欧洲文明简史chapter1civilizationsintheacientneareastfocusquestions

(1)Mesopotamia:Firstly,theTigrisandEuphratescreatemanysmallplainsandlowlands,althoughtothenorthofMesopotamialaysthemountainousIranianplateauandtoitssouththeSyriandesert,thankstotherivers,Mesopotamiaishotbuthumidandfertile,itisgoodforpeopletolivein.Secondly,everyyearinlatespringorearlysummer,snowmeltedanditcausedthefloodingoftherivers,thenrichsoildownfromthemountaintotheplain,therichsoilandhumidclimateprovidedawonderfulenvironmentforearlyagriculture,so,thisalsodowelltothecivilizationdevelopmentinMesopotamia.Thirdly,theannualfloodsbetweenAprilandJunewereirregularandthetremendousheatwouldcauserapidevaporationoftheriverwater,thesemakefarmingimpossible.Inordertosolvebothproblem,peopleinMesopotamiabuiltirrigationsystems.Assystematicagriculturebegantoprovideaconsistentfoodsurplus,populationsgrewandsmallvillagesdevelopedintolargertownandcities.Morecomplexsocialstructuresappearedinthesetownandcities.Thefirsthumancivilizationwasborn.(2)Egypt:ThehistoricaldevelopmentofcivilizationinEgyptwasstronglyinfluencedbythegeography.Firstly,Egyptiscalledas“thegiftoftheNile”.TheNilewasthelifelineoftheancientEgyptiancivilization.Insomeway,allEgyptiansdependedontheNileforwater,foodandtransportation.AndtheNilehelpedtheancientEgyptianswasintrade.Secondly,Egypt’suniquenaturalenvironmentplayedanimportantroleinitspeaceandstabilityinitspoliticalhistory.TheNile’sregularfloodingmadepeoplecanproduceenoughfoodwhichprovidedtheeconomicbasicforinternalstability.TheNile’svalley,surroundedbydesertsandseas,theSaharadesert,theMediterraneanandtheRedsea,allservedasexcellentnaturaldefenses.AllthisensuredgreatcontinuityinEgyptiancivilization.2.Whatwerethesimilaritiesanddifferences

inthereligious

belief

oftheSumerians,Egyptians,andHebrews?Similarities:IjustfoundageneralsimilarityinthereligiousbeliefamongSumerians,Egyptians,andHebrews,thatis,theyallbelievedingodorgods.What’smore,theyalsobelievedthatgodorgodscreatedandgovernedthenatureortheuniverse.However,Ididfindsomesimilaritieswhencomparingtwoofthem.ComparedwithEgyptiansandSumerians,Ifoundthreesimilaritiesbetweenthem.First,theywerepolytheistic,inotherwords,theybothbelievedinmanygodsandgoddess.Second,bothofthembelievedintheexistenceofhumansouls.Third,theybelievedthatgodshadahumanbody.Differences:(1)AsforHebrews,theybelievedinonlyoneGod,butSumeriansandEgyptianssupportedpolytheistic.Secondly,Hebrews’monotheisticreligionisbasedonmoralprinciplesandrulesintheHebrewBible,theTanakh.Thirdly,theythoughtthatJehovah,theonlyrealGodfortheHebrews,wasnotcreatedabovenature.Fourthly,theysawnatureasanexampleofGod’shandiwork;itwasnolongersupernatural,butnatural.Fifthly,theyhaddevelopedanawarenessofselforthe“I”menmusthavethefreedomtochoose.Sixthly,HebrewfaithisthatGodhadmadeaspecialagreementwithhispeople.(2)AsforSumerians,theybelievedthattheearthwasaflatdiscandGodcreatedhumanbeingsintheirownimage.Secondly,theybelievedthatmanhadasoul,butoncehedied,itwouldperish.Thirdly,theydidnotbelieveinlifeafterdeath,andtheirfuneralsweresimple.(3)AsforEgyptians,theybuilttemplestoworshipthegodsandtheyhadathoughtthatthesungodandthelordoftheuniverseweredepictedinhumanform.Secondly,theybelievedlifeafterdeath,sotheyoftenpreventedthebodiesofthedeadfromrotting.Thirdly,theythoughtthataperson’sthoughtsandemotionswerelocatedintheheartinsteadofthebrain.InwhatwaysdidcivilizationsandculturesintheancientNearEastinfluencethedevelopmentofEuropeancivilization?CivilizationandCulturesintheancientNearEastinfluencedthedevelopmentofEuropeancivilizationmainlythroughGreekCulturewhichiscommonlytookastheoriginofEuropeancivilization.ThecivilizationintheancientNearEastcontributedtoGreekculturealotwhichatlastledtoaninfluenceonEuropeancivilization.Thefirstthingwehavetomentionislanguage.SumerianswholiveintheareaofMesopotamiaplaincreatedthefirstknownwritingsysteminhumanhistorywhichispictographic.Andafterthattheyinventedcuneiformwhichismoreabstract.Later,EgyptiansinventedtheirownwritingsystemHieroglyphicswhichwaslatelyusedandimprovedbyGreeksandthenbecameLatinwhichhadbeenwidelyusedthroughEurope.TheinventionoflanguageprovidedawayfortheinheritanceanddevelopmentofEuropeanculture.Andalsomadeitmorepossibleforthesecondthingwe’regoingtotalkabouttospreadandinfluencedGreekandEurope.Thatisreligion.ReligionactuallytookanimportantpartinEuropeancultureanditsdevelopmentsaswellastheNearEastones.ThereligioninMesopotamiacausesthebirthofthefirstmythology.ButEgyptreligionactuallymadeabiggerinfluence.MostGreekgodsandgoddesswerenamedafterEgyptiangodsorplaces.However,theonlyonewhichwasstillfrequentlyheardnowadaysisIsraelitereligionJudaisminHebrew.ItdevelopedintotheworldwidereligionChristianitylatelybecauseJewspaidtoomuchattentionontribe.AndasweallknownChristianityisoneofthebiggestreligionsallaroundtheworldandmostEuropeancultureweregavebirthandimproveddependsonthis.Whenitcomestoreligion,wewillcomeupwiththeideathattheycontributedsomuchtoWesternartincludingliterature,paintingandsoon.Mostofthefamousmasterpiecesofmasterwererelatedtoreligionandthiscommentcanstillmakesensenowadays.