Mythology across the Ancient World: The History of Mythological Stories and Rituals in Antiquity

Although the Egyptians may not have passed their civilization directly on to later peoples, the key elements that comprised Egyptian civilization, including their religion, early ideas of state, and art and architecture, can be found among other civilizations. For instance, civilizations far separated in time and space, such as China and Mesoamerica, possessed key elements that were similar to those found in ancient Egypt. Indeed, since Egyptian civilization represented some fundamental human concepts, a study of their culture can be useful when trying to understand many other pre-modern cultures.

Today the Mesopotamians and their religion are sources of curiosity, but thousands of years ago, the religion was an integral part of their lives. From their birth to their death, deities surrounded them, and whether their social interactions were on the level of a smaller city or that of a larger nation-state, deities played key roles in the social fabric of their society. Whereas the Israelites were one people who worshipped a single god, Babylon had a succession of different dynasties derived from many ethnic groups, and since Babylonian religion originated from a plethora of sources, there were very few elements that maintained primacy throughout the city’s history. For example, the Sumerian influence resulted in citizens worshipping many deities in the city, but those numbers were reduced after the Amorites came to power. 

One of the reasons Zeus remains one of the most recognizable gods in history is because of the spread of his influence. Due to the conquests of Alexander the Great, Zeus was brought along with other elements of Hellenization to Egypt and the Near East, and a few centuries later, Rome all but adopted him as their own chief god, Jupiter. From there, he was exported around the Roman Empire and fused with numerous other local gods in the process.