Mesopotamia, Egypt and Hebrews Essay

* The status of women in Mesopotamia was lower then men. Women enjoyed some protection and liberties, yet not as much as men.

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

However, in Mesopotamia, the males subjugated the women. To stop married women from tempting other men, they were forced to cover their bodies, except for their faces, with veils. Women in Mesopotamia were often arranged into marriages, without a say on the subject. The Mesopotamian women had little impact on their society, while certain Egyptian women were able to gain highly influential positions in their society. One Egyptian woman even became the Queen of Egypt, alongside her son. Due to Egypt being less strict towards the women, Egyptian women were able to have a greater influence on their society. Although both civilizations were patriarchal, they varied on how strict they were towards women.

The Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion and society were similar, but their government system was different. The religions in Egypt and Mesopotamia were similar because both were polytheistic, had beliefs of an afterlife, as well as priests who were part of the upper levels of the social hierarchy. Social similarities between Egypt and Mesopotamia included: rigid social structure, dependence on slavery, and authoritative religious structure. However, the system of government was different because Egyptian society was governed by a theocratic monarchy, while Mesopotamia was ruled by a traditional monarchy.

The Ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamia, and Greeks were some of the oldest complex societies, although similar in many aspects. Mesopotamia is located in the Fertile Crescent, land in and between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers usually known as modern day Iraq and Eastern Syria.(24) In Egypt, the Nile River creates a fertile valley which is rich in nutrients and essential to their survival. The Nile flows from Burundi, slightly south of the equator eventually traveling through Egypt and into the Mediterranean. Ancient Greece is situated very closely to Egypt so trading was easy between them. How are these three civilizations comparable and different?

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

Even though both prospered after a devastating drought, they both had different approaches in which they traded goods. I think that the approach, Egypt took, made it more unified than Mesopotamia. One reason is that, according to them, they wanted nice things to put into their tombs to use in the afterlife. The nice things were like furniture, and coffins that were constructed from wood that was imported in from Phoenicia. (text, 107) A second reason is that when ever the Egyptians colonized a new area they would build stationed forts to broaden trade routes. (text, 107) Plus, in Egypt, they traded goods for goods. (text, 107) In contrast, I believe that most of Mesopotamia’s businessmen were concerned with just getting the money and nothing else, because money was so much easier to transport than heavy loads that were being traded. (lecture, Dr. Kaz , Feb 9th 2009) When Mesopotamia recovered from the

Throughout history women have faced many struggles in gaining equality with men. Freedoms and boundaries have been dependent upon the time period, rulers, religions and civilization. Ancient Greek women and Ancient Egyptian women were both equal to men as far as the law was concerned in certain areas; however, their equalities were different in the sense that Greek women were married out of necessity and viewed as property while Egyptian women were respected and loved by their husbands. Ancient Greek women and Ancient Egyptian women also both lived with limitations such as being thought of as domestic servants, yet these views solely depended on the time and polis.

One of the most striking differences between ancient Athenian women and ancient Egyptian women was the ability to hold positions of power. Egyptian women were monarchs and held other positions depending on their social status. (Capel 1996, 176) Women were allowed to participate in low ranking government jobs, especially during war when the men are off fighting and leaving behind their positions. However, these positions were not kept for long because the men upon return automatically earned their position back by being the superior sex (Watterson 1991,).

Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both cradles of civilization. Both contributed greatly to human development through their achievements, failures, peoples, scientific accomplishments, philosophies, religions, and contributions.

When comparing cultures it would be difficult to find two that are more diverse than the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures. The Mesopotamian culture was filled with tension and instability while the Egyptian people maintained a stable and somewhat more content way of life. In examining these two cultures one can surmise that these differences are mainly due to the political, economic, social, religious, and geographic differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia. These factors added to the overall mentality of the people. These mentalities affected the stability of each culture, whether for the better or worse.

In today’s society, we as women often take for granted the rights, freedoms, and equality we share with men that women in the ancient world were not granted. As all civilisations in the ancient world exercised different treatment towards, this essay will illustrate a few comparisons in the status of women during ancient Egypt with women during ancient Rome. Academic sources will be relied on to provide the necessary actualities when one considers ancient civilizations. The legal status of women in society, the domestic atmospheres and roles that each unique region’s women held, and the possible occupations available to these women, will be discussed.

One of the central values of ancient Egyptian civilization, revolves around the concept of harmony and balance in all aspects of one's life. This ideal equality was the most important responsibility observed by the pharaoh who, as a mediator between the gods and the people, was supposed to be a role model and set by an example for how one achieving a balanced life, as all people sharing a common relationship with pharaoh. Through this relationship all men and women acquired equality to one another. Therefore, not to the world's surprise, women in ancient Egypt, compared to other civilizations, were ahead of their time. Women in ancient Egypt did not only rule the country and become pharaohs, but also shared equal basic human rights as men. Women such as Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra were able to take the stand and break the stigma of the typical minority that are deprived of many rights, and most importantly legal, and educational rights.

Ancient Egypt was an advanced civilization in its form of social hierarchy and its technology. First of all, social hierarchy groups people or animals based on their gender, social class, age, race, religion, and location. Gender has a major importance of the social hierarchy. Modern times, we still live up to social hierarchy, which could be a consequence. The job specialization knocks the women out of the high wage system furthermore high-class. Ancient Egypt had a good social hierarchy, allowing women to have the same rights as men. In one of the passages, it says, “Women in Egypt held many of the same rights as men. For example, a wealthy or middle-class woman could own a trade property. She could propose marriage or seek divorce. If she

Unlike many ancient civilizations, Egypt treated women (almost) as equally as they did with men. Women were able to own property, loan money, get divorced, and "were also equally subject to whatever responsibilities normally accompanied those rights" according to womenintheancientworld.com. However, what did women do in their everyday lives? What were their roles at home? Women even had the opportunity of being powerful leaders. Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra are some examples of women in power millions of years ago. This paper will examine the role of powerful women in ancient Egypt and analyze the rule of Hatshepsut and Nefertiti.