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. In Mesopotamia there was a huge fight before creation and the victor was the ruler but in the Catholic version, no one was a god there was already one in the catholic religion. The calligraphy was different back then and also similar because they had forms of writing
What similarities and differences did Egypt and Mesopotamia have and why was Egypt more politically unified than its neighbor, Mesopotamia? I think in order to answer these questions it is important to look at how both societies lived. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two civilizations existing during the time period of 2000-1200 BCE.(text, 97) These civilizations were shaped by their environment, involved with trade, and faced changes in government after the 100 year drought; however, they differed in that Egypt was shaped by the Nile, traded goods for goods and changed their outlook on the pharaoh who was ruler of all; whereas, Mesopotamia was shaped by the Tigris and Euphrates, traded money for goods, and had a ruler over rulers. The
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.
Mesopotamia and Egypt had different religions. Mesopotamia made figurines that would pray for them as they did other things. Egyptians worshipped their pharaohs as if they were gods. If one of their pharaohs dies, they would bury them in their own temples. The Egyptians also mummified the dead bodies. Mesopotamia had 7 Mesopotamian gods that represented the elements. Mesopotamia and Egypt were both religious, but had different
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
Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and
While describing the cultural among the people of Mesopotamia and Egypt, I learned the differences and similarities in culture. The birth of Mesopotamian Civilization began in c. 3000 B.C.E., in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers of Southwest Asia. Mesopotamia is a Greek word and it means ‘between the rivers.’ In contrast, the birth of Egyptian Civilization began in c. 3100 B.C.E., in a valley of the Nile River in Northeastern Africa. Egypt is a Greek word and it means ‘House of the Spirit of Ptah.’ Since there are several categories in the cultures of the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians, I decided to narrows it to three categories: Religion, Writing, and Geography. The three categories will present the basis to compare cultural differences and similarities.
The Mesopotamian societies, ancient Egypt, and the Hebrews are located in West Asia and North Africa. Although these three societies were geographically close, they each had a different belief about the divine. These geographical features of these societies played a big role in their religious and political beliefs. The Mesopotamian societies had a polytheistic view, which means the belief in more than one god.
Automatically these the religions differ when it come to their geographical locations. The Mesopotamians were located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, hence the name Mesopotamia “land between two rivers.” Due to city-states being so close to each other there was a lot of conflict over land and water in the region. This conflict led to war and conquer of neighboring city-states. There was no stable rule over the land and this conflict can be seen through their view on religion.
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
Egypt had pharaohs that ran Egypt while on the other hand, Mesopotamia’s early government had temple priests that controlled everything. While Egypt was divided into separately functioning upper Egypt and lower Egypt that was ruled by separate kings , Mesopotamia was divided into city states that functioned as its own independent country with the help of the priests as the mesopotamian reading states. The people in ancient Egypt viewed the pharaoh as an equivalent to the god, on the other hand Mesopotamia viewed their Priests as equal to the king and someone that was admired by the Gods. The Egyptians believed the Pharaohs were the ones that caused crops to grow and the sun to rise everyday. This was different from Mesopotamia as They believed everything that was happened was influenced by God including their ruler who represented God in Mesopotamia. A similarity both countries had according to the text was their control over the people as both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian rulers had massive control over their fellow people as they were viewed in a holy
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
Each Mesopotamian city states worshiped local gods and spirits. If they were part of a large kingdom or Empire, then they might be forced to worship the religion of the state but usually kept local beliefs intact. This is primarily because of how fragmented ancient Mesopotamia used to be. Egyptian Polytheism differs a lot from Mesopotamian Animism and Polytheism in several ways. The Egyptian’s worshiped the state religion alone and did not have separate local religions as often. The rough geography most likely helped with this along with the unity of Egypt. The ziggurats of Mesopotamia and the various monuments of Egypt have similarities and seemingly different functions. The Mesopotamians built ziggurats as temples, but the monuments of Egypt have various roles including for burial which reflects another major religious difference, the Egyptians believed in an afterlife which resulted in many artifacts preserved helping historians know more about their culture, not what was intended, but useful later
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.
Egyptian religious beliefs shared some similarities with Mesopotamian beliefs, but differenced in many important ways. Egyptians had numerous explanations for the formation of the
Ancient Greek Religion V. Christianity What are the Greeks religious beliefs, and what is the difference between the Greeks persuasion and a common American religion? There are unusual similarities and differences. Focus of the Greeks loyalty was based on the Bible but the one god was turned into many. This is surrounded by the critical writers that were the same morally.