The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were an integral part of religion. They formed a bridge over the chasm dividing the people and the gods. In pre-dynastic times the Egyptians believed that their Pharaoh was the god Horus, son of Re, the sun god. Therefore being a Pharaoh there was nothing that you could not do. He was head of the government and high priest of every temple. In practice officials did their work, in his name. The pharaoh was the most important and powerful person in the kingdom. Most pharaohs were men but some well-known pharaohs, such as Nefertiti and Cleopatra, were women. Because the pharaoh was considered a god, one of his most impo

The soul and center of each city-state was its temple to the patron god. The Sumerians believed that the god owned the city-state and was the divine ruler and protector of the state. Part of the land was farmed directly for the god. The remaining land was farmed by the temple staff or by farmers who paid rent to the temple. Rents and offerings paid for temple operation and supported the poor. Many priests, priestesses, singers, musicians, sacred prostitutes, and eunuchs conducted Temple rites. Sacrifices were offered daily to the gods

The Sumerians had four leading deities, known as creating gods. These gods were An, the god of heaven; Ki, the goddess of earth; Enlil, the god of air; and Enki, the god of water. Heaven, earth, air, and water were regarded as the four major components of the universe. The act of creation, it was held, was accomplished through utterance of the divine word; the creating deity had merely to make plans and pronounce the name of the thing to be created. To keep the cosmos in continuous and harmonious operation and to avoid confusion and conflict, the gods devised the me, a set of universal and unchangeable rules and laws that all beings were obliged to obey.

A part of the Ancient Egyptian beliefs was that of continued life after death. This belief was rooted in what they observed each day. The sun fell into the western horizon each evening and was reborn the next morning in the east. New life sprouted from grains planted in the earth, and the moon waxed and waned. They regarded death as a temporary interruption, rather than the cessation of life. To ensure the continuity of life after death, people paid homage to the gods, both during and after their life on earth, they mummifying the dead, and they provided equipment in tombs for the afterlife. An ancient Egyptians would provide for the life in the Next World as best as his economic abilities would allow. For example, pyramids and other great tombs were constructed for kings and queens. Other Egyptians, including laborers, had smaller tombs built on top of their graves. This means that a huge amount of information about daily life in ancient Egypt can be found in the tombs. Detailed and colorful scenes on the walls showed Egyptians harvesting crops, tending cattle and fishing. There were also scenes of artisans at their work, including gold workers and boat-builders and domestic scenes of banquets with musicians, dancers and guests. The scenes on the wall also included the dead interacting with the gods. The most frequent scenes were that of the dead talking to the god Osiris who was the ruler of the dead. The Egyptian myth of Osiris was that the dead would be born again in the after life just as Osiris did. Another frequent scene was that of the person's heart being weight against the feather of Maat, goddess of truth. If the person's heart did not balance then they would be devoured by the monster Ammit and die a permanent death. However, if the heart did balance then they would be admitted to the presence if Isis and Osiris and live-forever. Besides the scenes drawn on the walls the tombs also included the physical possessions of the dead. Writing materials were often supplied along with clothing, wigs, hairdressing supplies and assorted tools, depending on the occupation of the deceased. Often model tools rather than full size ones would be placed in the tomb; models were cheaper and took up less space and in the after-life would be magically transformed into the real thing. There were also sculptures of the deceased and food offerings in the tomb. The tombs also contained texts containing prayers, hymns, to guide souls through the afterlife, protect them from evil, and provide for their needs. Passages from these texts were carved or writ

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2530
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)