Abdoulaie Abdoulaye Instructor: 08/06/10 A Look into Two Ancient Cultures In the ancient days, when cultures, as well

as civilizations were developing, many things came to be known as options for later cultures. Civilizations had different ways of doing things and therefore each of their cultures differed considerably. These different types of cultures formed into what we have today as world cultures, all different with their own unique essence. I will examine two cultures, Ancient Egyptian culture, and Ancient Greek culture. These two great civilizations have had a continuous history over thousands of years and both have evolved into the diverse cultures we see today. I will take a glimpse into the past and write about the customs, behaviors, and beliefs of these cultures. Egyptians were loyal to their gods and to their pharaohs who were gods on earth, as established by their enthusiasm to build the pyramids for the safe means of access of their leaders into the next world. Understanding the development and belief system they had with the physical and afterlife, you would have to know a little bit about the location of the area, which the Egyptians began to rise. The villages of ancient Egypt were found all along the Nile. The Egyptians were skillful farmers. They knew the Nile would flood each year and bring new life and rich grain. The Nile's flooding was expected and left rich new deposits of mud for new crops, making irrigation easy to plan. A basic irrigation system allowed the floodwaters to flow gently into each field, cleansing and renewing the earth each year. Egyptian people would then look to nature to explain the

unexplainable. Egyptian gods were depicted as wise, caring, predictable, and forgiving, just as the Nile was predictable and life sustaining. The Egyptian people thought the world was created by super beings using earth, wind and fire. This was called "The Theology of Heliopolis". The Theology of Heliopolis is the belief that a water god called Nu, who gave birth to the sun god Ra, who then created his wife Tefnut, who made the rain. Together, they created Seb, God of the Earth, and Nat, the Goddess of the Sky. Seb and Nat were the parents of Osiris who later became the ruler of the underworld, Isis, Set and Nepthys. Ra is given credit for creating the heavens and earth and all creatures. Ra is also said to have created man from his eye, and Ra became the first king on earth. The idea that the god Ra was the first king is the seed for the belief that a Pharaoh was both King and god. After Ra gave up his kingship to ride across the sky, Osiris became king with Isis as his queen. Osiris is recognized with teaching men to be civilized, and for teaching mankind to worship the gods and to build temples. Almost every god and goddess was associated with one or more animals and in some instances might appear in the form of their chosen animal-familiar. This was called anthropomorphic. Another Egyptian link from the physical world to the supernatural is the pyramid. The pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom Period. The Egyptians had been preserving the remains of their dead long before the building of the great pyramids. They believed that a person's soul "Ka" could live after the death of the body. But, the Ka needed a place to be, so the body was conserved and supplied with the belongings it would need on its journey to the "land of shadows." The mummified body was even provided with food and drink for its journey.

The great pyramids were raised to protect the souls of the Pharaohs from their enemies. Farmers would build the pyramids while the Nile was flooding. Work on the pyramids was owed to the god-pharaoh. Tools used to build the pyramid were simple: wooden mallets, stone drills, chisels, flint knives, wooden rulers, plumb lines, and ramps. It is amazing to consider that these huge monuments were built before widespread use of the wheel. The pyramids were huge housing that contained not only the history of the kings, but pits for the temples, and many fake chambers to confuse thieves. Pharaohs would be buried in the tombs, as would other members of the royal family. All the belongings the pharaoh might need would be buried with him: food, clothing, tools, furniture, jewelry, slaves and even sculptures. One sculpture that you might find with the Pharaoh was possibly a sculpture depicting a woman with enlarged breast, cut of arms, and a huge belly, similar to the Venus of Wilendorf. The women represented birth or rebirth, since the Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh would go onto a new life that this sculpture would give a re- birth of life to the Pharaoh. The enlarged belly represented birth. The breast would represent feeding, since we are breast fed at young, the Pharaoh would need to feed in the afterlife. The cut off arms just showed that the only thing that was important was the feeding and birth process of a woman. The dead had to be given instructions concerning the prayers, attitudes, feelings and stuff like that, to be delivered at different stages of their journey. The priests were the only ones who knew how to teach the dead for their journey. Directions were written all over the coffin and in the tomb so the soul would not forget what it should do. Later the directions were written on scrolls of paper. Some of these directions have been collected in the Book of the Dead. One Part of the soul's journey was that it was led before the seat of Osiris, who sat as the Judge of the Dead. He weighed the heart of the dead person on his balance. Maat, the goddess of truth and

justice, balanced the scale. If the heart of the dead weighed true, he went to his eternal reward wandering the shadow land. If his heart weighed too heavy, he would be thrown to the animal gods who tear him to shreds. The hieroglyphs left by the priests of ancient Egypt were meant to provide the dead with a manual to the afterlife, to teach the Ka what it should do. Those same hieroglyphs have provided present day scholars with a remarkable testimony of a culture that existed thousands of years ago and some insight into the minds of the people who lived in that culture. The culture of ancient Greece reflects the importance of the individual in society in many different ways. The Greeks used art, philosophy, and even their system of government to convey their beliefs in the importance of one single man in a society. Greek artists showed value for the individual. All people were portrayed in Greek art, from the sagging old woman to the ideal athlete. Although early Greek art focused on the human ideal, their later art shows that the Greeks appreciated all forms, and found the human body in general to be a beautiful thing. Even the gods in Greek art showed how highly the Greeks valued humanity. The gods were depicted as humans, and were made to human scale; no huge overpowering deity was ever portrayed in their art. The Greeks appreciated themselves in their art as much as they appreciated the gods. Even on the most famous temple of all time, the Parthenon, humans were portrayed. The frieze that adorned the upper face of the Parthenon depicted the human procession in honor of the god Athena. It was not just sculptures and architecture that showed Greek pride in the individual. Greek drama showed a huge appreciation for humans in all their glory. The Greeks valued human emotions; their plays covered a wide array of subjects, all the way from the tragedies of

war to the comedic side of a society in the perils of war. These subjects made it possible to reveal the Greek appreciation for real life situations, showing the value they placed on human actions, but most of all on human nature. Like the various forms of Greek art, the government of ancient Greece appreciated the individual by creating an environment in which individuals were free to express themselves. Tyrants like Pisistratus and Cleisthenes came to power to try and make the polis, or state, a better place for the individual. These tyrants reformed the state in many ways; they helped make it possible for the rich and poor to have equal rights, and they created the conditions for the construction of the splendid monumental buildings ancient Greece is remembered for today. Although not all tyrants were good, they all had one thing in common: they were all citizens of Greece, and ruled to improve the lifestyle of the citizens of Greece. After the end of tyranny, Greece had a democracy; a government ruled by the people for the people. This democracy was made up of a number of committees who did everything from working the laws all the way to handling military affairs. Any man could become a member of these committees if they were at least eighteen years of age. Individuals were elected by the people for exactly one year. This system also made it so that even the poor citizens were not powerless, and it enabled Greek legislation to be governed by new people with new ideas every term. Clearly, the Greeks took advantage of the abilities of its citizens. Along with creating a fair society for its citizens to live in, the Greeks also promoted the forward thinking and ideas of its people. The philosophies of such Greeks as Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates helped shape Greek society in many ways. Plato valued the ability of all people, and believed that the ideal polis would be one in which every citizen would do his part according to his or her abilities, and there would be no distinguishing marks between the rich and the poor.

Socrates also valued people in that he believed human beings and their environment is the essential subject of philosophical inquiry, meaning that humans and their actions were extremely complex and hard to understand, so they were worth studying. He also believed that the conscience of an individual provided better morals then even the laws of the government; he valued other peoples thoughts and what they had to say. The last of the three major Greek philosophers, Aristotle, believed that god had no purpose, and therefore people were to depend upon themselves. All of these philosophers are similar in that they all appreciated the thoughts and ideas of every individual, and their own ideas helped make it possible for all people of ancient Greece to appreciate what they had to say. The various characteristics of Greek society show pride in the individual in a number of different ways. The Greeks created an environment in which human actions, emotions, and imaginations were appreciated and encouraged. Humans were the subjects of statues, dramatic performances, and even philosophical debate. The Greeks were appreciated by themselves as well as the polis. The Egyptian and Greek culture today stands as an example of a beautiful blend of the ancient and the modern. These cultures are characterized by their diversity, the great Pyramids and the legendary queen Cleopatra, and the ancient Olympics in honor of their great god Zeus, are but just a couple examples of how these cultures have an influence on other cultures throughout the world.

References: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/culture.html , Retrieved August 6, 2010 http://www.everyculture.com , Retrieved August 6, 2010 http://library.thinkquest.org , Retrieved August 6, 2010 http://eawc.evansville.edu/nepage.htm , Retrieved August 7, 2010