Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mesopotamia

Egypt and Mesopotamia are both considered the “cradles of Western civilization”. These two civilizations helped shape Western and European cultures, though Egypt has slightly a lesser impact than Mesopotamia, which is considered the true origin of Western civilization. These influences have helped set what historians consider “the West”, both past and present, apart from other civilizations around the world. Though Egypt and Mesopotamia both had a profound impact and seem very similar, these two cultures were actually quite different. The environments these two civilizations developed in and around shaped everything from the people’s religion to the roles men and women played in society.
The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is considered …show more content…
The Egyptians were polytheistic, meaning that they worshiped more than one god. These gods controlled nature and great emphasis was placed on the afterlife. The pharaoh was believed to be an extension of the gods and was an all-powerful and divine ruler. There was not a distinct separation between the gods and the people. The Mesopotamians also worshiped many gods. They believed these gods were immortal and more powerful than humans but also had human faults and emotions. The please the gods and bring good fortune and happiness, the people would build shrines and sing chants. The people, even the king, and the gods were completely separate and the Mesopotamians did not expect to understand their …show more content…
The nobles consisted of the king and his family, powerful officials, and chief priests. The clients worked for the nobles in exchange for land and a place to live. The commoners were completely free people who owned their own land. The bottom of the totem pole consisted of the slaves. Many slaves were either prisoners or trying to repay a debt. Though their masters owned them, they could still make money and participate in trade. The Egyptians seemed to have a larger gap in their social system, in which the main classes were the wealthy, poorer people, and the extremely poor. The wealthy lived in beautiful homes and could afford slaves and all of the amenities. The poorer people often lived in very small homes. The extremely poor were forced to live in the same place their animals were kept. Slaves were also common. Some were prisoners or criminals. Others were working to repay a debt but were required to be freed after three years. They could also trade and could buy their freedom if