Compare and Contrast Religious Views Afterlife Held Ancient Mesopotamian Ancient Egyptians

¶ … religious views afterlife held ancient Mesopotamian ancient Egyptians

Ancient Mesopotamians believed that the world was a sphere that was divided in two parts -- one occupied by the living and one occupied by the dead. Gods were present in both environments and controlled much of what happened in the world of the living and in the world of the dead. Even with the fact that this civilization emphasized that a ferry individual carried individuals from the grave to the Underworld, there is limited information concerning what happened to dead people once they got there. Mesopotamians were generally pessimistic with regard to the afterlife and believed that it involved a horrible place where individuals would go through great pains.

In contrast to Mesopotamians, Egyptians were optimistic concerning afterlife and actually focused on preparing a deceased person in order for him or her to experience pleasurable experiences once they reached the world of the death. By looking at some of the most imposing figures of Ancient Egypt one would most likely acknowledge that this civilization actually considered that people needed to be honored consequent to the moment of their death. The Egyptians did not devise a concept of 'hell' and generally believed that individuals would be provided with great spiritual and material fortunes once they died.

The fact that Mesopotamians associated the afterlife with ideas like pain and suffering makes it possible to understand that this was a particularly pessimistic community and that they had little to no hope regarding the afterlife. Egyptians were practically opposite to them when considering that they greatly valued the afterlife and encouraged positive behavior throughout one's life in order for the respective person to be provided with positive experiences in his or her afterlife. While an Egyptian was enthusiastic about reaching the afterlife, a Mesopotamian believed that there was nothing interesting about this concept and that it was thus essential for him or her to focus on staying alive as much as possible in an attempt to avoid reaching a dreadful world.

One of the most interesting differences between Egyptians and Mesopotamians when considering the afterlife relates to how each civilization looked at the afterlife when considering matters from the perspective of a king. Egyptians were particularly concerned with burying their leaders in impressive tombs so as for them to be able to glorify their lives and their afterlives. Mesopotamians, however, believed that there would be no difference between a king and a servant once they both reached the underworld. The fact that Egyptians preserved the bodies of their leaders makes it possible for one to understand that they actually believed that afterlife was a continuation of normal life, only that it was more beautiful. They practically wanted the physical body to stay intact in order for the deceased person to be able to preserve most of his or her memories and thinking in order for him or her to stay the same while in the afterlife.

The Epic of Gilgamesh demonstrates that Mesopotamians were pessimistic concerning the afterlife. Enkidu, Gilgamesh's friend, relates to how there is a place where people suffer greatly and that they are but shadows of what they have once been.