Mesopotamia

The features of the Homeric gods will be discussed in this essay. The gods being that of Homers’ found in the Iliad, books I, IX, XVI and XXIV. With the help of G.M.A Grube’s article The Gods of Homer in which he presents his ideas on the gods of Homer and how their features and actions are depicted as humanlike throughout the epic. The human nature of gods in Iliad is made visible from their weakness to act out their emotions. Homer portrayed the gods as manipulative individuals that caused…

The Mayans It is very interesting and intriguing to study history and ancient civilization. Though we may not know all of the answers to different cultures in History, many artifacts from many different cultures were left behind to try to tell a story or leave a message for our society today. As I studied the history of the Mayan civilization, it was interesting to learn what they left behind to be recognized today. They were a group of Indian people that had a great history behind their…

Many of the civilizations we have today grew out of the advent of agriculture. It transcended the way of human life and changed the way we would live forever. Agriculture gave rise to stable societies; it made it possible for a massive increase in population, allowed for material progress, and enabled the spread of knowledge. First people began to used primitive stones tools in 400,000 B.C.E. Then from 400,000 to 11,000 B.C.E., the Paleolithic period, people survived as nomads. From 11,000 to…

In the era of early civilizations, a nation’s safety and success was largely dependent on their location and nearby geographical features. Susceptibility to invasions by other empires and the welfare of agriculture were just some issues that posed a threat to those with unfortunate geographical locations. Some were lucky, with easy access to trade and the protection of natural barriers. Geography also played a large role in cultural diffusion and how different regions interacted with each other.…

Horus Narmer is usually considered the first king of the 1st Dynasty, perhaps even the first to have ruled over the whole of Egypt, or as the last king of the Predynastic Period. He is one of the first Egyptian kings to have left some historical records. Very little is known about the king we call Horus Narmer. Even the reading and meaning of his name are not certain. What we do know is that his name has been found throughout Egypt, which is sometimes interpreted that Narmer was the first king…

Also in the Nazca desert of Peru lay a series of geoglyph lines, called the Nazca Lines, which can only be seen from the sky. The Nazca lines are believed to have been created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD. The hundreds of figures range from simple lines to complex configurations of hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, orcas, and lizards. The largest of these figures are over 660 feet (200m) across. The local legend involves the landing of strange men near Ecuador.…

The Hymn to the Aten is a poem written by pharaoh Amenhotep IV who, around 1346 BC in Egypt, created a monotheistic kingdom worshipping the god Aten, god of the sun disk. Amenhotep’s poem is one of praise for Aten as he claims that the god has created life for all and everything that exists on Earth, making him superior to all the other gods. The sun is a very powerful object as it not only provides light to the world but it is also a mean of survival. It appears odd that ruler Amenhotep would…

The Drums The drummer and the drums are the very backbone of many bands and orchestras. If the drummer is weak and offbeat, most of the time the band will become astray. Since the drums and the drummer give the backbone for the other players they are the anchor for the band. So how has the drums turned from some pig skin on a circular piece of wood to a whole drum kit used to anchor a band. The first drums to be found have been from the ancient Chinese civilisations. They are also believed…

Storytelling is ubiquitous across human cultures. There is evidence of longstanding oral tradition through which narratives have been passed down for thousands of years. With the invention of written language came the story’s divergence into two main types, which evolved into the familiar literary and oral formats of modern day. There is no doubt that these two styles share a common ancestor, so to speak, and that they both serve the same basic purpose of transmitting information in a logical…

Residing in Babylon has been tied to my families history for decades. Us residents, our families, and ancestors have experienced first hand the impact a ruler can have on his subordinates. With Prince Hammurabi acquiring the throne through hereditary rule, he composed 282 lex talionis. I support Hammurabi to be a sincere ruler of justice and piety, because in my opinion, due to the fact that within the literature, Hammurabi enforces equality within the social classes through new methods of…