The main gods then created less powerful gods who ruled different aspects of the Earth like Utu and Nanna, gods of the sun and moon, respectively. Not knowing much on how the world worked, religion filled in the blanks for people living in Mesopotamia. Their gods had divine ruling and conducted every natural action -- including forces of nature, life and death, good and evil etc. Ziggurat, a local temple, was where everyone met to praise the gods.
The Mesopotamian and Hebrew societies lived in two very distinct sphere of influence, as they were Polytheist and monotheist, respectably. This difference ensured that each society would operate using different methods. The Gods ruling over the Mesopotamian people were extremely negative toward their subjects. Each group of Mesopotamians from the Sumerians to the Babylonians had different names for their gods; however, the gods operated in similar roles. Mesopotamian gods acted with the same feelings, attitudes, and dispositions as humans.
Both the Mesopotamians and Chavin had polytheistic beliefs. The Mesopotamians built their cities around temples, which is similar to what the Chavin did. This centralized everything around worshiping their gods. They had high status level priests that were responsible for appeasing the gods in favor of themselves and other people in their society. The Mesopotamians would ask their gods for rain to help their crops because they believed that their deities controlled the climate.
The people of Mesopotamia ( Tigris and Euphrates River Valley), and the Nile River Valley had a very strong belief in polytheism. The belief in a religion called polytheism, or the belief of many gods not just one in particular. The Egyptians worshipped as many as 2,000 gods, but the chief god was known as Ra the sun god,
The statement Friar Lawrence made about the “two opposing camps” of good and evil in all living things is very true not only in this story, but in life as well. Anything can have two sides, both good and bad. In the book, we see many different perspectives shown from different people and events. Mercutio was shown to be gentle, kind, and peaceful, never liked to get into fights or arguments with the Capulets was later caught up in a fight with Tybalt in which he was killed.
This story tells us that Sumerian art was quite complicated. The sumerians most frequently used material was clay where writing was engraved. Craftsmanship was shown, but along with that, strong belief of God is projected as well. Gilgamesh associates with various gods and also, there were conversations of Gilgamesh being formed by one. The public further believed that the gods were from a reptilian nature.
In the “Epic of Gilgamesh” and “The Odyssey” by Homer, all the gods are portrayed as being very near, and having a very close relationship with the mortals. The authors showed this through their interactions, even though each epic portrayed a unique mode of interaction between the gods and the mortals. For instance, in the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” this interactions are mostly indirect, whereas in Homer’s Odyssey, they are direct. Another thing the authors tried to show is that the gods are limited in their powers, at least some of them. The authors portrayed this through the gods favoring or disfavoring certain mortals.
The rivers that these civilizations were built around directly impacted the way they viewed their gods. The Nile was a very strong and reliable river. It flooded annually blessing the Ancient Egyptians with a richer agriculture then Ancient Mesopotamians. (pg 17) Because of this the Egyptians viewed their gods as reliable beings who wanted to help them.
The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible have a few similar events and historians think that they may refer to the same event. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible share a similar event, the flood, and a similar character, the serpent. Though there are still several distinctions between the two stories. The Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh both contain a serpent as one of the less significant characters.
The three early civilizations; the Mesopotamians, the Hebrews, and the Greeks, believed in different deities. All of their gods were all similar yet very different from one another. The Mesopotamian and Greek civilizations were polytheistic, believing in many gods. The Hebrew civilizations were monotheistic, believing in only one god. Mesopotamians relationship with their gods, was all about serving their gods.
They associated each of their gods with a different aspect of life or nature. For example Zeus was the king of the gods, Athena was the goddess of wisdom, Dionysus was the god of wine, and the list goes on. The ancient Greeks erected massive temples to these gods for worship. Each god or goddess had his or her own temple for sacrifices or offerings. They Greeks believed sacrifice was necessary to appease the gods and keep everyday life fruitful and peaceful.
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Relevant Truth for Today’s Society The Epic of Gilgamesh is set in Uruk, an ancient city of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer, now modern-day Iraq. The epic was said to be written by Sin-liqe-unninni, but it is based on five earlier Sumerian poems with no known author. The piece was difficult to translate, and there are two main version for the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the result of the environment during the time the piece was being written.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story known to mankind, being written on Sumerian clay almost five thousand years ago (Garone). Since the story was originally known orally, the culture and themes from The Epic of Gilgamesh must have existed long before it was finally inscribed (Mark 4). Having known this, the cultures and themes can be compared to today’s society, discovering about how they have shifted and evolved, and also observe how they are similar. The ancient days of Gilgamesh has brought culture that has greatly influenced today’s society. Because Gilgamesh was set around the time of late Babylonian or early Sumerian society, the Babylonian and Sumerian cultures also play a role in shaping the world into what is is today (Mark).
Each god and goddess had a unique/specific purpose, much like the roman and Greek mythology. For example: Ra, the god of the sun; Isis, the goddess of nature and magic; Horus, the god of war; and Osiris, the god of the dead (source 5). The gods and goddesses were worshipped in temples run by the priests, that were not open to the public. Due to this the citizens would have small statues to worship the gods. The citizens would also wear charms and amulets for protection against evil, according to source 5.
The Mesopotamian culture had religions consisting of numerous divine beings and goddesses too. Ishtar is a major deity in Mesopotamian religions. Furthermore, another similarity between the religions is that their divine beings and goddesses were formed
