Ancient Near East

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Ancient Near East

• Egypt, Mesopotamia, The Hebrews

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Egypt

• Nile Worlds longest river
• Herodotus Egyptgift of the Nile
• Overflowed on regular, annual basis
• Fertile land
• Sense of order
• Egypt protected by desert sea
• From about 3100 BCE, for 3000 yrs.

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Mesopotamia

• Tigris and Euphrates RiversFertile Crescent
• Mesopotamiathe land between the two rivers
• Overflow unpredictable
• Sense of instability
• Exposed plains
• Open to invasion

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Mesopotamia

• Beginning with Sumer, about 3500 BCE
• First cities Uruk, Ur, Kish, Nippur, Lagash
• Unlike Egypt, Mesopotamia was a series of
  civilizations

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Hebrews

• Tribal people who migrated from Fertile Crescent
  to Canaan (Israel) after 2000 BCE
• After 1700 BCE migrated to Egypt, and enslaved
• Around 1300 BCE returned to Canaan (the Exodus)

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Religion

• God Creation

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Egypt God Creation

• At beginning of time, Nile produced mound of silt
  and sun god emerged from it
• this sun god (Amon, Re, Aten) gave birth to the
  other gods (19)
• Amon gives ankh (life)

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Egypt God Creation

• Akhentatens Reform (30) monotheism
• The power of the suns rays in 1.17 the rays
  end in hands
• marked by a change in the visual arts, movement
  toward realism

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Queen Nefertiti
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Mesopotamia God Creation

• Man created through violence strife
• Apsu (sweet waters) and Tiamat (bitter waters)
  give birth to Lahmu and Lahamu (Note As in
  Egypt, silt precipitates)
• Anshar and Kishar (horizon of sky and earth) give
  birth to Anu (god of sky) who gives birth to Ea
  (wisdom).

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Mesopotamia God Creation

• Tiamat prepares for war.
• Marduk is Supreme Commader to fight Tiamat
  (bitter waters).
• Upon slaying Tiamat, Marduk splits open Tiamats
  body to make sky and earth.
• Marduk makes man as a work of cosummate art for
  the faithful service of the gods.

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Statuettes, Abu Temple, Iraq

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Ziggurat
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Hebrews God Creation

• Supreme Creator, who existed before the physical
  world, with ethical charge (47) ethical
  monotheism (48)

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Genesis

• Genesis 1 God created man last. God created
  man male and female put them over the earth to
  subdue/master it.
• Genesis 2 God creates man first (out of the
  soil), then the garden, the animals, then the
  woman.

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Religion

• Morality Afterlife

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Egypt Polytheism
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Anubis

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Egypt Isis Osiris

• IsisOsiris Set (Osiris evil brother)
  chopped Osiris into pieces and threw in Nile
• Isis puts Osiris back together again and brings
  him back to life
• Horus revenge on Setbecomes ruler of Egypt

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Osiris king of the dead
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Isis mother goddess
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Horus the falcon god
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The Eye of Horus
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Myth of Isis Osiris

• Pharaohs associated with Horus, the avenging son
  of Isis Osiris
• The myth supported a belief in resurrection of
  the deadnot only for the pharaoh but for
  commoners as well

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The Step Pyramid
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Pyramids at Giza
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The Valley of Kings
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Book of the Dead
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Mesopotamia Epic of Gilgamesh

• Gilgamesh, 2/3 god and 1/3 man, has lost his best
  friend Enkidu.
• Gilgamesh is heartbroken, and he also fears his
  own death, so goes on a journey to his father
  Utnapishtim, who has eternal life, to see if he
  can gain it too.

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Epic of Gilgamesh (2)

• First he needs to seek out the permission of
  Man-Scorpion to pass through the mountain
• He hangs out with Siduri, maker of wine, for a
  while, then eventually reaches Utnapishtim, who
  informs Gilgamesh that all is impermanent.

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Epic of Gilgamesh (3)

• Gilgamesh asks Utnapishtim how he got everlasting
  life, and Utnapishtim relates the story of the
  flood and how he managed to survive and save
  mankind.
• Gilgamesh goes with Urshanabi the Ferryman to
  check out the plant that brings everlasting
  youth, but in the end a serpent snatches it away.

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Hebrews Morality Afterlife

• Ten commandments the consequences for bad
  behavior are not in an afterlife but in this life
  and in future generationssee 49 See also
  Jeremiah on 51.
• eye for eye, tooth for tooth (49)
• responsibility to enemies (49)

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Hebrews Afterlife

• Hebrew attitude toward the afterlife was
  uncertain see Job 53

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Government Social Order
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Egypt Gov/Society

• Union of Upper and Lower Egypt shown on Palette
  of Narmer (22-23).
• Narmer was the first pharaoh. Pharaoh great
  house
• Theocracy pharaoh ruled in the name of the sun
  god
• Pharaoh identified with Horus and symbolized by
  the falcon

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Horus? sky god god of Egypt
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Egypt Gov/Society

• Land was sacred ruled by the pharaohs in the
  name of the godsworked by the peasants and
  slaves.
• System theocratic socialism harvest shared by
  community

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Egypt Gov/Society

• Authority went from the pharaoh to the husband of
  the pharaohs daughterthus sometimes sons would
  marry their sisters in order to get the thrown.
  (Property passed through women)

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Egypt Social Structure

• Pharaoh
• Vizier top bureaucratic official
• Merchants traders, builders, scribes (middle
  class)
• Peasants
• Slaves unfree captured enemies, criminals,
  debtors

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Canon of Proportion
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Mesopotamia Gov/Society

• City-states united under Sargon I, creator of
  first empire

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Sargon I
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Stele of Hammurabi

• c. 1760 BCE

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The Standard of Ur (ca. 2700 BCE)
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Hebrews Gov/Society

• after 2000 BCE Abraham covenant I will be
  your God you will be my people
• Chosen People
• Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (aka Israelsoldier of
  God)

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Hebrews

• After 1700 BCE into Egypt
• C. 1300 BCE Moses leads out of Egypt to Canaan,
  but Canaan is occupied
• Samuel, Saul, and David battle the Canaanites
  David conquers them

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Hebrews Gov/Society

• 960-920 BCESolomon establishes Jerusalem, builds
  a temple for the Ark of the Covenant (50)
• Israel divided North and South
• North Israel
• South Judah

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Babylonian Captivity

• Nebuchadnezza invades Jerusalem, takes Hebrews
  (Jews) into captivity in Babylon (586-538 BCE)
• Book of Job probablywritten during this time

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Hebrews

• 538 BCE return from captivity
• Jews later ruled by Persians, Greeks, andafter a
  short independenceby the Romans
• 70 CE Temple destroyed again, this time by
  Romans after Jewish revolt
• 1948 CE state of Israel established

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Hebrews Gov/Society

• Social order reflects covenant between God and
  the Hebrews.
• The Jewish father has a patriarchal bond with his
  family the Hebrew king represents God, divinely
  appointed
• Prophets (50)