Essay Egypt and Mesopotamia: Similarities and Differences in Religion

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Most societies that developed in ancient civilizations were centered around their belief systems. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were no different in this sense. Both civilizations were polytheistic and built elaborate temples to praise their gods. Additionally, the leaders in both regions were believed to be related to the gods because of the great power they held and the wealth under their control. However, the Mesopotamians had a pessimistic outlook on life because of the unpredictability of their environment. The Egyptians, on the other hand, had an optimistic outlook because the Nile River inundated their region regularly, which could be predicted by the stars. The similarities and differences in the religions of these two …show more content…
The Mesopotamians beliefs arose because their region had an unstable environment. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers often overflowed their banks in flash floods, ruining farmland and houses as well as killing people and livestock. The environment also varied when they had droughts that led to famines and then regular rainfall which gave them food surpluses. In addition, the major factor that ended this civilization was the environmental decline because of over farming which led to an ecological disaster that still plagues this region to this day. The Egyptians, on the other hand, believed that their gods were predictable because their environment was very unsurprising. They could forecast the inundation of the Nile River by looking at the stars. As a result, they believed the gods were telling them things through the stars. Therefore, their priests often looked to the heavens for answers, blending science into their religion and resulting in a certain amount of control over their lives. But because everything that happened was attributed to the gods, the outlook on life for both societies was closely linked to the region they lived and the problems that were encountered.

The gods were central to both Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies. The architecture of both regions reflected the religious symbols that were
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