Comparing Thoth's Djehuty And The Greeks

Polytheism is the belief in multiple gods. They used these gods to explain natural phenomenons such as storms, droughts, and floods. In the sumerian religion, there were more than 3,000 different gods, many of them, however, were unknown outside their local area of origin. City-states could create their own gods and way of worship, on top of the standardized major gods and worship practices. Some of the major gods the people of Sumer recognized were Enlil, the god of air, Utu, the sun god, Nanna Suen, the moon god, Nin-Khursaga, the Earth goddess, and Enki, the god of waters. The Akkadian people believed in similar gods, just with different names. For example, the god Utu was known as Shamash to Akkadians, Nanna Suen was known as Sin, and Nin-Khursaga was known is Ishtar. To the west of Sumer and Akkad, ancient Egypt was participating in polytheism. The Egyptians also had a system of a widespread recognition of a company of major deities that would rule over local gods created in each cult center. One of the major gods, Ptah, was responsible for creating the world. Other gods include Osiris, Seth, Isiris, Anubis, and Horus. With all the gods having control of nature, the followers were heavily dependent upon them for the success of their harvests and

Odysseus and Gilgamesh were two epic heroes included in some of the first works of literature that we have. These characters were created in two epic poems; where The Epic of Gilgamesh was developed in Mesopotamia and Homer’s The Odyssey was in Greece. These are two very popular works of art that helped people learn about the cultures during those times. These literatures also helped people have a better understanding of how we got where we are today in history. Throughout my essay; I will compare and contrast the two epic heroes and how they contributed to their society in their own ways. Also, I will distinguish their characters and what they learn on their quests.

In addition, it was an effort to institute a monotheistic tradition in the country that was quite unfamiliar for that era and unexpected for that level of the expansion of ancient Egyptian philosophy and evolution. In fact, religion was extremely important to ancient Egyptian society because people at the era deeply trusted on the natural forces and they created different cults worshiping gods of the sun, earth, and water. In such a way, they believed that through reverencing these gods they could merit their provision and, therefore, ancient Egyptians totaled for higher harvests, revenue and improved existence which they could achieve only with the support of various deities. Moreover, it is obvious the amount to which the attempt of Akhenaten to introduce monotheism in ancient Egypt was radical. It is obvious that the honoring of one god, Aten, should change the opinion of the surrounding world and the position of gods in the life of ancient Egyptian people.

Similar to Egyptians, Mesopotamians were polytheists and their gods created the natural phenomena. However, the temple in each city-state mainly worshipped a local god and was the central power in the city. The Mesopotamians ascribed human’s appearance and characteristics to represent their deities. The presence of the cult image in the temple indicated the presence of the deity in the city. Each cult image of the local god was placed in the city’s largest and most sophisticated sanctuary. For instance, the cult image of Marduk–Babylon’s city deity–resided in the Esagila temple. Mesopotamians believed the shrine of the Esagila temple was the heart of the universe. According to the inscriptions in the Steinplatten, the cult statue, the walls and the ceilings of the sanctuary were plated in gold. In practice of the daily ritual, the servants or priests of the temple cleansed and dressed the cult statue in new clothes. Since the priests directly served the patron city god, they were respected by common people. Additionally, the inscriptions from king Neriglissar’s cylinder revealed that he was submissive to the gods and thus the king’s power was shared to the priests and the local government. Local government governed the city and controlled the economy on behalf of the city’s god. Consequently, the cult’s control over the economy and society was limited inside the city-state.

Ancient Egypt is the origin to one of the most intricate belief systems in the world. This polytheistic religion was composed of various beliefs and rituals. Polytheistic means that they believed in many deities. All of which were linked to the common theme of immortality. Religion laid the foundation for all aspects of Egyptian lives, political structure, cultural achievement and art. Their religion consisted of up 2000 gods and goddess. Only some were worshiped universally throughout Egypt. They were often represented as being half human and half animal. As an example, the Egyptian god Anubis was half man and half jackal. He is associated with mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology. Egyptian religion was oriented toward people 's’ attainment of immortality signified by mummification/preservation of the dead.

The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey have been a part of human literature for many, many years now, they are both more referred to as epic poems. Both epics are found in different points of time in human cultures stretching roughly 1000 years apart. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem from early Mesopotamian culture and The Odyssey is said to be written from the early onset of the Greek civilization. The main characters for these epics are Gilgamesh, a demigod and ruler of Uruk, and Odysseus a great warrior returning home to his wife from war. The two main characters of these epic poems, Gilgamesh and Odysseus share many traits together and apart from each other. Among the qualities that these characters display in each of their respective poems,

In Greco-Roman Culture, humans imagine the deities of mythology to be and act certain ways, due to the needs they must fill. People invented certain deities for reasons that align with what they needed from them. To examine how a deity has a certain purpose, one must first examine what they are like. Athena and Ares are examples of deities invented for very specific purposes. One must first look at Athena and Ares’ similarities and differences in relation to their characteristics, their sexuality and physical appearances, as well as their different powers and how they are worshipped, to discover why they were created.

The world of the ancient Near East believed in a creator deity as member within a plethora of deities; that is, there was no supreme being. Within this plethora, each deity held a specific responsibility, representing such matters as order, justice, love, and truth, to name but a few. Among ANE inhabitants, according to Philip J. Nel, “a normative principle of justice was maintained as part and parcel of the created universe. The human life-world and the order of nature were seen as inextricable entwined.” It is not surprising, therefore, how ancient civilizations understood justice to be a concomitant attribute of a deity within a pantheon of deities; a pantheon where members had origins and, in most instances, were familial in nature. According to their understanding of creation, ancient civilizations held views on social and economic justice as a means that would “facilitate the service of the community to the divine world.” Nel observes that, “The principle of justice was . . . not so much regarded as a system of moral order, but rather the assumption of an existing/created autonomous design/order which should be upheld and adhered to in all sectors of society.” The Sumerians, and the Egyptians, serve as examples.

In the typical life of an Egyptian citizen, one was constantly being influenced by their gods and goddesses because of his or her belief in a polytheistic religion. The gods and goddesses were believed to have power over the forces and elements over nature, and myths about them explained the connection they had between their

In the eulogy on the Kuban stele, we have a repetitive notion of how Ramesses II is view as one of the gods, using metaphors to describe his relationship with specific gods. It is important to make that Ramesses II is not being compared to any random gods, but he being compared or rather being described to having the attributes of some of the most popular and powerful gods within Egypt. Ramesses II is described as being “like Re”, his words are like those of Harakhte, he is able to measure more accurately than Thoth and that his mind works just like Ptah’s mind . What is notable about these four gods, is that both Re and Harakhte are manifestations of the all-important Sun-God of Egypt, Thoth is the wise patron of god of Hermopolis and Ptah is the patron god for Memphis and Craftsmen; all in their own right gods of creation .

There were cults dedicated to the god Thoth, known as the cult of the ibis and because of this, the Egyptians regarded the ibis highly, they were given as offerings to the god Thoth. An archaeological discovery in the catacombs at Tuna-el-Gebel, found over four million mummified Ibises, some of the mummified Ibis had food in their mouths and inside their bodies .

I’ve always been fascinated by Egyptian mythology and all of the hundreds of thousands gods that the Egyptians somehow managed to name and worship. The one that I always seem to recollect with the most is the god Thoth. Like most gods, he has several facets that he is worshipped for, such as being the god of the moon, the patron of writing, and being the patron of magicians. According to some sources, he was even a creator god. Whatever godly aspect he had authority over originally were added onto, as is true for most gods and goddesses of ancient times.

Amun-Re is often referred to as the most important and powerful god of Ancient Egypt. Amun-Re was the god of the sun. “Amun-Re is the main name of the sun god, but also has three different names in which describe the phases of life that Amun-Re goes through each day.”(Budge, Pg. 92) When examining the ancient Egyptian god Amun-Re, four main points must be understood, including: the origin of Amun-Re, the characteristics of Amun-Re, how Amun-Re was worshiped, and how Amun-Re impacted Egyptian life.

In the “Hymn to Thoth”, the writer coaxed Thoth, also known as Djehuty who is shown as a man with the head of an ibis, into coming to the temple by writing his accomplishments. The first thing written about the god is that he is the god of the moon, seen in some texts as being the same as the moon, while others depict him as the moon’s guardian. Then Thoth is described as a “strong bull of Hermopolis” due to his syncretization with Osiris who together is known as the bull of the sky, a star god visible at night as well as being a sacred god in Hermopolis (Foster, 111). Thoth, being the son of the god Re’, is favorable in Re’s eyes, helping Re’ with his journey across the sky. Thoth helped Re’ stay healthy during the Night Bark and created a peaceful transition into Day Bark by standing on one of the sides of Re’s sun boat as the moon god. Thoth also helps Re’ overthrow the Rebel-Serpent, possibly Apophis, who serves as a metaphor for the dangers of nonexistence. The god also is said to be the protector of Horakhty, “Horus of the Two Horizons” where Horus is syncretized with Re’ to become a sky god (Shafer, 99). Thoth is depicted in detail as the god of writing and the messenger to the gods. Thoth was famed for informing Re’ about everything that is happening as well as accounting for previous events into the sky. Thoth has the ability to bring back forgotten thoughts and has words that will “last forever” (Foster, 112). As one can tell, whoever wrote this hymn really wanted to flatter Thoth into coming to animate

While the inhuman status of Thoth contrasts with Hermes, the symbolism of it closely corresponds with his Greek counterpart. Some of Hermes’ most prominent possessions were his winged sandals and cap; flight, or fleet-footedness is a trait that these gods have in common. Thoth has also been described as deceiving or mischievous. As aforementioned, Thoth and Hermes were identified as coherent by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. In Egyptian mythology, Thoth was established to be the Lord of Time and a traveller. Furthermore, he served as the scribe of the gods and lead deceased pharaohs to the