In Mesopotamia, the gods were actively involved in the doings of this world, but not in a way that was just or equitable -- the gods had no special moral attributes, merely greater power than humans. The lack of harmony in the natural world of Mesopotamia was also reflected in the disparate nature of Mesopotamian government, which was full of small city-states, with no cohesive national ruler. Egypt's pharaohs reigned

Civilization and Barbarism and Cruelty The works of Esteban Echeverria's El Matadero/The Slaughterhouse and Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's Facundo two classic works Argentinean 19th century literature How does one behave like a civilized human being when one is confronted with a brutal dictator and what causes a dictator to rise to power in a land such as Argentina? These are the central questions posed both by the literature of the poet Esteban

Torah law exhibits a quid pro quo vision of the divine, in which human beings enter into a sacred and immutable contract with God. Like the Sumerians in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Hebrews in the Torah viewed the world of the gods and the world of human civilization as being distinct from one another. The Torah also illustrates how ancient Near Eastern civilizations became hierarchical and stratified. Priests

Hispanic (Spanish and Portugese) Civilization History has proven that, regardless of the way in which civilization managed to overcome centuries of historical practices, there is a certain foundation in terms of defining elements that characterize the different cultures. The simple split between the European and the African cultures is relevant in this sense. Despite the fact that it is the European force that created Africa as it looks today, with origins

Unlike the more committed New England settlers who were fueled by a desire to practice their faith and farm and to create a 'shining city on a hill,' settlements in the southern regions of North America were made up of single men, unused to labor and farming as well as taking orders. Despite certain famous incidents from this period of history, such as the friendship established between Powhatan and Pocahontas

interventionism from the perspective of realism vs. idealism. Realism is defined in relationship to states' national interests whereas idealism is defined in relation to the UN's Responsibility to Protect doctrine -- a doctrine heavily influenced by Western rhetoric over the past decade. By addressing the question of interventionism from this standpoint, by way of a case study of Libya and Syria, a picture of the realistic implications of "humanitarian