Mesopotamia Beliefs

The civilization that flourished in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine were located in river valleys or along the Mediterranean coast. These civilizations developed highly complex cultures that shared many common characteristics. Some of the characteristics that they shared were justice, cultural diffusion, architecture and inventions. Because of these characteristic they achieved and contributed a lot to society as well as to future civilizations.

Mesopotamia is located in the Fertile Crescent, between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. On the Southeast side of Mesopotamia is Sumer and the Persian Gulf. To the east of Mesopotamia are where the Zagros Mountains are located.To the Northwest side of Mesopotamia are where the Taurus Mountains are

Sometimes in our generation, people take for granted the things the originally invented by ancient civilizations. Somewhere around 3500 B.C. in southwest Asia the first of the River Valley Civilizations were born. The ancient River Valley Civilizations of Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia all made key contributions to future societies. (OI) Two contributions from each of the Mesopotamian Civilizations that influenced future civilizations.

For the Mesopotamians view of the afterlife was not always a good thing. Mesopotamians did not live a long life they would die at a young age due to the sickness that thee had back then. Mesopotamia is a place that the Mesopotamians believed to be between two rivers. Mesopotamia first got started through a poems and myths that the ancestors told. They also believed that everything has a personality. The Mesopotamians believed that the afterlife death was a descent of the underworld believed to be ruled by the god Nergal. They lived bad lives and their idea about the afterlife resemble the hardness that they will have to face during their present life. They will ¨wasted no times¨ preparing for the afterlife. This is what usually happens to

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh speaks of the names of the gods, means a lot of gods ,“There was Anu, lord of the firmament, their father, and warrior Enlil their counselor, Ninurta the helper, and Ennugi watcher over canals” (N. K. Sandars 25). This shows that the Mesopotamians and people from “By the Waters of Babylon” were both polytheistic and believed in multiple gods.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers, was one of the world's first civilizations. The most memorable facts about Mesopotamia include that Sumer was the first Mesopotamian civilization where the first written language,Cuneiform, and Hammurabi's Code, first code of law to be documented, were established. I recently studied this civilization in another course, so facts such as the civilization being known as the Fertile Crescent because of its geographical advantage and that many Mesopotamian civilizations were polytheistic were already part of my knowledge. I didn't, however, know that Hebrews, the first monotheists, originated near Sumer. I am curious to research about Hebrews and find out how long it was until other monotheists emerged.

It is undeniable that the natural environment of ancient Mesopotamia had a profound effect on the earliest civilizations known to the world. Humankind’s ability to control irrigation waters directly correlates with the rise of mass agriculture. With this mastery of their river environment, early farmers were capable of supporting large urban populations. However, in Mesopotamia the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were both a source of life as well as destruction for early societies. In many ways, the geography of ancient Mesopotamia fostered a sense of catastrophic determinism within the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. The scarcity of resources as well as the untamable nature of their deluge environment led these early people to

In Mesopotamia, the people believed in polytheism, or the worship of multiple gods. Many temples stood scattered around in every city, each dedicated to one or more primary gods and a couple of lesser gods. Many people worked at the temples, keeping them perfect for the gods, which they believed lived in the temple. This drove people’s thoughts, as the extreme obligation to please every god could, and probably did, become a huge responsibility, influencing their every move. Similarly, the Phoenicians also practiced polytheism, which they most likely picked up on from Mesopotamia.