Most societies that developed in ancient civilisations were centered around their belief systems. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were no different in this sense. Both civilisations were polytheistic and reinforced elaborate temples to praise their Gods. Additionally. the leaders in both parts 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 mentality on life because of the capriciousness of their environment. The Egyptians. on the other manus. had an optimistic mentality because the Nile River inundated their part on a regular basis. which could be predicted by the stars. The similarities and differences in the faiths of these two parts may be attributable to the comparative geographical isolationism of the two countries. which allowed them to develop without the influence of outside civilizations.
Both ancient civilizations built sophisticated memorials to praise their Gods. The Egyptians constructed a huge web of impressive temples to honour their many Gods. each of which had an elect staff of priests whose occupation was to care for the temple and the Gods. One of the most outstanding temples was Abu Simbel. which was carved out of the side of a drop and had four elephantine statues of Ramses. the “Alexander the Great” of Egypt. guarding the entryway.
Another noteworthy illustration was the mortuary temple of King Khufu at Giza. which had polished limestone floors and ornately painted columns. The Mesopotamians reinforced zikkurats to laud their Gods. which were considered “stairways to heaven. ” One of the most celebrated zikkurats was the tremendous. complex construction built at Ur which reached up to about 100 pess. It was erected to honour the Moon goddess Nanna. the godly frequenter of the metropolis province. The Gods were cardinal to both civilizations and. as a consequence. much clip was devoted to building and keeping their memorials.
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The importance of the Gods in their civilizations was besides reflected in their political construction. Both societies believed that their leaders were someway related to their Gods. The Egyptians believed that their Pharaoh were the reincarnation of the Sun God Re. the main God who held the most power of all of the Gods. This was believed because the Pharaoh had huge power. governed immense countries of lands. and controlled huge resources such as gold and slaves. The Pharaoh besides elevated their position by constructing immense constructions to the Gods that seemed to exceed their earthly life. such as the pyramids and temples. The Pharaoh used ordinary Egyptians to construct the pyramids. non slaves. because the Egyptians wanted to delight the God king so they would be guaranteed a topographic point in the hereafter.
The Pharaoh besides conquered 1000s of square stat mis of land through military triumphs which seemed about impossible for mere persons. Similarly. the Mesopotamian male monarchs were believed to be the boies of Gods. The God the male monarchs were related to depended on the metropolis state’s chief God. which was normally Anu. The male monarch was besides the head priest which continued the relationship. maintaining them near to the Gods. The male monarchs took on monolithic public works undertakings every bit good as military conquerings which farther cemented this belief. Because of the importance of the Gods to these societies. their leaders were raised to a “godly” position as a contemplation of their significance and as a consequence of their many achievements. which besides gave the people a more touchable connexion to the Gods.
While both societies honored their Gods and saw their leaders related to the Gods. the Mesopotamians had a pessimistic mentality on life because they believed that the actions of their Gods were unforeseeable while the Egyptians had an optimistic mentality on life because they believed their Gods were predictable. The Mesopotamians beliefs arose because their part had an unstable environment. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers frequently overflowed their Bankss in brassy inundations. destroying farming area and houses every bit good as killing people and farm animal. The environment besides varied when they had drouths that led to dearths and so regular rainfall which gave them nutrient excesss.
In add-on. the major factor that ended this civilisation was the environmental diminution because of over farming which led to an ecological catastrophe that still plagues this part to this twenty-four hours. The Egyptians. on the other manus. believed that their Gods were predictable because their environment was really unsurprising. They could calculate the flood of the Nile River by looking at the stars. As a consequence. they believed the Gods were stating them things through the stars. Therefore. their priests frequently looked to the celestial spheres for replies. intermixing scientific discipline into their faith and ensuing in a certain sum of control over their lives. But because everything that happened was attributed to the Gods. the mentality on life for both societies was closely linked to the part they lived and the jobs that were encountered.
The Gods were cardinal to both Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies. The architecture of both parts reflected the spiritual symbols that were instrumental to the religion of the people. The leaders in both societies were considered to be related to the Gods because of the astonishing constructions they built and the achievements they achieved.
Finally. the perceptual experience of life was determined by environmental factors that shaped the peoples position of how their Gods treated them. At the bosom of their faiths. the Egyptians and Mesopotamians were focused on delighting their Gods so that they would be rewarded and anything bad that happened was attributed to non fulfilling the Gods. Unaffected by outside influences. these civilisations shared many similarities in how their faiths shaped their civilizations but besides had differences which arose from the impact of their geographical location.
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