Essay Question #1: Discuss the relationship between the world of gods and the world of men as perceived by the Sumerians, the Egyptians and the Hebrews. Evolutions of civilizations can occur because of differences in people's religion, culture, or geographic setting of the settlement. The relationship between the world of the gods and that of men was perceived differently by the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Hebrew ancient civilizations. This is demonstrated by the way each group viewed the process of creation. They had different thoughts on the creation of their gods, the universe and of man. This essay will discuss the relationship between humans and their gods in three different ancient civilizations: Sumerian, Egyptian and Hebrew. The Sumerians lived in a harsh climate. They were located between two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris. The fertile crescent, as it was called, between the two rivers was prone to unpredictable flooding. This often resulted in the ruination of crops causing the people of Mesopotamia to move around in search of food. Due to these harsh conditions they perceived their gods as powerful and merciless. They believed their gods created man for the sole purpose of serving them so that the gods could rest. The Sumerians would build large temples called Ziggurats for their gods to live in. They appointed high priests to run the community and converse with the gods. The Sumerians believed in a hierarchy of the gods which is discussed in the Akkadian Creation Myth,. The Akkadian Creation Myth would be similar to the present day Christian bible to the Sumerians. It tells about the first gods Aspu (the primordial waters under the earth) and Tiamat (the personification of the sea) and their succession by their own offspring. Their offspring were younger and stronger than the older gods. An example of this is shown in Marduk's succession. The Sumerians believed that the abilities they had to accomplish the things they did were given to them by their gods, things such as building the Ziggurats.
