Influence of Ancient Civilizations on Today's World

Civilizations have been around for hundreds of thousand years. Before civilizations were formed, humans spent most of their time moving from place to place, hunting for food, and learning how to build shelter for themselves from wild animals. Slowly, people started to settle down in one place. Civilizations formed and they were some of the most influential civilizations on the world today. The Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks, and Roman have connected the relationships with leaders and nature. The sources written during these times show how the civilizations influenced our world today.

“The Story of Isis and Osiris” is a story of the Egyptian pharaoh, Osiris, and his wife, Isis. These two rulers bring civilization to their people through agriculture.

Osiris noticed his people were savage and cruel to one another. In order for them to gain control over their people, Isis “discovered the grain of both wheat and barley, which grew wild over the land with the other plants” (Story of Isis and Osiris). The discovery of wheat and barley is something that is used every day. Without the discovery of wheat and barley, we would not have bread, crackers, cakes, muffins, stuff that most people eat throughout their day. Barley is also commonly known in alcoholic beverages, especially beer. Beer is the most widely consumed alcohol in the world. Aside from wheat and barley, “Osiris taught them how to plant the seeds when the Nile had risen in the yearly inundation and sunk again leaving fresh fertile mud over the fields; how to tend and water the crops; how to cut the corn when it was ripe, and how to thresh the grain on the threshing floors, dry it and grind it to flour and make it into bread” (Story of Isis and Osiris). Planting seeds, watering the crops, cutting the corn, and prepping the grain to be made into bread are skills still used by farmers. “He showed them also how to plant vines and make the grapes into wine” (Story of Isis and Osiris). The production of wine during the ancient times is still used to make wine today. Wine was a common drink to have during a dinner or celebration in ancient Egypt and it is still used during those events.
The Story of the Flood from Genesis chapters 6-8 displays the relationship between God and the Hebrews. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of human beings was on earth, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, the Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved” (Genesis, Ch.6 p. 1). God is saying that he does not like the humans he created on earth because they are corrupted with materialistic things and evil thoughts. This is still something that is happening in our world today. Some people are so self-absorbed with their materialistic possessions and the things they want. None of that should matter to people and God just wants the Hebrews to appreciate life and that is something we still struggle with in today’s society. God is angered with his people, so he sends a flood to wipe them all off the earth. His reason was “the earth was corrupt in the view of God and full of lawlessness” (Genesis, Ch.6 p. 2). This is a very relevant statement to make for the world today. Many people believe that the “earth” is corrupted. What this has influenced is how corrupt and unjust our society has become. Over the years, politics and society have teamed up and corrupted all forms of government. We are a nation with laws, and sometimes it feels like the world has no laws that people follow. People started to believe that God is the cause for all natural disasters in the world because he caused a great flood to wipe out the world. This is true in today’s society because whenever a tragic natural disaster happens in the world, people will ask why did God allow them and what is there to learn from them. These disasters show us the uncertainty of life. Tragic things happen every day and our world does not know how to respond to these things but blame God.
“The Homeric Hymn to Demeter” is a story about Demeter and her daughter Persephone.

It shows how Demeter, the goddess of harvest and agriculture, presides over the grains of the earth once her daughter is taken to live with Hades in the underworld. Zeus, Persephone’s father, was on board with Hades idea to have Persephone for himself. Zeus came to an agreement with Demeter, “every time the season came round, she would spend a third portion of the year in the realms of the dark mist underneath, and the other two thirds in the company of her mother and the other immortals” (Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 8) Everyone is suffering from the time that Persephone goes to the underworld and this has influenced our world today. The 3 months she will be with Hades is the world’s understanding of winter. Winter is a time when nothing grows and the grains are dead and nothing is prospering. But when Persephone returns to her mother, this is our world’s understanding of springtime. Everything starts to grow during the springtime and it is a lively time to prosper and grow. The myth shows how the god Demeter uses her power over the people which results in the world understanding the seasons

changing.
“The Allegory of the Cave” shows the effects on people who are trying to find the true nature of things in the world.

Several prisoners are chained in a cave and they cannot move from the wall. They only can see figures that move behind the wall and this has composed their entire reality. We are living in a world where ever one has some different opinions, judgments, and ideology from other people. Everyone has formed their own perspective of the world we live. “The Allegory of the Cave” shows that we can relate to the prisoners because our view, like them, is based on experience. Most of our ideas and beliefs are based on things we have heard from others or through social media. TVs and the internet are a big part of how people observe the world. This has influenced the way people think and see the world for

themselves.
Pliny, a Roman citizen and governor, wrote a letter to Trajan which is now known as “Letters.” Pliny is asking Emperor Trajan for help on dealing with the Christians. Fellow Romans are accusing Christians and Pliny asks how he should treat them. “If a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished” (Letters, 1). Pliny does not understand how they can be punished for simply being called a Christian. If people respond to being a Christian, they will be persecuted. This has influenced our religious world. Many people of different religions are being prosecuted for their different beliefs. Society is alienating many religions, not just Christianity.
The ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome have all contributed works from these time periods that have helped influence our world today. “The Story of Isis and Osiris” introduced wheat and barley used for bread, and methods from tending crops to the production of wine. The Story of the Flood from Genesis chapters 6-8 relates to the idea people in the world believe that God causes natural disasters in the world. “The Homeric Hymn to Demeter” is a myth that explains to the world why the seasons change. “The Allegory of the Cave” helps us to realize that everyone in the world has a different perspective on things. And finally, Pliny’s Letter to Emperor Trajan about the Christians is still a concern in the world because many religions are facing persecution for their beliefs. These civilizations and primary sources have helped shape the world from ancient times to the very present.