Religion as the Foundation of Early Civilizations

Religion is the cornerstone of all ancient civilizations. By definition, civilization cannot exist without religion. According to Spielvogel, one of the most fundamental characteristics of a civilization was the presence of religious structures, as the favor of the gods and goddesses was essential to the success of a community (5). Religion was the foundation of all of the primary cultures, to include Mesopotamians, Egyptian, Israelites, Greeks, and Romans.

The forerunners of Ancient Mesopotamia were the polytheistic peoples of Sumer. According to Spielvogel, the paramount structure at the center of a Sumerian city was the temple erected for the chief deity of the state (8). "The Sumerians believed that the gods and goddesses owned the cities," and so, the state was theocratic, or under divine rule. Furthering this concept, the kings, as rulers of the state, were believed to be vessels of the power of the gods (Spielvogel 8). It was eventually believed that those kings were born of the goddess Ninhursaga (Spielvogel 13).

The relationship the Mesopotamians had with their gods had as much to do with fear as it did with reverence. They believed that they were subservient to the deities and were subject to their graces as well as their anger. This idea is quite evident in Spielvogel's excerpt from the Mesopotamian poem Atrahasis (15). To explain the existence of the massive irrigation system, which was critical to the subsistence of the human population, the poem notes that man was created to carry on the work that the gods have put into place for them (Spielvogel 15). In other words, man exists only to carry the labor basket of the gods.

"The Egyptians had no word for religion because it was an inseparable element of the world order to which Egyptian society belonged" (Spielvogel 21). Religion was such an integral part of life in Ancient Egypt that they needed an exorbitant number of gods and goddesses to prevail over all of the forces and facets of life on earth (Spielvogel 21). As a society that relied heavily on the seemingly intangible occurrences surrounding their sustaining land and the Nile River, it is not surprising that Egyptians opted to worship a number of elemental deities (Spielvogel 21).

Much like the kings of Sumer, who were imbued with divine power, Egyptian Pharaohs were seen as appointed by the gods. According to Spielvogel, many Pharaohs in the Old Kingdom of Egypt were regarded as gods themselves (18). Therefore, the state was always under divine rule.

The Egyptians were extremely concerned with the afterlife. The god Osiris, the judge of dead, is depicted in the Book of the Dead as presiding over the weighing of the hearts of the dead to assess the honesty of the life that person led and whether or not they deserve absolution (Spielvogel 21). The pyramids, for which Egypt is renown, are actually religious structures, as they are burial grounds for nobles (Spielvogel 22). Precise rituals are prescribed for the preservation and burial of the dead.

The Israelites had the distinction of being the first major monotheistic culture in the ancient world (Spielvogel 36). After the Babylonian exiles returned to Judah, their god, Yahweh, became the sole receptor of worship (Spielvogel 36). Contrary to the previous cultures discussed, the Jews did not believe that God was present in nature, although it was accepted that he created all (Spielvogel 36). They saw themselves as "Children of God" and God's covenants fostered a positive, accessible relationship between the people and who they worshipped.

The Isrealites' covenant with Yahweh was made in return for their release from exile. As part of the sacred agreement, the Jews were not to worship any other gods and were to abide by what we know today as the Commandments (Spielvogel 37). This set forth the moral code of the Israelites, which they strove to abide by in daily life.

The ancient Greeks worshipped a vast number of gods that presided over virtually all ideas of life and humanity. This complex system of deities was based on twelve gods and goddesses who resided on the highest mountain of Greece, Mount Olympus (Spielvogel 82). Since they ruled over all aspects of life, nature, and the uncontrollable, and so they were to be appeased. According to Spielvogel, rituals to gain favor with the gods became an integral part of Greek life (82).

Temples of a Greek society, akin to ancient Mesopotamian societies, were their paramount edifices (Spielvogel 81). Every major community was associated a particular deity; their