Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: God Or Goddess Gods And Goddesses - 2,103 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Concept of the gods among the Sumerians and Greeks The Mesopotamian's viewed their city-states as earthly copies of a divine model and order. Each city-state was sacred since it was linked to a god or goddess. Hence, Nippur, the earliest center of Sumerian religion, was dedicated to Enlil, god of wind, and Babylon to Marduk, who supplanted Enlil in Babylonian myth. Nannar, a moon god, was the owner of Ur. Moreover, located at the heart of each major city-state was a temple complex. Occupying several acres, this sacred area consisted of a ziggurat with a temple at the top dedicated to the god or goddess who owned the city.

The temple complex was the true center of the community. The main god or goddess dwelt there symbolically in the form of a statue, and the ceremony of dedication included a ritual that linked the statue to the god or goddess and thus supposedly harnessed the power of the deity for the citys benefit. Considerable wealth was poured into the construction of temples as well as other buildings used fort the residences of priests and priestesses who helped the gods. Although the gods literally owned the city, the temple complex used only part of the land and rented out the remainder. Essentially, the temples dominated individual and commercial life, indicating the close relationship of religion to Mesopotamian culture.

The physical environment had an obvious impact on the Mesopotamian view of the universe. Ferocious floods, heavy downpours, scorching winds, and oppressive humidity were all pat of the Mesopotamian climate. These conditions and resulting famines easily convinced Mesopotamian's that this world was controlled by supernatural forces and that the days of human beings are numbered. The Mesopotamian's discerned cosmic rhythms in the universe and accepted its order, but perceived that it was no completely safe because of the presence f willful powerful cosmic forces that they identified with gods and goddesses. With its numerous gods and goddesses animating all aspects of the universe, Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic in nature. The four most important deities were An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga.

An was the god of the sky and hence the most important force in the universe. Since his basic essence was authority, he was also viewed as the source or active principle authority including the earthly power of rulers and fathers alike. Enlil, god of wind, was considered the second greatest power of the visible universe. In charge of the wind and thus an expression of the legitimate use of force, Enlil became the symbol of the proper use of force on earth as well. But the wind included not only the moist winds of spring that brought fertility to the soil, but also the destructive storms.

Enki was god of the earth. Since the earth was the source of life-giving waters, Enki was also god of rivers, wells, and canals. More generally, he represented the waters of creativity and was responsible for inventions and crafts. Ninhursaga began as a goddess associated with soil, mountains, and vegetation. Eventually, however, she was worshipped as a mother goddess, a mother of al children, who manifested her power by giving birth to kings and conferring the royal insignia upon them.

Although these four deities ranked supreme, there were numerous gods and goddesses below them. One group included astral deities, the powers in the lesser cosmic elements, who were all grandchildren and great-grandchildren of An. These included Utu, god of the sun, the moon god Nannar, and Inanna, the goddess of the morning and the evening star as well as of war and rain. Unlike humans, these and the various other gods and goddesses were divine and immortal.

But it is important to remember that they were not all-powerful since no one god had control over the entire universe. Moreover, humans were capable of devising ways to discover the will of the gods and to influence them as well. The relationship of human beings to the gods was based on subservience since, according to Sumerian myth, human beings were created to do the manual labor the gods were unwilling to do for themselves. Humans were consequently insecure since they could never be sure of the gods actions. But humans did make attempts to circumvent or relieve their anxiety by discovering the intentions of the gods; these efforts gave rise to the development of the arts of divination. Their importance is evident in that texts on divination are the largest single category of Akkadian literature.

Divination took a variety of forms. A common form, at least for kings and priests who could afford it involved killing animals, such as sheep or goats, and examining their livers or other organs. Supposedly, features seen in the organs of the sacrificed animals foretold events to come. Thus, one handbook states that if the animal organ has shape x, then the outcome of the military campaign will be y. Private individuals relied on cheaper divinatory techniques. These included interpreting patterns of smoke from burning incense or the pattern formed when oil was poured into water.

Even the throw of dice could be used to foretell events. These methods of divination were based on the principle that a human request would evoke a divine response. These methods were eventually superseded by intuitive ones that were based on the belief that divine purpose was everywhere and hence accessible. The new intuitive techniques included the interpretation of dreams and the examination of facial and bodily characteristics for omens. Rulers used more elaborate intuitive methods, primarily astrological ones, to tread the skies to see what was coming. Horoscopic astrology, based on determining the specific heavenly influences at the time of ones birth, also came to be used.

The Mesopotamian arts of divination arose out of the desire to discover the purposes of the gods. If people could decipher the sings that foretold events, the events would be predictable and humans could act wisely. But the Mesopotamian's also developed cultic arts included ritualistic formulas, such as spells against evil spirits, and prayers or hymns to the gods to win their positive influence. Since only the priests knew the precise rituals, it is not hard to understand the important role they exercised in a society dominated by a belief in the reality of spiritual powers. In Ancient Greece, religion was a civil cult necessary for the well-being of the state.

Temples dedicated to a god or goddess were the major buildings of Greek society. Much understanding about the role of Greek religion arises because, unlike Christianity, Greek religion did not require belief in a body of doctrine. There were no sacred books, such as the Bible. Proper ritual rather than belief formed the crucial part of Greek religion.

It had no official of priests enunciating dogma and controlling religious matters. Although there were priests and priestesses to care for certain religious shrines, most religious ceremonies were led by civilians serving as priests, and priesthoods were civic offices. The epic poetry of Homer contained a coherent theogony or genealogy of the gods that served to give a definite structure to Greek religion. Over a period of time, all Greeks accepted a common Olympian religion.

There were twelve chief gods who supposedly lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. Among the twelve were Zeus, the chief deity and father of the gods; Athena, goddess of wisdom and crafts; Apollo, god of the sun and poetry; Aphrodite, goddess of love; and Poseidon, brother of Zeus and god of the seas and earthquakes. Greek mythology was closely related to the gods and goddesses of Greek religion, although it also included stories of heroes and heroines. Through the works of Homer and Hesiod, gods were seen as human in their activities, but also superhuman in that they were immortal. While the mythic stories were often entertaining, they also served a number of purposes: they could explain phenomena, such as thunderbolts; they cold serve a political function, such as legitimizing control of a particular territory; they could define relationships, such as those between men and women, or between humans and gods; and they could preserve the history of names and great events.

They could also be very confusing since the many variants of the stories often conflicted with each other. The twelve Olympian gods were common to all Greeks, who thus shared a basic polytheistic religion. Each polis usually singled out one of the twelve Olympians as a guardian deity of its community. Athena was the patron goddess of Athens, for example. But each polis also had its own local deities who remained important to the community as a whole, and each family had patron gods as well. Since it was desirable to have the gods look favorably upon ones activities, ritual assumed enormous proportions in Greek religion.

Prayers were often combined with gifts to the gods based on the principle, I give so that you (the gods) will give (in return). Some prayers directly reflected this mutual benefit: Protect our city. I believe that what I say is in our common interest. For a flourishing city honors the gods. Ritual meant sacrifices, whether of animals or agricultural products. Animal victims were burned on an altar in front of a temple or on a small altar in front of a home.

The Greeks maintained religious calendars (lists of sacrifices) specifying what a god or goddess should receive and on what day it should be offered. The father made sacrifices for the family; officials did so for the state. Festivals were also developed as a way to honor the gods and goddesses. Some of these (the Pan-Hellenic celebrations) came to have international significance and were held at special locations, such as those dedicated to the worship of Zeus at Olympia; to Poseidon at the Isthmus of Corinth; and to Apollo at Delphi. The great festivals incorporated numerous events in honor of the gods, including athletic competitions to which all Greeks were invited.

The first such games were held at the Olympic festival in 776 B. C. and then held every four years thereafter to honor Zeus. Initially, the Olympic contests consisted of foot races and wrestling, but later, boxing, javelin throwing, and various other contests were added.

Competitions were always between individuals not groups. Individual poles also held religious festivals on a regular basis. At Athens, the most splendid was the Great Panathenaia, begun in the earl sixth century and held every four years in July. Dedicated to the patron goddess Athena, the highlight of the festival was a great procession of the entire community through the city. But as with all great religious festivals, the Great Panathenaia also included dancing and singing, choruses of men and women, torch races, and athletic and musical contests. At the festival of Dionysus, known as the City Dionysia, tragedies and comedies were presented as part of the festival.

As another practical side of Greek religion, Greeks wanted to know the will of the gods. There were seers who obtained omens from dreams, the flight of birds, or the entrails of sacrificial animals. But perhaps the most famous method to divine the will of the gods was the use of the oracle, a sacred shrine dedicated to a god or goddess who revealed the future. The most famous was the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, located on the side of Mount Parnassus, overlooking the Gulf of Corinth. At Delphi, a priestess listened to questions while in a state of ecstasy that was believed to be induced by Apollo. Her responses were interpreted by the priests and given in verse form to the person asking questions.

Representatives of states and individuals traveled to Delphi to consult the oracle of Apollo. States might inquire whether they should undertake a military expedition; individuals might raise such questions as, Mr. X asks the god whether he will have offspring from the wife he has now. Responses were often enigmatic and at times even politically motivated. Oracles tended to favor one side against another in the great struggles that wracked Greece.

Greek religion, centered in ritual and a formal relationship with the gods, tended to lack a strong emotional component. It also gave little or no certain hope of life after death for most people. As a result the Greeks sometimes turned to mystery religions, which included initiation into secret rites that promised a more emotional involvement with spiritual forces and a greater hope of immortality. Bibliography: Burke, Walter. Greek Religion.

Harvard, 1985. Kerenyi, Carl. Gods of the Greeks. Thames & Hudson, 1951. Kramer, Samuel Noah. The Sumerians.

The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1963.


Free research essays on topics related to: men and women, gods and goddesses, god or goddess, religious festivals, greek religion

Research essay sample on God Or Goddess Gods And Goddesses

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com