Egyptian And Mesopotamia Art Essay, Research Paper

Though they were close geographically, the differences in their customs put

Mesopotamia and Egypt worlds apart. These two Empires were in some ways radically

different, yet in others, amazingly similar. Both built temples, farmed, had social classes,

had government, and praised many gods. Under their great rulers, these two empires

expanded and developed many things that still effect us in our lives today.

Egypt was located in the Nile River Valley. They used the fertile land and yearly

flood to their advantage. The floods leave huge amount of silt from the highlands with

which to farm. They farmed Cereal crops such as wheat and barley. The Nile also

supplied geese and fish, and wild papyrus which Egyptians wove into rope, mats, baskets,

and paper. Mesopotamia was located to the Northeast of Egypt in the fertile crescent.

Farmers used the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to water their crops. No rain fell in the

summer and unpredictable floods washed away crops and sometimes villages. They

produced mainly grain crops.

Egypt’s government was led by a king, or pharaoh. Some of the most noteworthy

were Narmer, Ahmose, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaton, Ramses II, and Ramses III.

The Government was a theocracy. That means the king is the political and religious

leader. The Pharaoh also appointed a bureaucracy. Mesopotamian government was

individualized in each city state. Each typically chose a military leader as a king . The

king was a military leader and the high priest, making Mesopotamian government a

theocracy. A king would closely supervise farming because they believed the land

belonged to the gods and goddesses.

Egyptians were polytheistic. This means the worship of many deities. Some of the

more powerful deities were Osiris, god of life, death, and the rebirth of all living things;

Horus, the sky god; and Isis, wife of Osiris. Their religion stressed an afterlife, Egyptians

spent much time and wealth to preparing for a happy afterlife. Every body could hope for

eternal life for Osiris’s help. Mesopotamians were also polytheistic. Their gods presided

over a specific natural force, such as wind or rain. Each city had its own god or goddess

that it worshipped. Priests and Priestesses often performed rituals and ceremonies to

appease their temperamental gods. Mesopotamians did not expect a happy life after death.

They would preside in a grim, dark, airless underworld where the dead were only

shadows.

Whether you’re comparing religion, geography, or government of these two

ancient Empires, you will always find the same thing. There are numerous similarities, but

you will always find two or three blaring differences. I would say that the Mesopotamian

empire was more successful because of the time it lasted and the huge area it covered.

They invented the wagon wheel, the potter’s wheel, and a 12 month calendar. What they

accomplished has effected us greatly in ways we will probably never realize.