The favorable trade climate in the eastern portion of the Mediterranean Sea resulted primarily in the development of early civilizations. These early civilizations had complex socio-political systems that were derived from early forms of religious substructures. The worship of petty gods” (gods that assumed various characters of nature) was considered a complement to social order and tranquility. Appeasing the gods was tantamount to reinforcing laws and customs enacted by the king-priests, reflecting the values and aspirations of a group of people.
Although the early civilizations had more or less the same origin, the impact of invasions, intercultural exchanges, and trade resulted in different cultural configurations. These configurations were generally expressed in ancient literature. The propensity for literary revelation – the message of ancient forms of literature – was derived from different historical experiences of early civilizations. In this paper, we shall examine the major differences between ancient Mesopotamia and Greece by analyzing early literary works such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish, and Hesiod’s Theogony.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient epic poem from Mesopotamia. It is considered one of the earliest known literary works to have survived to the 21st century. The epic revolves around the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh, who ruled a significant portion of Mesopotamia around 2700 B.C. and was disheartened and distracted by his rule. The story follows the adventure and friendship between King Gilgamesh and Enkidu, a half-man, half-animal creature.
The latter usually lived with the animals in the forests, believed to be situated in the Zagros Mountains. One day, a hunter discovered him and sent a temple prostitute to tame him in the forests. During that time, women and sex were considered taming” instruments, which is essentially the same interpretation today. Enkidu slept with the woman and entered the civilized world. When Enkidu heard of king Gilgamesh’s excesses (bad habits), he challenged him to a fight. However, Gilgamesh emerged victorious from their battle. Afterward, they became true friends and set about looking for adventure in the dangerous world of gods.
The two decided to procure some trees from the holy cedar forest guarded by the demon named Humbaba (George 30). Humbaba was the devoted servant of Enlil, the god of earth and wind. The two fought with the monster, and with help from the Sun God, they were able to kill him. Afterward, they returned to Uruk – an ancient city. Upon their return, the goddess of love fell in love with Gilgamesh; however, he ignored her affection.
Thus, the goddess asked her father, Anu (the god of the sky), to send the Bull of Heaven to punish Gilgamesh. Enkidu and Gilgamesh wrestled with the bull and were able to kill it. However, the council of gods agreed that one of the two mortals should be punished for their blunder. Ultimately, they decided that Enkidu should die. He took the punishment and suffered from the actions of the gods while Gilgamesh became heartbroken and mourned for his loss (George 55).
Gilgamesh decided to find Utnapishtim, who some historians refer to as the Mesopotamian Noah.” The gods had decreed a worldwide flood, although some historians hypothesize that the flood only occurred in Mesopotamia due to the overflow of the Tigris-Euphrates River. Gilgamesh was determined to learn the secrets of immortality. Utnapishtim agreed to take him to Mashu, where the sun sets into one side of the mountain at night and rises out of the other side in the morning.
The monsters guarding the mountain entrance initially refused to allow Gilgamesh passage. However, in the end, they conceded to his appeal. The god Ea instructed Utnapishtim to build a giant boat where his family and animals could take shelter from the upcoming flood. Ea also informed him that the gods would regret their actions against humanity and promise never again to destroy it. As a reward for his efforts, Utnapishtim was granted immortality.
Gilgamesh demanded the same, but he eventually failed the test given by Utnapishtim (George 88). However, Utnapishtim’s wife told Gilgamesh to find a plant in the northern mountains that could restore youth and beauty. One night while camping, a serpent stole the plant from Gilgamesh. As a result, the serpent has been able to shed its skin ever since – a symbol of restoration throughout history.
From the tale itself, we can establish significant conditions of early Mesopotamia. These are as follows: The historic flood occurred in an area where different civilizations mixed. Ancient Mesopotamia was not politically or culturally united; it was comprised of different and usually conflicting cultural systems. Thus, it can be said that the destruction of humanity” (as noted by the effects of the flood) was really a destruction of only one portion of the civilized world. The “historic” flood in the epic was actually a regional flood. This interpretation of the flood was absent in Greek mythology primarily because Greece was situated in a geographical area immune to periodic floods.
Note that the Epic of Gilgamesh became the foundational literary work for succeeding pieces of literature in ancient Mesopotamia. Unlike Hesiod’s Theogony, the Epic of Gilgamesh emphasized the power of the gods to shape nature. In Greek mythology, the gods were offspring of the universe and did not create it entirely. However, in Mesopotamian religions, assuming different names, they were progenitors or creators of nature. For instance, Ea was not only a god of wisdom but also a source and originator.
Unlike in ancient Greece, Mesopotamian gods were considered political symbols. Their seals were used as designations of officials, primarily by the nobility and the priest-kings. In contrast, in ancient Greece, the gods were only consulted for divine purposes and referenced during public festivities.
When analyzing the Babylonian creation story, Enuma Elish, we can observe differences in social values. The story describes the creation of heaven and earth by Marduk, the supreme deity. Marduk created heaven for the gods and designated stars as symbols of specific deities. On the other hand, he created earth for men (The Enuma Elish 41). Ea, the god of wisdom, played a significant role in creating humans. In the final scene of the story, all gods gathered in a heavenly mansion to affirm Marduk’s supremacy solemnly (The Enuma Elish 41).
There are two social values that can be derived from the creation story. One of them is the position of man in the cosmos. In ancient Mesopotamia, man was considered to be at the center of the cosmos, and the will of heavenly gods was directed towards benefiting man. Despite being ravaged by war and famine, which significantly degraded man’s dignity, many ancient states like Babylon (during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign) and Persia respected social and religious autonomy (semi-political independence) of various cultural groups in their respective territories. For instance, as a sign of restoration of dignity, the first king of Persia allowed Jews to rebuild Solomon’s Temple.
The Persian king was believed to be an avid follower of Marduk, the chief Babylonian god. In ancient Greece, it was believed that man was created by the gods to serve as an instrument for sexual gratification and other excesses of divine nature. For instance, in the Iliad, Zeus is heard shouting from heaven that women were created to satisfy his sexual needs. Such lack of modesty and morality in Greek gods was rare in the gods of ancient Mesopotamia.
Secondly, the populations of ancient Mesopotamia were highly specialized in worshipping and recognizing their supreme gods. In some cities located on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, the Sea god was considered to be the supreme deity, with all other gods following suit. The same was true for cities situated in high places, where Enlil was considered to be the supreme god. However, in ancient Greece, although many cities had a special patron” god based on their geographical location, Zeus was recognized as the supreme deity (as mentioned in Homer’s Book XII: URL cited).
We shall now analyze the implications of ancient religious beliefs on the political structures of both ancient Mesopotamia and Greece. Ancient Greece was composed of city-states, each with its own unique political structure. For example, Athens reflected an early form of democracy while Sparta was a military autocracy. The establishment of government in these city-states was primarily derived from their present economic, social, and political conditions. Initially, religion played a small role in this political construction due to the indifference of ancient Greeks towards understanding the nature of the universe and divine will.
In ancient Mesopotamia, city-state governments were primarily the result of religious reflections by priest-kings. These reflections served as an appeal from the community to the gods through their representatives on earth. The establishment of a common worldview led to the creation of an autocratic government ruled by priests. It is important to note that in ancient Greece, governments ruled by priests were rare. Therefore, religion played a significant role in shaping political structures in ancient Mesopotamia.
Works Cited
- George, Andrew. The Epic of Gilgamesh (based on ancient tablets of the story). England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1999.
- Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Samuel Butler. Retrieved on November 16, 2007 from http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.html
- The Enuma Elish (The Epic of Creation). Translated by L.W. King. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1902.
