God sent the Flood to destroy humankind because of man’s wickedness. Unlike The Gilgamesha where the reason was never said however the sender of the flood was a secret council of gods the idea was brought up by Enlil , the god of earth wind and air. God favored Noah because he was a righteous man therefore, he was chosen to build the ark that was three hundred cubits long, fifty cubit wide, and thirty cubits high, about three stories. Utnapishtim was chosen out of the cleverness of Ea, the god of wisdom and crafts. God came directly to Noah to tell him about the Flood where as Ea was swore to secrecy so “he repeated their plans to the reed fence” so he would no break the oath to the group. The boat Utnapishtim was directed to build was a rectangle shaped measuring one acre and about 6 stories high. When the floor came in Gilgamesh it was only rainwater however the Flood in Genesis was rain water as well as ground water. Both floods did indeed wipe out all of humankind but the did not last equal as long. After the flood Utnapishtim was gifted the gift of eternal life where as Noah was to multiply and have rule over the animals.
To begin with the Mesopotamians believed in the gods and goddesses. They would praise them for a significant reason either if its water, nature, wind, sun, etc. and each god has their own specific powers. To please the gods they will have to sacrifice one for a specific desire or necessity. In The Epic of Gilgamesh it is said that gods feast and love the smell of burnt human flesh; “When the gods smelled the sweet savor, they gathered like flies over the sacrifice” . The relationships that Mesopotamians have with their gods is cruel, they please the gods with sacrifices. This is what they believed was necessary to have a peaceful life with no catastrophic chaos. The Mesopotamians wanted harmony with their gods so they don’t die. Mesopotamians did not only believe in one god but many gods so they would worship the gods for specific needs. They also viewed the gods as the highest level class, in other words
Religion was practiced throughout Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both the Mesopotamians and Egyptians shared polytheistic beliefs. Each god was responsible for an action, but they did not consider the gods to be equal in Mesopotamian society, in order to please the gods, a sacrifice must be made to please them in order to avoid the god’s wrath. The separation of church and state did not exist in both ancient civilizations, pharaohs of Egyptian society was known to be a god on Earth, the incarnation of Horus, the falcon god. The Mesopotamian rulers were known as a representative to the gods. Although they worship to several different gods, they do have differences between the two. The idea of an afterlife, In Mesopotamia didn’t exist but for the Egyptians the idea of an afterlife was of significant importance to them, rituals were held to ensure that the body and soul would be ready for an eternal life after death. The writing systems of both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians have many similarities. Pictographic writing, which was developed by the
The religions of Mesopotamia are in fact actually quite similar to the Christian religions belief. They have quite a lot in common but also a lot of differences. We as Catholics have one God but the Mesopotamians had many gods which is also known as polytheism. The creation stories are also different but same in some ways. The Mesopotamians believed that sacrifices were made to make very thing but in our way of creation, God just made everything in 7 days and called it a week.
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
Religion was an important factor in the everyday lives of Mesopotamians and ancient Egyptians. Both civilizations were polytheistic which meant they worshiped multiple gods. Many elaborate temples were built to praise them. The leaders in both regions were believed to be related to the gods because of the great power they held and wealth under their control. Mesopotamians and ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. When people died, they were buried with items to take along.
The Mesopotamian creation myth incorporated many characteristics that define to most myths in general. One of the characteristics incorporated in the creation myth is that it takes place in the distant past, or in this case the beginning or pre-history. This characteristic is initially described in the opening passage of the Enuma Elish, “when on high [enuma elish] heaven and earth had not yet been named” (Leeming 19), and further codified by describing how the gods Apsu and Tiamat created “the silt deposits Lahmu and Lahamu, which we call ‘land’” (Leeming 19). A second characteristic of myths portrayed in this creation story is that it is a tale of supernatural beings, goddesses, or gods. Besides, Apsu, freshwater, and Tiamat, great saltwater