Egypt V.S Mesopotamia
By Molly
Similarities:
Both religions included a panoply of gods and goddesses. In the case of Egypt, there were supreme gods such as the sun god Ra, Amon, and Osiris. Each male god had a female goddess consort. Osiris, the god of the dead and of fertility, was married to Isis, the goddess of magic and love. They had a son, named Horus. The Mesopotamian cultures had religions that had many gods and goddesses as well. Male and female divinities, gods and goddesses of war. Ishtar is a major divinity in Mesopotamian religions.
Another similarity between the major culture areas religions is that their gods and goddesses often have a human form, and an aminal form. Sometimes, the two are combined. For example, Horus, the son of Osiris, can be shown as a hawk, or as a man with the head of a hawk. There are Assyrian gods and goddesses that are also of human form with animal heads.
Differences between the religions is the idea of death and resurrection for all people, including common people, was possible in ancient Egypt, but not generally so in Mesopotamian religions. Early on in Egyptian history, only the king, or pharaoh, could resurrect from the dead and live forever. That is why the Egyptians mummified their dead. Later, even the common man wanted his body to be preserved as a home for the spirit, who would live on in the afterlife. This was not possible for the average Mesopotamian.
Egyptian religion was less likely to be influenced by the outside world. Mesopotamia is at the crossroads of many different peoples and cultures. Changes in the Mesopotamian religions was much more likely, and more common, than in Egypt.
By Molly
Similarities:
Both religions included a panoply of gods and goddesses. In the case of Egypt, there were supreme gods such as the sun god Ra, Amon, and Osiris. Each male god had a female goddess consort. Osiris, the god of the dead and of fertility, was married to Isis, the goddess of magic and love. They had a son, named Horus. The Mesopotamian cultures had religions that had many gods and goddesses as well. Male and female divinities, gods and goddesses of war. Ishtar is a major divinity in Mesopotamian religions.
Another similarity between the major culture areas religions is that their gods and goddesses often have a human form, and an aminal form. Sometimes, the two are combined. For example, Horus, the son of Osiris, can be shown as a hawk, or as a man with the head of a hawk. There are Assyrian gods and goddesses that are also of human form with animal heads.
Differences between the religions is the idea of death and resurrection for all people, including common people, was possible in ancient Egypt, but not generally so in Mesopotamian religions. Early on in Egyptian history, only the king, or pharaoh, could resurrect from the dead and live forever. That is why the Egyptians mummified their dead. Later, even the common man wanted his body to be preserved as a home for the spirit, who would live on in the afterlife. This was not possible for the average Mesopotamian.
Egyptian religion was less likely to be influenced by the outside world. Mesopotamia is at the crossroads of many different peoples and cultures. Changes in the Mesopotamian religions was much more likely, and more common, than in Egypt.
Key differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia:
1) Very different cultures: Egypt developed in relative isolation from the rest of the ancient Near East. Thus, cultural evolution resulted in a totally unique civilization, without influence from the outside.
Mesopotamia was a multicultural society, with Sumer and Akkad, Elam and Babylon, Assyria, Mitanni, and others all vying for supremacy.
2) Language groups: The Semetic and Hurrian languages, and later, Indo-European groups made for a linguistic soup in Mesopotamia.
Egypt had more ties with Africa as well as Semetic groups.
This is manifested mainly in the very different writing forms of the two areas.
3) Warfare and the Wheel: The cities of Mesopotamia were walled, to protect themselves from conquest from their neighbors. Warfare developed and became more sophisticated in Mesopotamia. The wheel was developed in Mesopotamia, but the Egyptians never invented it! The Hyksos, who invaded Egypt about 1750 BC, introduced both the wheel and the horse, in the form of the chariot.
Egypt developed rather late in terms of the art of war.
4) monumental architecture and art
Egypt's art and architecture are very different from Mesopotamia. From pyramids to temples, rigid pharaohs to flowing art of Amarna, Egypt's style was totally different from Mesopotamia's.
5) Historical longevity: Ancient Egypt had a longer, continuous, identifiably Egyptian civilization than Mesopotamia's.
1) Very different cultures: Egypt developed in relative isolation from the rest of the ancient Near East. Thus, cultural evolution resulted in a totally unique civilization, without influence from the outside.
Mesopotamia was a multicultural society, with Sumer and Akkad, Elam and Babylon, Assyria, Mitanni, and others all vying for supremacy.
2) Language groups: The Semetic and Hurrian languages, and later, Indo-European groups made for a linguistic soup in Mesopotamia.
Egypt had more ties with Africa as well as Semetic groups.
This is manifested mainly in the very different writing forms of the two areas.
3) Warfare and the Wheel: The cities of Mesopotamia were walled, to protect themselves from conquest from their neighbors. Warfare developed and became more sophisticated in Mesopotamia. The wheel was developed in Mesopotamia, but the Egyptians never invented it! The Hyksos, who invaded Egypt about 1750 BC, introduced both the wheel and the horse, in the form of the chariot.
Egypt developed rather late in terms of the art of war.
4) monumental architecture and art
Egypt's art and architecture are very different from Mesopotamia. From pyramids to temples, rigid pharaohs to flowing art of Amarna, Egypt's style was totally different from Mesopotamia's.
5) Historical longevity: Ancient Egypt had a longer, continuous, identifiably Egyptian civilization than Mesopotamia's.