Which civilizations were polytheistic

Play Sound. Wikipedia has a page called: Polytheism. Cancel Save. Universal Conquest Wiki. Given the omnipotence of the gods, what was the purpose of human kind? Given that the gods were remote; how did one approach them? Since they were mysterious; how could one understand them?

And since they were so obviously powerful, how could one negotiate with them? The apparent gap between the transcendent and the mundane was vast, and it is not surprising that most cultures recognized a special status for intermediary figures, priests, who claimed to bridge the divide between humans and the divine. The duty of the priestly class was to communicate with the divine on behalf of the community.

Most ancient cultures distilled the practice of communicating with divinities into three principal parts: Ritual, Sacrifice, and Divination. Ritual was the invocation of the gods through magical prayers and chants. If properly invoked a god could be compelled against his or her will to attend to human requests.

Ritual consisted of various forms of prayers, chants, oaths, and curses essentially black magic. The success of a given ritual gave it timeless legitimacy, not to be deviated from. Ritual was accordingly highly formulaic, entrusted with divine importance, and all but frozen in time.

Ritual inherently imposed inalterable norms on worshipers. Ritual reinforced social solidarity and was believed to be undermined when performed poorly or not at all. In the Roman view, the pax deorum was jeopardized by such errors, and since the priests were politicians, ample care was taken to appease not only the gods, but the restless populace as well.

Equally pragmatic was Confucius, whose dedication to li the rites is legendary. For him, ritual provided a social lubricant to ensure that all things were arranged in their proper place and that due respect was shown for the traditions of the ancestors. Egyptian and Brahman priests were equally renowned for the intricacy and elaborateness of their rituals.

The ritualistic component to ancient religion rendered it one of the most conservative attributes of any human culture, accordingly.

Sacrifice was the gift or offering made to a god in exchange for which humans could ask a favor. Sacrifice implied that humans potentially exerted power over the gods. The gods did not necessarily need to eat, in other words, but they longed for the sensations that arose from the pleasure of eating.

In much the same manner the gods desired the vicarious experience of all corporeal pleasures— eating, drinking, sexual relations, and sleep. These were the only genuine proofs of physical existence, and since mortality was fleeting they possessed value to humans and gods alike. The sharing of corporeal pleasures thus gave humans leverage over the gods. The logic of this is explained in the Gilgamesh Epic , where Utnapushtim the Sumerian Noah conducted his sacrifice following the flood, lines As the text notes, the gods smelled the sweet savor, the gods crowded like flies around the sacrifice.

Human dealings with the gods were viewed very much in terms of contractual agreements. The Latin vow, do ut des I give to you so that you might give me in return , expressed this succinctly. Humans venerated the gods by offering them gifts on a daily basis. Since the purpose of mortal existence was to serve the gods, social hierarchies regarded the construction and maintenance of religious shrines alters, temples, sanctuaries as a primary duty.

Likewise, it was customary for citizens confronting life-threatening enterprises such as hazardous journeys, military engagements, illness, old age, or childbirth, to beseech the aid of the gods through votive offerings.

Successful fulfillment of a prayer would then result in another round of votives, typically in the form of altars, statues, shrines, captured weaponry, or tithes of profits. Sacrifice was divided into two types, blood and non- blood sacrifices.

Although non blood sacrifices such as the dedication of votive objects and libations into the ground were probably more commonplace, blood sacrifices of animals such as chicken, sheep, goats, cows, and bulls naturally arrest our attention. The animals to be sacrificed had to be perfect specimens with no blemishes.

They were frequently adorned with wreaths and, at least in Greece and Rome, were believed to show no hesitation as they were led to the altar. After the sacrifice, the edible parts of the animal were usually distributed to the participants or to the public. Sacrifices, thus, represented social interaction at a number of levels. By cooking the inedible portions over a fire to create a sooty smoke column visible in the heavens, they represented the sharing of life with a deity, and hence a form of communion.

In addition, the macabre experience of witnessing the shedding of blood convinced participants of the divine power of the sacrificial experience, that is, the human capacity to take life.

And by focusing on the otherworldly aspect of the moment, frequently enhanced through consumption of wine or other stimulants, sacrifice exposed the participants to an ecstatic experience shared in a collective. Humans could rarely witness the taking of life without undergoing feelings of unnatural, heightened sensations of transcendence, thus, affirming the ecstatic character of the experience. By its spectacle and the awe that it inspired sacrifice tended to command center stage. Inevitably, the question of human sacrifice arises.

In later Classical era civilizations human sacrifice did occur on occasion, but it was typically viewed as distasteful and as a last resort to summon the attention of the gods.

Divination was the belief that the gods sent signs predicting the future and that these signs could be interpreted by skilled professionals. This is typically what the priest or devotee requested, and what the god returned, invoked or uninvoked. Invoked signs implied that the gods could be summoned magically or even compelled to give answers to human prayers and requests.

Uninvoked signs were natural phenomena sent by the gods uninvited, such as s torms with damaging hail and lightening or births of unnaturally deformed animals. These indicated disruptions to the pax deorum that required immediate attention.

The chief purpose of invoking the gods through ritual and sacrifice was to summon the attention of a deity momentarily in order to place before it a proposed course of action. Divination took many forms: astrology observing the sky for natural phenomena , hepatoscopy the examination of the livers of sacrificial victims , and even the trance-like utterances of inspired priests and priestesses. Typically it would occur in a precinct referred to in Latin as a templum , a ritually purified area for purposes of divination.

Military commanders typically consulted the shape of the livers of sacrificial victims before committing their forces to battle. With his navy arrayed in battle formation, a Roman admiral had to await the outcome of the feeding of sacred chickens, kept in a cage on the deck of his flagship. If they ate with gusto, that was a positive sign and a naval battle would ensue. If they hesitated and looked to the heavens this was a bad sign and the admiral was religiously obligated to refrain from committing his warships to a divinely unsanctioned action.

Claudius Pulcher was ready to engage the war fleet of his Carthaginian adversaries, but his sacred chickens, kept in a cage on the deck of his flagship, refused to eat. Becoming exasperated Pulcher seized the cage of frightened birds and threw them into the sea and lost the battle.

As this example demonstrates, no public activity could occur without due invocation of the gods and nothing was done without their consent. Religious authority, in other words, was directly translatable into legal, military, political, or judicial power. Neither kings nor subjects could escape the will of the gods.

Days were viewed as Fas or Nefas divinely sanctioned or unsanctioned. Any untoward occurrence could be interpreted as an omen. Primary Sources: World History. Historical Biography: World History. Historical Biography: US History. Literature Connections. Influential Literature: World History. Influential Literature: US History. Web Resources for History Learning. To edit this page, request access to the workspace.

Maloy 2 years, 11 months ago. Image result for anu mesopotamian sky god bull Focus Question: How were religious beliefs constructed in the ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia? Polytheism Defined Click here for a brief and detailed overview of polytheism. Here is a chart of the differences between polytheism and monotheism. Bull statuette, bronze inlaid with silver.

Often, would be a dominant god or goddess within these groups. For example, the Ancient Greeks believed that Zeus was the head of the gods. In Norse mythology, Odin was the greatest god. For the Sumerians, An, the god of air and sky, was the preeminent god.

UPenn Museum. The fighting was fresh and salt water in chaos. A male god, Apsu emerged from the fresh water, and a female god, Tiamat, emerged from the salt water. All other gods descended from these main gods. Apsu did not like the younger gods, and planned to kill them. Tiamat warned them, and the younger gods killed Apsu, and from his body created the earth. However, this created more fighting, mainly Tiamat fighting against the younger gods.

The god Marduk eventually killed her. With her body, he created the sky and from the body of her helper, Quingu, he created humans, designed to be helpers for the gods.

Click here for more. Each city-state had a patron, or protecting god or goddess list of gods and goddesses and their patron city-state. One of the most important parts of these temples was the tall tower called the ziggurat, meaning "Holy Mountain. Gods and Goddesses Sumerian gods and goddesses represented parts of the natural world and were anthropomorphic, which means they resembled humans UPenn Museum , Ancient History Encyclopedia.

Ancient History Encyclopedia The Sumerians were followed in Mesopotamia by the Akkadians, the Babylonians, and the Assyrians, all of whom followed similar gods and goddesses History for Kids.

The pantheon of Mesopotamia and the gods and goddesses with in that pantheon evolved with the each new civilization Old gods took on new roles, becoming lesser characters in the stories of later civilizations The young gods of Sumer and Akkadia, such as Marduk, who had small roles early on would take on bigger roles within the Mesopotamian pantheon.

Marduk rose to be the patron of Babylon at the cites height of power. Marduk Game about the Babylonian god, Marduck with some additional resources. Even though the writings on religion and economics were relatively embryonic, they still entail some important contributions on the relationship between religion, economics, and government. From an economic point of view, monotheistic civilizations engaged in a strong degree of enlarging returns to scale and the natural monopoly powers commensurate with it.

The Hebrews believed that the worship of idol gods that like in the case of ancient Egypt was not ideal as it represented an incapable god put in images making them less sovereign. Further, the Hebrews believed that the Egyptians could not obtain freedom from idol worship. The arrival of the Hebrews into Egypt brought a different influence to the ancient Egyptian way of worship. Their belief system and the sovereign expression of their God in the rescue mission of the Israelites from Egypt played a key role in creating change in the religious atmosphere in Egypt.

Additionally, the Hebrews believed in the universal significance of their religion. Their culture and life was to control their way of life by complete segregation form of society and to maintain relatively secured collective boundaries.

Christianity and Islam, the axial monotheistic religions were in their efforts to constitute all others into their civilization including the Jews. The Persian existence within the Islamic general population affected many core aspects of the Muslim culture and society. The Hebrews have a very rich and vibrant history, unlike many other ancient civilizations.

Throughout the history, the Hebrew culture and civilization has undergone many challenges. Their ancestors lived in a time where only the strongest nations in terms of technological and military competence survived.

Despite the consequences, the Hebrew culture survived with their lack of military capabilities and progressed technologies. The reason behind their survival and civilization, unlike other cultures and civilizations, was their culture, art and the strength of their sacred text, The Bible.

The reactions from various circles concerning the civilization of ancient Egypt display a mixture of feelings. Some scholars believe that ancient Egypt before civilization was of a unique distinction.

Actually, according to history, it is believed that they were the first people to create a state embodying aspiration of the Egyptian race and the spiritual beliefs in the nation-state.

The ancient state of Egypt which lasted for up to years showed a determined durability, assurance and extraordinary strength demonstrated by its framework of culture and an unmistakable purity of style. Indeed, religion in ancient Egypt led to a myriad of other changes that impacted the society politically, socially and economically. For instance, early developments in religion shaped the political systems and structures in ancient Egypt.

Most of the rules and leadership dynamics used by Egypt rulers were largely borrowed from religion. The religiously-influenced political and social structures created other avenues and modalities on how people interacted.

The sharing of religious activities in ancient Egypt has offered the world a broad perspective in understanding early social developments in Egypt. To sum up, it is imperative to note that both religion and civilization act as useful tools in bringing societies together. The monotheistic and polytheistic civilizations demonstrate different perspectives of understanding various cultures across the world.

As mentioned in the paper, different religions have their unique way of worshipping their different gods. However, in carrying out their religious duties, they are similar in how they accord respect to their deities.

As such, it is clear that people from diverse cultural backgrounds have unique ways of communicating with their perceived supreme being. Religious civilization, therefore, is not a set of personal beliefs but the underpinnings and supernatural answers to the obvious unknowable paradigms. Throughout the stages of human development, different civilizations are seen as a process to progressive societal life.

Armstrong, Karen. US: A. Knopf, Cataldo, Lisa. Multiple selves, multiple gods?