Throughout the centuries, humans have been trying to explain the origins of the earth, the universe, and the origins of mankind. Every culture has established some form of myth in an effort to answer these questions. Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, all have left a profound legacy upon the modern world. Their civilizations continue to be studied in universities throughout the world to this very day, because of their powerful and organized government infrastructures; that was directly linked to their religions, their elaborate creation stories, and their controversial polytheistic lifestyles.
To begin with, Ancient Egypt was a progressive society, with an organized government structure and hierarchy. This system operated completely around the Pharaoh, and his citizens considered him to be a god incarnate. Given that kind of power, gave the Pharaoh complete control over the people. Under t, the vizers where next in the chain of command, they made sure that the taxes were collected. Assisting the vizier, were the scribes, who kept all the official documents. Next, the nobles and priests; nobles were usually related to the Pharaoh and were responsible for supervising the farmers that worked the land, and the Priests’ duties were to please the gods. Following, were the military personal, and at the bottom of the totem pole, were the craftsmen, farmers, and slaves. http://pyramiddaily.wordpress.com/egypt/the-social-pyramid-of-ancient-egypt-by-jeremy/, illustration of the Egyptian Social Pyramid:
Egypt was a predominately agricultural society, who constantly sought favor from the gods and goddess to ensure bountiful crops. Egyptians believed that if a famine the land, or suffered a natural disaster such as a flood; these ev...
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...r that which is hidden)”. Some scholars write that Amon became lonesome. As a result, he created his son Shu, god of the air, by spitting him out and gave life to his daughter Tefnut, goddess of moisture, by regurgitation. From Shu and Tefnut, Geb god of the earth and Nut, the sky goddess were born. Willis further writes, “The Ogdoad came together to form the cosmic egg from which the sun god hatched.” Comparatively, Greece’s god Chronos comes Aither (“upper air”), Erebos (“darkness) and Chaos (“the yawning void”). Willis writes “Chronos fashions an egg, from which is born Phanes, the creator of everything. Phanes has a daughter, Night, who becomes his consort.” Afterward, Night gives birth to Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (God of the sky). Ancient Greeks believed that their deities lived on Mount Olympus. Religion was a part of Egyptians everyday life and
The central government is a critical part of civilization. The government in Egypt was quite similar to the Olmec government, except Egyptian was more complex. In Egypt, the central government was called bureaucracy, an administrative organization which consisted of many governors. Pharaoh, the king in Egypt, had the highest position, controlling the other people in the government bureaucracy. The rulers in Egypt were regarded as the
Society-Peasants and farmers made up the bulk of the population however the land was owned by the pharaoh or one of the temples which were very wealthy. Peasants were also subjected to tax labor and were at times required to do public projects such as irrigation or construction
Many Gods were worshipped through paintings and murals, but others were worshiped through the stars and constellations in the sky. A famous constellation is Orion, which represented Osiris, the God of death, rebirth, after life and destruction. The stars in Egyptian mythology were represented by the Goddess of writing. Seshat, while the moon was either Thoth , the God of wisdom and writing , or Khons, a child God. The sun itself was represented by several Gods, depending on its position. A rising morning sun was Horus, the divine child of Osiris and Isis. The noon sun was Ra because of the sun’s great strength and power. When the sun sets at the end of the day, produces a red color which represents and considered to be the blood from
Creation stories have profound effects on humans. Those associated with ancient cultures/civilizations aim to ensure the successful survival or well-being of themselves and that particular culture/civilization of their association, but not all are beneficial, prosperous, or fortunate. Mesopotamia’s “The Gilgamesh Epic”, Egypt’s “Hymn to the Nile-Documents”, and Mesoamerica’s Mayan and Aztec creation stories/religion are influential to establishing significant relationships within society, whether that is between humans and nature or humans and their “god(s).”
“Theogony” which means “birth of the gods,” a poem written by Hesiod meant to be sung to tell the story of how the Olympian gods and Zeus came to rule over all of the earth/ heaven and it’s inhabitants. First there was Chaos, a yawning void where Gaia (Earth), Tartaros (Hell) and a few other fundamental chief deities came from. Through parthenogenesis, Ouranos (Heaven) came from Gaia (Earth). Gaia and Ouranos had a sacred marriage, which was a sacred wedding of the heaven and earth. From this sacred marriage came the children of Gaia and Ouranos, better known as the Titans. Ouranos found his offspring to be annoying and monstrousness. He hated his children and decided to hide them away in earth and did not allow them to ever see the light of day. Gaia was not pleased with Ouranos’ actions. Hiding her children within her brought her great discomfort. Gaia tried to have all her hidden children rebel against their father but the only one brav...
Although there are few religions that still consider the ways of the ancient Egyptian culture important, they are still out there. They are influenced every day by the history, which permeates their rituals, scriptures, and more. Furthermore, Egypt’s political influence may be outdated and not the clearest system, but it led the way for further development and refinement for future use. Without the influence of Egypt, we would not be the civilization that we are
Like the Greek Theogony, the creation of the world in the Enuma Elish begins with the universe in a formless state, from which the primary gods emerge. In the Enuma Elish, “[w]hen the skies above were not yet named [n]or earth below pronounced by name, Apsu, the first one, their begetter, [a]nd maker Tiamat, who bore them all,… mixed their waters together…[t]hen gods were born within them.” Apsu, which represents fresh water, and Tiamat, who represents salt water and is later referred to as “earth mother,” are both born from the primordial waters and are the first rulers of the gods. In the Theogony, it is stated that “at first Chaos came to be,” implying that at some point in time he did not exist. In the ancient near east, the primordial waters were waters that existed at the beginning of, or even before, creation that were associated with serpents and chaos. Hence, even though chaos in Greek means “chams” or “empty space,” the primordial god Chaos can be equated with the primordial waters. “Next wide-bossomed Earth (Gaia) [came to be]…and dim Tartarus…and Eros...And Earth first bare starry Heaven…” As we can see, while both myths begin with the primordial deities, the Theogony ...
Ancient Egypt was a single tightly organized state for much of its history (Centanni, n.d.). In all its phases, the Egyptian government was led by the pharaoh. The pharaoh was held to be descended from gods, with the power to assure success and control the rituals that assured the flow of the Nile and the fertility derived from irrigation. Wanting gods to favor Egypt, the entire population of people did not hesitate to carry out laws that the pharaoh placed upon them. Egypt’s pharaohs claimed additional power and authority as actual incarnations of the gods
The early Dynastic Period was Egypt?s era of initial unification and state building under the guidelines of its first three royal dynasties. In the years between 2660 and 2180 B. C. the basic marks of the cultures of Egypt arose. Egypt was one kingdom and it was divided into provinces, or the names of provinces. Ruling over the kingdom was a pharaoh, who was not only a king but was also seen as a god. Provinces were ruled by nomarchs better known as provincial governors. The Egyptians devised themselves into classes, upper class, middle class, and a lower class. The pharaoh and his family were at the top of the Egyptian class system. People could move from one class to another depending on their situations.
Egyptians cherished family life the way we cherish food or money. Children were considered a blessing. They prayed for them and used magic to have children, but if a couple could not conceive they adopted. Men were the head of the household and the oldest son inherited everything of the father’s. Egyptian women were to obey their fathers and husbands, but were equal in many other ways. For example, women could have jobs, some rights in court cases, and they were able to own land. Women were also allowed to own businesses. Only noble women, however, could be priestesses. The women raised the children and took care of the house. Wealthy families would hire maids and nannies to do such things. Divorce was not common in Ancient Egypt, though it was an option. Problems were talked about between families, and if they could not be settled a divorce would take place. Some women became rulers but only in secret. The only woman who ruled as a pharaoh in the open was Queen Hatsheput. Ordinary men normally had one wife, while pharaohs and kings had several. Most marriages were arranged by parents. Most girls married at age twelve while boys were usually a little older.
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...
Imagine being in ancient Egypt, being a priest and in the middle of the daily ritual. You are in you full silk outfit with papyrus sandals. This is what it was like for ancient Egypt priests and their rituals. In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh and the gods were at the top of the social class pyramid. Under them, there were priests, government officials and scribes.
Ancient Egyptians tried to understand their place in the universe. This is why their mythology is centered on nature such as the earth, sky, moon, sun, stars, and the Nile River. There are many Egyptian myths of creation, but the Heliopolitan Tradition, Hermopolitan Ogdoad, and the Memphite Theology are the most commonly used. They all have some common elements and gods. For example, many of t...
‘In the beginning there was only water, a chaos of churning, bubbling water, this is what the Egyptians called Nu or Nun. It was out of Nu that everything began. As with the Nile, each year the inundation no doubt caused chaos to all creatures living on the land, so this represents Nu. Eventually the floods would recede and out of the chaos of water would emerge a hill of dry land, one at first, then more. On this first dry hilltop, on the first day came the first sunrise.’ This is how the ancient Egyptians explain the beginning of their universe and placement in the cosmos.
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.