The Role of the Temple in Mesopotamia and Egypt
The religions of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt have long been studied by fascinated students, scholars, and the like. The remains left behind from these civilizations have provided great insight into their culture, philosophy, and religion. For these and most ancient cultures, the temple was the center of the city, often playing many roles - religious, social economic, etc. It is important to view the religious concepts of these civilizations in light of their environment. Religion evolves in the context of the need for survival, and such needs are unique to a civilization given their environment. People believe in what they need to believe in order to survive. The Egyptians had two types of temples - cultic and funerary. Central to their religion were the concepts of divine kingship and consubstantiality. Mesopotamian religion tended to center around lament as well as the division between the earthly and the cosmos. Although the temples of the Mesopotamia and Egypt had significant similarities, the main disparities in the roles they played for each civilization mainly stems from (1) the challenges each had to face as well as (2) the resulting differing concepts of divine kingship and human existence.
Thorkild Jacobsen, et.al., Intellectual Adventure of Man, (Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1946) 126. One last point about Egyptian consubstantiality involves the origins of the concept of divine kingship. The Egyptian Pharaoh was originally considered to be a servant of god, appointed by god to be the caretaker of the earth. Eventually, the Pharaoh came to be looked upon as a divine entity. In fact, the operating words for "servant" and for "majesty" were the same. How did this change evolve? It would not have been possible without the Egyptian concept of consubstantiality. The Mesopotamians, however, did not evolve such ideas of divine kingship until after the Egyptians. As the time of conquest and urbanization dawned, the Lugals (at first, only temporary appointments) gained the power of rulers over the land. Carolyn Routledge, "Temple as the Center in Ancient Egyptian Urbanism," Urbanism in Antiquity, (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997) 232. There is a limit to the amount we know about the earliest temples of Mesopotamia and Egypt. There first of the Mesopotamian shrines were made of short-lived materials, so it is unlikely that any will be found. However, what little information we do have about the temples of this time period (the earliest dating back to the Ubaid period, or early 5th millenium, B.C.E.) is mostly architectural, and the function of such structures is hard to determine. In fact, there is much debate over whether or not they functioned as temples at all. However, it is worth mentioning that the structure of the Ubaid temple found at Eridu suggests cultic function, according to the Anchor Bible Dictionary. The developing temple eventually came to "comprise a central rectangular sanctuary with wall niche (presumably for the god's statue or symbol) and central 'offering table.'" The early temples of Egypt in the Archaic periods analogously had architecture suggesting cultic function as well. The tiny early funerary temples also had such niches and places for offerings and prayer. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian temples were open to the public, the point at which the divine was tangible. Henri Frankfort, et.al., Intellectual Adventure of Man, (Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1946) 65. Carolyn Routledge, "Temple as the Center in Ancient Egyptian Urbanism," Urbanism in Antiquity, (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997) 221-235.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Egyptian Mesopotamian, Carolyn Routledge, Mesopotamians Faced, Likewise Mesopotamian, Egyptians Originally, Mesopotamia Egypt, Egypt Egypt, Bible Dictionary, Egypt Mesopotamian, Egyptian Pharaoh, divine kingship, bible dictionary, dictionary 1992 vol6, anchor bible, thorkild jacobsen, dictionary 1992, anchor bible dictionary, 1992 vol6, bible dictionary 1992, temples sanctuaries, egyptian mesopotamian, doubleday company, doubleday company 1961, company 1961, egyptian mesopotamian temples,
Approximate Word count = 3456
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
