The early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were two of the first civilizations in the world. There were many similarities and differences in their geography, political structures, and culture, but the religions were what caught my interest. Both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians were polytheistic, meaning they worshipped multiple gods. Religion and politics were closely intertwined in a government called a theocracy, as the leader or leaders were thought to have been appointed by the gods with a divine right to rule. The priests of both religions, who wore no specials costumes, were the only people allowed to enter into and worship in the temples. They made daily offerings to the gods, and yearly festivals were open to the public. …show more content…
(Ancient Religions of Egypt and Mesopotamia, 2017) The geography of the civilizations, among other things, played a large role in the perceived nature of the gods. In Mesopotamia the Euphrates and Tigris rivers were unpredictable and could be incredibly destructive, and their gods were seen the same way; unpredictable with great, sometimes destructive powers. In Egypt, however, where the Nile river and the rest of nature were kind to humanity, so were the gods. The people of Mesopotamia believed obedience to the gods was humankind's main purpose. This was how they kept the gods happy and avoided natural disasters like floods. Egyptians thought the gods created all humans but were controlled by ma'at, the principal of divine order. The scale of the religions was vastly different as well, with Mesopotamians worshipping hundreds of gods while Egyptians worshipped thousands. The places of worship also differed. Mesopotamians built temples called ziggurats. Ziggurats, stepped or tiered cone shaped structures with a temple or shrine at the top, were typically located in complexes at the center of each city-state. It was believed that they formed a bridge from earth to
Religion in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia played a significant role in developing and organizing the society. Based on the common belief of the world’s divine creation, both civilizations had regular rituals and ceremonies to honor the supernatural beings. In rituals and ceremonies, the cult was expressed as the manifestation of components that symbolized the divine such as the cult images, temples, and shrines. Since religion was an important aspect in the people’s daily lives, it also had an impact on the ruling system in the two civilizations. Even though Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia have similar foundational beliefs about the cult, different cultic practices imply the difference in the structure and the scope of
In conclusion, the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, religion was crucial to life and life was inseparable from religion. Religious customs and laws led the day-to-day presence of all citizens; their rank in society also played a huge part. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were led by theocracies, where people thought that the kings ruled by spiritual right. However, their systems reflect the different social and geographical characteristics of each
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
Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and
Ancient Egyptians referred to their king as pharaoh. Document 3 explains that they believed that pharaoh is a god that controls everything and has an absolute power that nobody can came close to. According to document 6 the Sumerians and Akkadians practice polytheism, the worship of many gods. They believed that keeping the gods happy will be the key of their own happiness and prosperity but, if the gods were angry, they might bring suffering and disaster.the sumerians built temples that called ziggurats, they believed that the temples linked earth with the heavens and linked people with gods.
Known as one of the earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt both share set amounts of similarities along with a share of striking distinctions. Environmentally, these two civilizations were formed in similar surroundings, yet their weather patterns show distinctions. Politically, both governments derived from a monarch, yet their laws and punishments distinguished the two’s court systems. Economically, they both shared prosperous success in similar manners. Socially, although the two lands followed a hierarchy, the value of women contrasted. Culturally, they both believed in a higher order of creation; however, their views of them were polar opposites. Intellectually, these two societies developed skilled abilities and creations that
Each religion displays unique ways to relate to their gods. This difference is also seen in the Sumerian, Egyptian, and Hebrew religions. The Sumerians were polytheistic (many gods) and believed that gods were the cause of their unpredictable weather such as sudden floods and severe droughts. It is for this reason that they aimed to please the vengeful gods by following rules made by religious leaders. In addition, they built ziggurats in the city of their cities to honor the gods. Egyptians were also polytheistic. However, they believed that a pharaoh (a living god-king) was their connection to the many gods they worshiped. The pharaoh was thought to control the Nile River, which was the foundation of the empire. Also, much as they would pamper
The religion practiced in Mesopotamia was Polytheistic (belief in many gods). Such as An; he was father of all gods, Enlil; god of wind, and Inanna; goddesses of sex and violence. The Mesopotamian gods had many human like qualities. They would really get mad at the people and would punish them instantly one of the examples is the Epic of Gilgamesh in which the God Enlil was mad at humans and flooded the whole area that killed every living being. Gilgamesh was one of the rulers of the Uruk.
that is, they believed their worlds were ruled by more than one god. Both cultures also
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
Long before you and I today were societies in formation. These fascinating societies took place in Mesopotamia and Egypt in ancient times. Many factors contributed to the similarities and the differences that occurred between the two; including geography, religion, and social structures. A glance at the these factors will give us a better understanding of a couple of the first societies or civilizations that occurred before people today.
To begin with, Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia resided near major rivers which was their source of water for agriculture, drinking, and for other needs. Eventually the Egyptians that had resided by the Nile River, built a self-sufficient empire by creating an economy based off the idea of agriculture, a form of social hierarchy was formed, and so was a religion. The Mesopotamians built
Early Civilizations compare similarities and differences The two Early Civilizations I have picked for Task 1 part B are Mesopotamia and Egypt. The characteristic from part A is the key geopraphical features. I would like to highlight some similarities and differences, with a decription of the two civilizations.
Egyptians and Mesopotamians were both centered on religion, Egyptians had many gods and Egyptians and Mesopotamians are two religions that believed in monotheism. Another interesting fact about Mesopotamian
Both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations were strongly reliant on religion, and this led both civilizations to believe in a polytheistic religion system. The Egyptian and Mesopotamian populations believed in many gods, and associated their gods with the natural forces that existed around them. For example,