Mesopotamia/Egypt Paragraph Outline

Women in early civilizations located in Mesopotamia and Egypt lived very similar but also disparate lives. At the start of agricultural civilizations, women began venturing out from gathering and taking care of the children, becoming house takers and farmers. Overall, women roles in Mesopotamia and Egypt are quite similar. The similarities between women in Mesopotamia and Egypt relate to the Hammurabi law.

The religion in the Ancient Greek was polytheistic, in other words, Greeks believed in many Gods. The Greek Gods, were very important for the people who lived in the ancient Greek. The Gods were like humans, they behaved like humans and their body and face were also exactly like a person. The Gods get married, had children, they were good or bad, and lived on Mount Olympus. There was one God that was the most important: Zeus, who was the Supreme Ruler of the Gods, he was also the lord of the sky and the god of the rain.

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.

Although you might think Mesopotamia and Egypt are very similar, they also are very different. The reason for similarities and differences between these two civilizations are because of political, economic, religious, social, arts, and geography reasons. All these factors affect the culture of these two cities. Let’s analyze the differences and similarities between these two civilizations.

The Greeks needed to have a reason to explain their beliefs, they truly believed everything was controlled by a greater power. All living things must be controlled by different gods. The belief in the many Gods provided a feeling of security. Ancient Greeks were very spiritual and also philosophical. Most Greek Gods have human personality and appearances.

"Hubris calls for nemesis, and in one form or another it 's going to get it, not as a punishment from outside but as the completion of a pattern already started," Mary Midgley, a British philosopher (Brainy Quotes). The cycle of hubris has been the same since the time of Homer and Thucydides. It starts with an important figure, either political or mythological, elevating themselves to the level of the Greek gods. Because of this excess pride, the gods then level this figure back to earth with tragedy more often than not.

In the Odyssey, I feel as if the Gods role was to function more as spiritual guides and as support for the human of choice. An example being Athena reuniting Odessyus and his son after 20 years, Hermes warning Odysseus of Circes witchcraft, and Circes giving him directions. Yet, I also feel as if they punish for poor behavior as well.

Ancient Egypt was a complex civilization because it had all of the important indicators for a complex society. Indicators started with the hunting and gathering. Then they started settling on river valleys such as the Nile because it was fertile farming land. They begin to farm. This made the population go up because they were selling more goods.

The Greek Gods: Tyranny in Exchange for Power Throughout the evolution of society, one idea has stayed the same. That is the belief that we need to consistently be the best and the most powerful. We use this as a measure of self-worth and the foundation of the social hierarchy. The hierarchical nature of society drives this motivation of people to do everything it takes to reach the top. Our commitment can be so incredibly devout that we lose more than we gain on the search for this sense of power.

In ancient Greece religion was an important facet of everyday life as well as an essential aspect of warfare and battle. Soldiers in ancient Greece frequently sought support from the deities to ensure a safe and conclusive victory through ritual sacrifice. Sometimes warriors even had to sacrifice multiple times to ensure support, even if this meant postponing battle. Religion did not only dictate the time in which one could begin a battle, but times in which battles could not be fought at all, that is during festivals and religious games. Religion also dictated spaces in which battles could not be fought, in holy sites such as temples, and spaces in which battles should be fought, something that could be decided through the interpretation of religious prophecies.