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Mesopotamian civilitation of architecture
Mesopotamian civilitation of architecture
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Both the Lion Hunt Relief and the Stele of Naram-Sin have similarities and also differences no matter the different cultures. Around 2350 BCE, Sumerian city-states began to fight for water and fertile land. By 2254 and 2218 the Akkadian empire stretched from Sumner in the south to Elam in the east and from Syria in the west to Nineveh in the north (Janson, H., & Davies, P. (2010)). The Akkadians conquered and unified Sumer with the Akkad people from the North, founded by Sargon, a charismatic figure of mythological dimensions.
The Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh uses warrior values to motivate himself and those around him. The Sumerians, which were Gilgamesh’s people, were located in Mesopotamia. The Sumerians expanded and developed the city of Uruk. The Sumerians survived due to their expansion of wheat and irrigation system.
In ancient Mesopotamia, kings were exalted and viewed as god-like beings. Gilgamesh was, in the eyes of his people, a poor leader who abused
Throughout the story of Odysseus’s journey told by Homer, there are many defining examples of interaction between humans and their gods. The gods primarily interact with humans by either siding with or against them. The gods would often side with humans since they wanted to help them such as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, helping Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, whereas the gods seeking revenge such as Poseidon, who sought revenge on Odysseus for slaying his son Polyphemus, would turn against them. While actual interaction between gods and humans seems to be a rather risible idea, there was much guidance given to humans by the gods throughout the Odyssey.
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.
When it comes to religion in Mesopotamia, the Epic of Gilgamesh shows a similar presentation of what the Greek and Roman authors would write a thousand years later. Being a polytheistic society, the gods were attached to natural phenomena and occurrences. Ishtar, as stated before, is the goddess of love and war; Ea, the god of water and the arts; Shamash, the god of the sun and his wife; the goddess of the moon. The Gilgamesh Epic compares to the Homeric epics.
In the Middle Kingdom, gods were believed to care for all of its people and not just the Divine Monarch (Wallech, 2013, p. 60). The rulers cared for the kingdom 's people which showed a sharp change in attitudes toward people. No longer was the ruler placed on a pedestal and treated like untouchable royalty. Treating citizens as a part of society assisted Egypt in growing and becoming successful in trade, writing and protecting itself. In Babylonia, the people were treated as sacred to the kingdom while outsiders were viewed as alien (Wallech, 2013, p.43).
Although the Mesopotamians and Egyptians of 3500 to 1500 B.C.E. were similar due to social hierarchy and power roles, nevertheless, the differences between Mesopotamians and Egyptians are evident with politics. This is because of the way Egyptians saw opposing countries as enemies and how Mesopotamians saw other countries as trading partners. The Mesopotamians viewed their priests as extremely powerful people, believing that priests were connected spiritually to the gods and worked hard to appease the gods. The priests would use this to their advantage. For example, selling amulets to citizens to ‘ward off evil spirits’ was just a business move for the priests to make more money and keep their power.
On the other hand, ancient Egyptians had a better relationship with their gods due to the predictive nature of the Nile river. In fact, the Egyptians often praised the Nile, for example, the Hymn to the Nile starts off by saying, “Hail to you, O Nile, that issues from the earth and comes to keep Egypt alive!... He that waters the meadows which Re created, in order to keep every kid alive” (Duiker and Spielvogel 17). The Hymn to the Nile has a completely different tone than The Epic of Gilgamesh or even the poem referred to previously. This is because the Egyptians lived in an environment that was far calmer than the Sumerians, so the gods must be happier since there was less disaster.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first epic poem to be written in ancient West Asia. It was written around the third millennium BCE in Mesopotamia by Sumerian people (Spodek, 127). The epic is based on actual an historical figure, a Sumerian king who reigned the city-state of Uruk around third millennium BCE. Ashurbanipal, the last Neo-Assyrian king who was literate, built a great library in his capital and preserved 20,000 tablets including the earliest complete version of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Spodek, 128). Sumerian attitudes towards gods, friendship, and the story of the great flood are revealed throughout the epic.
There were also gods of lesser things such as love and scribal arts. Looking at Mesopotamia’s geography, you can see how it might have served as inspiration for deities. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers surrounding Babylon could’ve been inspirations for the many water gods like Apsu, Enki, and Tiamat, as could the Persian Gulf located nearby. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods are depicted as harsh and wrathful because they decide to wipe out the human race with a flood just because they make too much noise (Ward p.20). The gods’ destructive nature is likely based off the chaos caused by flooding from the Tigris and Euphrates.
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).
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: 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 impact of invasive alien species Title: The Asian tiger mosquito’s effect on both the environment and human health The purpose of this research is to better understand invasive alien species, the main reason beyond their successful invasion in a non-native environment and also investigate their impact on the ecosystem. This research will have a close focus on the Asian tiger mosquito understand factors that have contributed to their spread globally and how they are affecting both the environment and human health.