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Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mesopotamia

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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

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