Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
sumerian civilization culture and religion
sumerian civilization culture and religion
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: sumerian civilization culture and religion
Dedicated scholars have been looking into ancient Mesopotamian since the early 20th century. Due to lack of record keeping many historians have been forced to slowly fill in the gaps as new evidence comes to light. They find that it is safe to say that there isn’t a uniform religion in Mesopotamia, but instead it is a mixing of several ancient cultures. Throughout all of the cultures that made up Mesopotamia, one thing that held true is a devout following for their polytheistic beliefs. Due to more recent discoveries, it is now safe to say that Mesopotamians felt that after life, given the proper circumstances, they would be immortalized in the Netherworld.
Mesopotamia was originally inhabited by two groups, the East Semitic Akkadians and the
…show more content…
While for the most part the Sumerian culture was the one to fade, Akkadians did adopted several things, one of them being the Sumerian view on religion. Akkadians took the Sumerian view and integrated it into their own culture. Sumerian Gods did not replace the Akkadian gods, but where instead added alongside them, making the Mesopotamian Pantheon a great mixture of the two cultures’ deities. With both cultures assimilation came the birth of what is known as Mesopotamian …show more content…
For instance, The God Anu was often viewed as the greatest of the gods, he was the god of heaven and sky, he was the lord of constellations, and the father of all other gods. Mesopotamians believed gods to be human like in form; gods had to eat and drink and t they would even get drunk occasionally. Yet they were still believed to be more perfect than any human being. The gods were thought to be all-seeing, all knowing, and overall unfathomable. If a person was to see a god they expected to see a terrifying bright light, referred to as melammu, surrounding the god, causing an immediate reaction of awe and reverence. Historian J. Bottero believed that the gods were not viewed as mystical beings, but instead were seen as perfect higher up masters that should be obeyed and feared, rather than loved and adored. Many people were so devoted to the Gods that it was common for people to name their children after a God or goddess. This was a practice that began with Sumerian culture, but was later adopted by the
Since people feared pharaohs, they respected them. For instance, the passage in Document 5 states that wokers built large pyramids to serve their pharaohs inside tombs. The text states, "Pharaohs were burried with their possessions." In addition, some people (Sumerians Akkadians) practiced polytheism, the worship of gods. Based on the document, "They believed that keeping the gods happy was the key to their own happiness and prosperity. On the other hand, if the gods were angry, they might bring suffering and disaster." In additon, previously stated, Egypt and Mesopotamia develoved into successful civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily. The text states, "Sumerians built huge temples called ziggurats. They believed these temples linked Earth with the heavens and linked people with the gods." This shows that they use dtheir resources to build ziggurats for their own goods so that the gods can give them happiness and prosperity instead of bringing them suffering and disaster. Therefore, Egyptians' religion and beliefs would help develop Egypt and Mesopotamia into successful
Two of the earliest and greatest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt, show the transition from a Paleolithic society into a settled civilization. Both cultures had established kings; however, the Pharaoh is the god-king of Egypt, while in Mesopotamia the monarchs are priest-kings whom serve the gods. Although Mesopotamia and Egypt have some characteristics in common, which bring them under the “First Civilizations” category, their different views and beliefs about divine authority and how it is practiced set these civilizations apart and make them unique.
Some gods though were more important than others. Anu a sky god was the greatest of them all. He was the city god of Uruk, it makes sense that the most important god should come from the biggest city. Along with the gods Sumerians also thought that their ancestors brought the land out of the water that once covered the earth. Some of their stories especially the story of the great flood are very similar to bible stories. The culture was heavily related to the belief system they found in the gods. Gods, kings, and god-kings ruled the
Religious beliefs and practices differed greatly from country to country; however each religion inquired of the purpose of life through gods or deities. The Egyptian’s religion revolved around the rite of passage. The Egyptians would receive favorable conditions after death only if they pleased the Gods, and their descendant Pharaoh. The purpose of the Egyptians life was solely to keep Pharaoh and the Gods happy something that could only be accomplished through strict worship and unrelenting obedience. In contrast, the Sumerians beliefs were an entangled webs of stories about the gods they worshipped that related back to a single principle “people...were the servants of gods in the most literal sense.” (Backman 16) Their belief provided very little rewards as it was thought that the outcome of all dead was to be “cosigned equally to spending eternity wandering naked and exposed through an endless expanse of darkness, dust, and heat.” (Backman
From the story of Gilgamesh we see that religion plays a key role in ancient near east society. Interaction with the divine was routine.If any misfortune were to occur, the Gods were the first to be asked for help. These people prayed to their Gods on a daily basis and also offered up sacrifices in their names to keep them pleased. Society back then also claims that these Gods would interact back with them. For example the people of Uruk could not bear the actions of Gilgamesh any more so they pleaded to the Gods. The Gods responded by creating Enkidu, which would act as a balance for Gilgamesh. some key features that I noticed about their religion was that there was different
...he people of Mesopotamia felt they helped maintain balance in the world and kept the forces of chaos and destruction with the blessings of all their female goddesses and their religions. Mesopotamian also have along with them the teaching resulting to expectations that one would honor one’s elders and treat people with respect, as what the citizens of the land were also to do and to honor the gods throughout their lives. Each female deity has special style and qualities that contribute to the development and the creation of arts, religion and culture in Mesopotamia. In addition, the influence of the Mesopotamian goddesses to the region and cities in such place made the people and civilization live a life of righteousness with specific path to follow in order to be guided and live a blissful and worthy lives which can be observed until this modern days of the world.
4. About religion in general, whenever man defies god, his existence, or his actions, it’s considered to be an act of defiance and they are to face punishment. With this in my mind, we can infer that at a time where man was expanding in Mesopotamia, the belief in the gods and goddesses was declining. Thus, the punishment from the infuriated gods was to eliminate them all.
There were many ways that the Ancient Egyptian society and the Mesopotamian society were similar yet at the same time they were very different. Egyptians and Sumerians agreed on religion in a sense that both cultures were polytheistic. However, the relationships between the gods and goddesses were different between the Sumerians and Egyptians. This essay will discuss those differences in culture, religion and the viewpoints on death and afterlife.
Religion was a major part of Ancient Egyptians’ lives. Their faith was so engrained in them that it was more of a lifestyle than a set of beliefs. The Egyptians practiced polytheism, or the worship of many gods, and they believed that their pharaoh was a god on Earth (Doc 3). The people worshipped the pharaoh and gave him all respect and power. They believed that their two main goals in life were to keep the pharaoh and the other gods happy and to live a good life so that they may enjoy a happy life after death. Their shared faith strengthened their society because everyone was working toward the same goal. Groups were not divided based on what god they worshipped. Instead, the fact that every person lived to please the same gods and wished to go to the same afterlife gave them something in common and brought them together as a community. Sumerians also practiced polytheism and believed that their priests were connected to the gods. The people thought it was their responsibility to keep the gods happy, and believed that if the gods were pleased, they would allow their people to be content as well (Doc 6). Because of their desire to please the gods, Sumerians performed every task to the best of their ability. For example, they invested lots of time and money into their ziggurats, or temples, because they only wanted to give their best to the gods. The Sumerians’ devotion to every task ensured that everything was done well and helped their civilization
People of the ancient world often had questions about their existence and how life and people came to be on earth. Most ancient people answered these questions through religion. The Sumerians were the first important group of people to inhabit Mesopotamia and they were known to practice a form of worship called polytheism, which is the worship of several gods. Mesopotamians associated different gods with natural events, emotions, and other occurrences. Their main deities included An (the god of the heavens), Enlil (Lord Storm), Enki (god of wisdom), and Nihursaga (the mother of all living things)(p.22). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled all of the events and occurrences in life. An ancient text called “Creation of Man by the Mother Goddess” (p.34) helps us understand how the M...
Religion in the ancient world played a vital role to society. Religion is the moral foundation of a civilization and it gives meaning, worth and determination. Even though not all religions encourage people to do what is right, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism tells those who practice to obey their deity or god and do what is ethical within their religion. In some religions, doing this was a way to reach afterlife so their souls could maintain a continuing existence. Each of these religions has their own way of encouraging such behavior, whether it is from a holy book, sacred principle, making a sacrifice or meditation.
Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and Egypt were both polytheistic. Their religions were polytheistic because Mesopotamians and Egyptians could not explain many things in that occurred in their lives. Therefore, they assumed that there are different gods for everything. This means that the religion had many gods for different things. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, priests were part of the upper class and were very important in the daily lives of civilians. Priests were part of the upper class because they were thought to have the ability to communicate with the gods. In Mesopotamia, the priests held the highest authority in the religious structure. Egyptian priests were not as powerful in government as Mesopotamian priests were, but they still had significant power. Egypt’s highest religious and military leader was encapsulated in the position of pharaoh. The pharaoh was at the top of all social classes and was considered to be a god-like figure.
The people thought of all the gods to be wise and would seek their guidance in certain situations. Their religious beliefs brought this respect, and in some ways fear, to honor the gods so they would be gracious in return. “Religious beliefs instilled fear of the gods, who could alter the landscape, and desire to appease them” (Bulliet, 19). The Mesopotamians believed that the gods were human like in form, but that if they were to be unhappy by something the people did, they could alter anything in their lives, and in some cases even kill
How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.
To Conclude, The Sumerians terrible answer to the terrible question is the belief the human race had been created to serve the gods. They held this belief to every aspect of their culture. The Sumerians showed this belief in their creation stories of their literature as seen in the “Atrahasis Poem”, and the “Enuma Elish” poem, the massive ziggurats of their Architecture, and their remaining artwork. The Sumerians were true believers of their gods and would have done anything for their gods. In their culture their religion was held to the highest of standards.