Social Divisions In Ancient Civilizations

Social divisions throughout time have existed in civilizations. These social structures create a system where people are organized into different socio-economic classes. The structure of human societies after the Neolithic Revolution have been clearly aligned in a Social Pyramid. Many factors influence and affect the divisions of class within societies. First, the type of government affected the social structure by dividing the people into that upper ruling rich class and a lower merchant/peasant class. In civilizations such as the Egyptians, they were a theocracy and at the top of a Social Pyramid there was the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh dominated over all other classes in the civilization, enforced rules, and protected it from any invaders. Having …show more content…
Many practice religion as a form of guidance, hope or security throughout one’s lifetime. The Egyptians were polytheistic believers (polytheistic meaning more than one god). They often prayed in temples in order to please the gods. The Pharaoh was believed to be a descended from the gods and was mediating between the lower classes and the gods. It was an important goal in life to have your soul live after death. In this case, Pharaoh’s were highly looked up to. If it wasn’t the Pharaoh, it was usually those associated with the temples. Like priests. Priests did not oversee or look after the people. Though priests were important because they were the only one’s who could approach the sacred areas in the temple by the statues. Me not being a religious person effects my complete understanding of religion, but I don’t look down upon it. I believe that because it was earlier in time when humans knew very little about our planet and it’s reasons for things, religion was the next best answer. Lower classes more than likely were drawn into it because of the many opportunities and a good life it promised. Real or not it’s still practiced widely and most likely will continue to